Each year, Rotary selects up to 100 professionals from around the world to receive fellowships to study at one of our peace centers.
Through academic training, practice, and global networking opportunities, the Rotary Peace Centers program develops leaders who become catalysts for peace and conflict prevention and resolution. These fellowships cover tuition and fees, room and board, round-trip transportation, and all internship and field-study expenses.
In just over a decade, the Rotary Peace Centers have trained more than 1,000 fellows for careers in peacebuilding. Many of them are serving as leaders at international organizations or have started their own foundations.
Check out the Rotary Peace Map to see where our alumni are creating positive change.
Our fellowships
Each year, the Rotary Foundation awards up to 50 fellowships for master’s degrees and 50 for certificate studies at premier universities around the world.
- Master’s degree programs: Last 15 to 24 months and require a practical internship of two to three months during the academic break.
- Professional development certificate program: For experienced professionals and lasts three months with two to three weeks of field study.
More than 1,000 peace fellowship alumni are working in over 100 countries.
Is a peace fellowship right for me?
Peace fellowship applicants must meet these requirements:
- Proficiency in English; a second language is strongly recommended
- Demonstrated commitment to international understanding and peace
- Excellent leadership skills
- Master’s degree applicants: minimum three years of related full-time work or volunteer experience, bachelor’s degree
- Certificate applicants: minimum five years of related full-time work or volunteer experience, strong academic background
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Hanna Schubert
Hanna Schubert (2016-18) says the Rotary Peace Fellowship is a unique opportunity. “It's not only about the generous award that makes it possible to study here (Duke-UNC) in the first place. What’s even more is the international network, the trainings, the career support and the fellowship with inspiring professionals from all over the world – that’s what’s changed my life.”
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Adrien Lokangaka
Adrien Lokangaka (2012-14) says his small village in the Democratic Republic of Congo was in dire need of medicine after war. “People need not only the end of war, but they also want to be free from the consequences of war, and one of those is bad health,” he says. “I am an ordinary person, but Rotary has given me an extraordinary opportunity.”
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Summer Lewis
Summer Lewis (2011-12) co-founded True Roots Consulting in Mexico to foster social responsibility programs so people would stop resorting to violent measures to meet their basic needs. “People ask how one little project in one little community makes a difference. But you can’t think of it like that,” she says. “Think about all the Rotary clubs carrying out projects in communities. Now you’re talking about changing the world.”
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Muyatwa Sitali
Muyatwa Sitali (2012-14) realized during his fellowship just how profound and far-reaching the need for clean water is. “Providing water and sanitation may not guarantee peace, but it reduces the chance of grievance that leads to armed conflicts,” he says.
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Path Heang
Path Heang (2002-04) is the chief of a UNICEF field office in Cambodia and says, “I am in a senior position because of the analytical skills and tools I learned as a Rotary Peace Fellow. Now I can influence national policy for the poor in Cambodia.”
Rotary Peace Centers
Duke University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA (fact sheet)
Fellows can earn either a Master in International Development Policy from Duke or a master’s degree in various departments from the University of North Carolina. In addition, Fellows at both Duke and UNC can earn a graduate certificate in international peace and conflict resolution from the University of North Carolina.
International Christian University, Tokyo, Japan (fact sheet)
The Department of Public Policy and Social Research offers master’s degrees in social sciences, natural sciences, and interdisciplinary studies.
Fellowship recipients may not study at a Rotary Peace Center in their home country, with the exception of candidates from Thailand, who may attend the center at Chulalongkorn University.
University of Bradford, Bradford, England (fact sheet)
The Department of Peace Studies at Bradford is the largest in the world and offers several master’s degrees.
University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia (fact sheet)
Fellows earn a master’s degree in international studies and peace and conflict studies in the Graduate Centre of Governance and International Affairs.
Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden (fact sheet)
The Department of Peace and Conflict Research offers a master’s degree in social science. It is internationally renowned for its free and globally accessible collection of data related to conflict.
Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand (fact sheet)
The professional development certificate is awarded to experienced professionals who complete the university’s intensive three-month program in peace and conflict prevention and resolution.
Lauren Coffaro: A Peace Fellow’s Journey (Part 1)
What it took to win a Rotary Peace Fellowship for graduate study at the University of Bradford, England.
Lauren Coffaro: A Peace Fellow’s Journey (Part 2)
A Rotary peace fellow talks about living in England and studying at the University of Bradford.
Lauren Coffaro: A Peace Fellow’s Journey (Part 3)
For her Applied Field Experience, a Rotary peace fellow travels to Guatemala and works with a Nobel laureate.
Help us create the next generation of peacemakers with a gift to the Rotary Peace Centers
Other ways to support us
Advance peace in troubled areas around the world by promoting the peace fellowship program.
Your district can support the Rotary Peace Centers by allocating a minimum of $25,000 annually in District Designated Funds (DDF). Learn more about how to become a Peacebuilder District.
Related Stories and Resources
Resources & References
Police officer takes the lessons of the Rotary peace program to the streets