Peace Fellowships Certificate program

Peace Fellowships

Professional development certificate program

Is the professional development certificate program right for me?

The ideal candidate is a proven mid-career peace and development leader with at least five years of relevant work experience. Candidates need to come to the program with a social change initiative to promote peace and development within the program region. They should also have a clear vision of how the fellowship experience and network will help advance their peace work and increase their impact. This program is intended for working professionals and requires 11 weeks of on-site participation. Fellows earn a postgraduate diploma upon completion of the program. After the program, candidates should be willing to share their own work and experience, staying in touch with peace fellows in the region and maintaining strong connections with Rotary members.

Eligibility

Certificate candidates must also:

Be proficient in English
Have a bachelor’s degree
Have at least five years of full-time relevant experience in peace or development work
Have a strong commitment to cross-cultural understanding and peace as shown through professional and academic achievements and personal or community service
Demonstrate leadership skills
Be able to explain how their plan to promote peace aligns with Rotary’s mission
Candidates for Makerere University: Either be from Africa, have worked in Africa, or work with African communities or initiatives outside the continent.
Candidates for Bahçeşehir University: Either be from the Middle East or North Africa, have worked in the region, or work elsewhere around the world with communities or initiatives related to the Middle East or North Africa.

Candidates must have a gap of at least three years between the completion of their most recent academic degree program (undergraduate or graduate degree) and their intended start date for the fellowship. Candidates currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program are not eligible to apply.

Rotary Peace Fellows who have completed the master’s degree program, or a Global Grant Scholarship, must wait three years between the end date of that program and their intended start date for the fellowship.

We encourage people with disabilities and people from other diverse backgrounds to apply. Rotary provides reasonable accommodations as needed to people with disabilities.

You are not eligible if you are an active Rotary member or an employee of a Rotary club, Rotary International, or other Rotary entity.

* Rotaract club members who are not also Rotary club members are eligible to apply.

Learn more about eligibility restrictions.

Fellowship components

Preliminary online course

Program begins: A two-week preliminary online course
On-site course

A ten-week on-site course with field studies
Social change initiative (guide)

A nine-month social change initiative with interactive online sessions
Capstone seminar

Program ends: A one-week on-site capstone seminar which overlaps with incoming cohort

University Partners

Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda (fact sheet)

The program integrates theory, research, and practice for peace and development leaders who are from Africa, have worked in Africa, or work with African communities or initiatives outside the continent. Fellows will learn how to influence policies and initiate action to transform society through positive peace.

Bahçeşehir University (BAU), Istanbul, Turkey

Opening in 2025

The multidisciplinary program will train peacebuilders who are from the Middle East or North Africa, have worked in the region, or who work elsewhere around the world with communities or initiatives related to the Middle East or North Africa. Fellows will learn how to use their experience to create meaningful change in societies through groundbreaking ideas based on participatory approaches.

Ready to apply?

Explore

Patience Rusare

"I am amazed at the array of topics I have been able to dive into during my time at Makerere University. The diverse body of fellows and the depth of knowledge and expertise of my lecturers at Africa’s most prestigious University is extraordinary. The lecturers don't just bring with them titles of doctorship or professorship, but very practical experiences that have made it easy to grasp many theoretical approaches to peacebuilding." — Patience Rusare
Fikiri Nzoyisenga

"The teachers, trainers, and other practitioners come from different professional and educational backgrounds. Their well-prepared classes combined with their facilitation skills, the well-oriented class discussions and other assignments highly increased our theoretical knowledge of peacebuilding and conflict transformation. This knowledge was later reinforced with the enriching field excursions and other site visits to various organizations and institutions working on positive peace.” — Fikiri Nzoyisenga
ElsaMarie D’Silva

“The Rotary Peace Fellowship program came at a point in my life where I wanted to validate my work. Some of the skills I took back from the fellowship include better communication in the nonviolent space. I feel supported by this community and can reach out to any peace fellow in the world.” — ElsaMarie D’Silva, CEO, Red Dot Foundation
Sombat Tapanya

“I found the Rotary Peace Fellowship program because of my interest in prevention of trauma and abuse and wanted to learn more about peacebuilding, conflict resolution, and mediation since a large part of trauma is related to interpersonal violence.” — Sombat Tapanya, clinical psychologist and assistant professor at Chiang Mai University
Charlie Allen

“The fellowship opened up my thinking, created new pathways, provided a new set of tools, and most important, opened up a whole new network of people and resources.” — Charlie Allen, Director of Partnerships, Institute for Economics and Peace