Applications are now open for the 2025 Marshall Memorial Fellowship. Are you committed to becoming a steward of the transatlantic agenda? Are you passionate about building inclusive communities and affecting real and sustainable change? Do you have an open mind and a commitment to gaining new perspectives? If so, then apply to join the 2025 Marshall Memorial Fellowship (MMF) program.
In 2025, GMF will award between 24 to 27 Marshall Memorial Fellowships. Once you complete the fellowship, you will join the GMF network of more than 4,000 alumni, and your transatlantic engagement in your professional and personal journey will continue with engagement in GMF’s activities.
The MMF program is named in honor of George C. Marshall, a US general and statesman who played a key role in transatlantic relations after World War II through his role in the Europe Recovery Program (1948-1951), more commonly known as the Marshall Plan.
Objectives of the Marshall Memorial Fellowship Program
The program’s main objective is to enable leaders from business, government, and civil society to expand their understanding of transatlantic relations and to create new networks and opportunities for collaboration.
The program does this through active distance learning, leadership development seminars, and an immersive exchange experience. Participants meet with individuals and organizations seeking solutions to challenges in their spheres of activity, hear their strategies and best practices, and understand the complex environment in which they operate.
The MMF program gives participants a unique ability to discover and develop new opportunities for transatlantic collaboration, with a special emphasis on cross-sector collaboration. After the fellowship, we encourage participants to remain immersed and engaged in transatlantic issues.
Fellowship Details
The Marshall Memorial Fellowship is an immersive fellowship for mid-career professionals committed to the transatlantic relationship. Here is a snapshot of what to expect in the fellowship:
- a highly diverse cohort of emerging, multi-sectoral leaders with a profound sense of integrity, the desire to create a positive impact, a commitment to democracy and diversity, a commitment to share and apply new knowledge and engage in the MMF network upon the program’s completion. Our fellows are part of a community of coalition builders with a strong commitment to the program and transatlantic and global engagement, and they are united by their alignment with the German Marshall Fund’s (GMF) values.
- at least six months of required virtual programming including orientation to the fellowship, interactive and self-reflective leadership development workshops, and alumni masterclasses.
- twenty-four days of immersive, transatlantic travel in September 2025 guided by city coordinators, who are primarily program alumni. All fellows start their fellowships in Washington, DC, before traveling to three cities. The program concludes with a full cohort debrief. US-based fellows will travel to three European cities. Europe-based fellows will travel to three US cities.
- a mini work sabbatical. To ensure optimum engagement throughout your travels, all fellows are required to complete an Employer Release Form to ensure that travel for the entire cohort remains work-free during mandatory meetings.
- holistic personal and professional leadership development in the form of:
- identification and exploration of a personal or professional research question via virtual and in-person programming
- 24 days of high-level meetings roundtables, seminars, alumni gatherings, and interactive sessions pre-arranged by city coordinators
- opportunities to plan individual appointments with local stakeholders aligned with your interests
- engagement with a transatlantic, multi-sectoral network of 21st century leaders
- post-travel virtual processing and reflection sessions; read more about what fellows come with versus what fellows leave with below
Benefits
Through the MMF program, GMF invests $25,000 / €22,750** per fellow. To share program costs, GMF requires a registration fee upon acceptance into the program*. The registration fee for fellows depends on a fellow’s place of employment:
- for those in the business sector: $8,000 / €7200**
- for those employed by a US-based nonprofit or government: $5,000 / €4500**
- for those employed by a Europe-based nonprofit or government: $3,000 + $220 J1 visa fee / €2700** + €198 J1 visa fee
It is expected that participants accepted into the program coming from a business background can offset the cost as professional development and/or have their employers contribute to the cost.
Throughout the travel component of the program, GMF estimates out-of-pocket expenses to be $3,000 / €2700 on average.
More Info: Marshall Memorial Fellowship
