The Zed Factor Fellowship invites all students interested in aerospace to apply for its 2024 Fellowship program.
The Zed Factor Fellowship is an aviation and space internship and community outreach program for undergraduate students hailing from historically excluded communities and backgrounds. Students selected for the program will receive a 10+ week paid summer or fall internship. The program encourages students in all majors, including STEM, business/marketing, communications/journalism, policy/pre-law, humanities, and social sciences to apply.
Founded by a group of aerospace professionals from diverse backgrounds, the Zed Factor Fellowship empowers and engages learners and aspiring space and aviation professionals through hands-on, practical experiences working in and contributing to the leading companies of the aerospace community. In addition to the internship placement, students will receive mentorship from an executive and young professional in their field and carry out a funded space or aviation-related community engagement project.
Applications are currently being accepted for placement with leading space and aviation companies for Summer 2024 or Fall 2024 internships. More information can be found on our website, and questions can be directed to info@zedfactorfellowship.org. The deadline for applications is January 2nd, 2024.
Eligibility
The Zed Factor Fellowship Program is for any student who:
- Hail from a historically excluded community or background.
- Have a passion for aerospace.
- Show leadership potential.
- Demonstrate technical or non-technical skills.
- Be a full-time undergraduate student and have completed 30+ college credits by the end of 2023. Eligibility extends to all students enrolled in higher education including Community Colleges and Universities. College credits include AP, IB, Dual Enrollment, community college credits, etc.
Other eligibility requirements:
- All majors are eligible to apply.
- Legally eligible to work in the United States. Legally eligible is a person defined as a United States Citizen, United States Permanent Resident, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), or international students studying in the United States who are eligible for optional practical training.
Application
Candidates must complete one single online application in order to be considered for the Zed Factor Fellowship. The application contains three main sections and one optional section to be completed. The following four sections are described in detail below.
- General Information
- Resume/Curriculum Vitae (CV) and Transcript
- Three Essays (Required)
The first three sections are required and must be completed and submitted by 11:59 PM PST on Monday, January 2nd, 2023 to be considered for the Fellowship. The fourth section of the application, the LORs, are optional. Please email us at info@zedfactorfellowship.org if you have any questions during the process.
Additional Details
RESUME/CURRICULUM VITAE & TRANSCRIPT: Zed accepts either a Resume or a Curriculum Vitae (CV) which should be no more than two pages in length and must include your overall GPA. If you’re unsure how to write a CV, take this opportunity to learn how. Please review this guide we have prepared for applicants here. You must also submit a transcript which can be an unofficial document.
We’ve prepared some detailed tips on how to create your Resume/CV if you need assistance please go here.
Click on the “Zed Fellow Application” button below to get started on your application!
ZED FACTOR FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION
Details for the Essays
ESSAYS: We require all three essays prompts to be completed and must be submitted along with your online application to be complete. Please make sure to upload your essay responses as a single PDF file titled, “Essays2023_FullNameofApplicant”. Once you submit your application you will no be able to return and edit your application. Each applicant will only be allowed one submission. We will not accept any emailed essays as they must be submitted through the online application system.
Below are the required essays for the fellowship:
- In 350 words or less, please describe your ideal first job post-education. If you are uncertain about your ideal first job or career goals post-education, please describe what makes you passionate about the aviation and/or space industry.
- In 350 words or less, explain your ideal aerospace community engagement project and how the Zed Factor Fellowship will help you achieve this project.
- In 500 words or less, answer the following: Why do you want to be a Zed Factor Fellow? What do you believe you will bring to the Zed community and what do you hope to achieve being a Zed Factor Fellow?
Some tips on thinking about your proposed community engagement project:
The Zed Factor Fellowship was created not only to ensure fellows who are not traditionally represented in the aerospace community, but also to bring the impact of those fellows, the learning and growth, to those fellows’ communities. All fellows are expected to give back to their communities, in a way they see fit, be it through providing mentorship to a younger community member, building a program in their high school, or finding another appropriate and compelling way to grow and expand the impact of the Zed Factor Fellowship beyond themselves.
We realize designing impactful and effective community engagement projects is both an opportunity and a challenge. We want to assist, but also realize that fellows know their communities better than anyone else.
Some thoughts to consider when thinking through how best to maximize the reach of a community engagement project:
- Who is the audience you want to reach? What are their needs and challenges?
- How do you want the audience to feel from your project? (i.e., inspired, motivated, included, etc.)
- How can the community engagement project amplify the learnings or findings of the fellowship?
- Are there any unique relationships do you have that can contribute to the success of the community engagement project (membership in a local or national organization, mentors who can advise/assist, a special connection to a community leader)?
- What special skills can you use to create a unique and impactful community engagement project?
There are plenty of online guides on how to build a community engagement project that you can tailor to this specific circumstance. Be creative, and keep in mind how you plan to measure the impact of your community engagement project and how it can amplify your Zed Factor Fellowship experience far beyond your internship.