Impact Fellows Program

If you want to make an impact in the world through your business education, the Impact Fellows Program is for you.  

Based on the core belief that business should be a force for good in the world, the Impact Fellows program provides an opportunity to deepen your classroom experience, build a community of students and mentors who share your interests, and explore issues of sustainable business and the global challenges of our time.

The Impact Fellows Program gives you the opportunity to expand your networks and build the skills needed to thrive as a well-rounded leader in today’s complex world. Through a comprehensive two-year program, you will learn about the UN Global Goals as a framework for the biggest challenges facing society and learn about how business can thrive while creating economic, social, and environmental value. The connections you make during this program will enable you to expand your interests, kickstart your career, and realize your full potential. Participating in the program will open doors throughout your time at Mason and beyond. 

The program offers a bold and pioneering approach to engage students from groups traditionally underrepresented in business. Over 40 percent of Mason’s students are first-generation college students. Thirty percent are Pell Grant recipients, and over half identify as something other than white-American. The Impact Fellows Program delivers an innovative, social impact-focused curriculum tailored to these students through a wrap-around two-year cohort-based experience that builds leadership and changemaking skills, fosters personal value evaluation and development, and supports retention of these learners.  

Why Impact Fellows?

A Unique Educational Experience
Set yourself apart from your peers through our innovative curriculum focused on the intersection of social impact and business that will meet course requirements and prepare you to address the challenges of our time.
A Sense of Community
Our cohort-based approach to learning ensures you will build deep, collaborative relationships with peers who share similar passions, while developing leadership and changemaking skills.
An Opportunity for Impact
You can choose to address your passions and apply classroom lessons to the real-world by engaging in action-oriented partnerships with local organizations and communities.
An Emphasis on Career Readiness
With the benefit of personalized guidance from professional and faculty mentors, and the hands-on experience that comes from an internship,you will graduate prepared for what’s next.

Student Testimonials

Ashanti Martin, 2nd Year Impact Fellow
"Instead of looking at corporations or individuals only focused on making profit, I am able to see those looking at social needs and awareness."
Naila Ahsan, 2nd Year Impact Fellow
"I feel like the people I have met and the team building experiences and networking opportunities have been amazing."
Selassie Fugar, 2nd Year Impact Fellow
"I think my best experiences are with the teachers who taught these Impact Fellow courses."

Get Involved through Be the Change

Be the Change is a collaborative hub for innovative minds and passionate changemakers with a drive to make a positive community impact. Started by a group of Impact Fellows, Be the Change is open to all majors. Guided by the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), the organization executes innovative, community-facing projects each year.

Be the Change is growing its network on campus through numerous collaborative projects, aiming to increase the sustainability focus on Mason's campus through events like workshops, speaker series, challenges, trips, and more. Members of Be the Change have the opportunity to gain experience in leadership, volunteering, networking, and sustainability in action.