FASPE Fellowships 2027: Fully Funded Two-Week Professional Ethics Programs in Germany and Poland

FASPE Fellowships 2027: Fully Funded Two-Week Professional Ethics Programs in Germany and Poland

The Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics (FASPE) 2027 fellowships are fully funded, two-week programs for graduate students and early-career professionals who want to examine ethical responsibility in their own professions. The six tracks are Business, Clergy & Religious Leaders, Design & Technology, Journalism, Law, and Medicine. Each group studies professional conduct in Germany and Poland, including the historical choices made by professionals during the Nazi era, and then connects that history to ethical decisions people face in contemporary work.

The 2027 application is open through January 3, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. FASPE says it expects to notify applicants by early to mid-March. Business, Law, and Design & Technology fellows are scheduled to attend from May 28 to June 11, 2027. Medical, Clergy & Religious Leaders, and Journalism fellows are scheduled for June 18 to July 2, 2027.

This is not a general travel scholarship, a conventional Holocaust studies course, or an unrestricted cash award. FASPE covers the costs of participating in the program so that financial circumstances do not prevent a selected Fellow from attending. In exchange, Fellows must prepare for the program, attend all activities, take part in demanding discussions and group travel, complete required pre-program writing, and produce a post-program capstone project in their professional field.

Key details

FASPE does not publish a single dollar value for the fellowship. Its official funding explanation lists round-trip economy airfare, transportation for group activities, admission fees, program materials, hotels, group meals, and pocket money for non-group meals. Travel from outside the United States to Berlin can also be covered. The program is therefore best described as fully funded participation rather than a fellowship with a personal stipend.

What the fellowship offers

The central benefit is an intensive learning experience built around place, history, professional practice, and discussion. Fellows travel to Berlin, Krakow, and Oświęcim, visit sites connected with Nazi history, and participate in daily seminars led by faculty with expertise in ethics, history, and the relevant profession. The program uses historical examples as a starting point for examining present-day choices, institutional pressures, professional power, and the responsibilities of people who influence communities.

The six programs do not all study the same cases. Business Fellows examine the role of companies and executives in enabling and executing Nazi policies, then consider issues such as compliance versus ethical behaviour, technology and business innovation, competing obligations, and ways to address ethical problems inside institutions. Law Fellows study the conduct of lawyers and judges and connect it to government lawyering, client and institutional loyalties, technological change, and the difference between legality and ethical action.

Design & Technology Fellows focus on architects, engineers, designers, computer scientists, and other technologists. Their discussions include whether technical competence can ever be separated from moral responsibility, the ethics of ambition and innovation, and ethical problems inside technology companies, architecture practices, engineering settings, and public institutions. Journalism Fellows examine the role of journalists in promoting, misreporting, or failing to challenge Nazi policies and then consider access, advocacy, elections, technology, misinformation, and the normalisation of harmful behaviour through media coverage.

The Medical program examines physicians’ participation in Nazi policies and relates that history to modern questions in medicine, research, and public health. The Clergy & Religious Leaders program is multifaith and considers professional responsibility, ethical education, reconciliation, pastoral leadership, prejudice, intolerance, and interfaith work. Fellows also meet participants from other tracks. Business, Law, and Design & Technology travel together, while Medical, Clergy, and Journalism travel together, creating an interdisciplinary setting rather than six isolated courses.

FASPE also provides a longer-term professional community. Fellows join an alumni network, and the organisation describes continuing conversations, events, online education, writing, lectures, symposia, and professional connections. That network is a secondary benefit, not a substitute for fit: the application should first show why the applicant’s background and questions belong in one of the six 2027 programs.

Who should consider applying

The right applicant is at a formative point in a profession and can contribute thoughtfully to a small, diverse group. FASPE looks for people who are open-minded, self-reflective, capable of leadership, and prepared to discuss difficult or controversial issues respectfully. The program is designed for people who can connect historical study to the ethical problems of their own work rather than treating the travel as a detached academic experience.

Eligibility is track-specific. Business applicants may be enrolled in an MBA or related graduate program, may have completed a related graduate degree and be working in business, or may hold an undergraduate degree and be working as a business professional. FASPE generally seeks people with no more than 10 years of professional experience. The business track can include people working in companies, nonprofits, startups, consulting, finance, and other business settings.

Clergy & Religious Leaders applicants must either be enrolled in graduate training for religious leadership or be working as a religious leader with a relevant graduate degree received in May 2020 or later. The track includes people preparing for congregational, chaplaincy, university, hospital, prison, corporate, or military service. Ordination or formal recognition is not required, and applicants from all faith traditions are encouraged.

Design & Technology applicants must be pursuing a career in architecture, design, computer science, data science, artificial intelligence, engineering, or a related field. They can be in a relevant graduate program, working in a related field after an undergraduate degree, or working after completing a graduate degree. FASPE generally seeks early-career applicants with no more than 10 years of professional experience.

Journalism applicants may have journalism experience from a college newsroom or another setting while enrolled in graduate school, may hold an undergraduate degree and work as a journalist, or may hold a graduate degree and work as a journalist. FASPE gives preference to work published or aired by a recognised news organisation, but the wider eligibility language includes reporters, editors, photojournalists, documentarians, and other storytellers.

Law applicants may be 2L or 3L students in a JD or equivalent program, legal professionals or clerks who received a JD no earlier than May 2020, or trainees and associates in systems where legal education is not postgraduate, up to the stated sixth-year-associate limit. Medical applicants must be enrolled in an MD, DO, or equivalent program and expect to complete at least one clinical year before the fellowship begins, or be enrolled in a residency program.

Citizenship is not restricted. FASPE says eligible candidates may apply regardless of citizenship or residence. The organisation can provide documentation to support visa applications, but applicants are responsible for making their own visa arrangements. Every Fellow must be able to attend the entire program from start to finish.

Application materials

The application is submitted through FASPE’s online Submittable portal. The first component is an online form requesting contact information, education, employment, and information about recommenders and references. Applicants should create enough time to review the live form because the short essay questions differ by professional track.

FASPE requires a resume or CV covering educational and employment history, honours, awards, and publications. It also requires transcripts from higher-education institutions where the applicant spent significant time. Electronic transcripts and scans of hard copies are accepted, and unofficial transcripts are allowed. Screenshots of online transcripts are not accepted. A first-year student without reported grades can submit a dean’s letter confirming enrollment, good standing, and ideally current classes; an admissions letter that does not identify the degree program is not enough proof of enrollment.

The short essay questions are one of the most important parts of the application. Each program has its own 2027 questions and gives a requested total response length. Read the questions before drafting and answer the track’s actual prompt. A strong response will make the applicant’s professional context visible, explain what ethical questions they are already confronting or prepared to explore, and show how their experience would enrich discussion with other Fellows.

Two recommendation letters are required. For students, FASPE prefers current or recent graduate faculty, though former graduate or undergraduate professors may also write. Early-career professionals can use supervisors or other employers. Letters are submitted directly by the recommenders through Submittable and are due January 10, 2027, one week after the applicant deadline. Ask early and give recommenders the program description, essay themes, CV, and exact submission instructions.

Timeline and participation requirements

The application deadline is January 3, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. ET. Recommendation letters are due January 10. FASPE aims to inform all Fellows of acceptance by early to mid-March. The program then takes place in one of two two-week windows: May 28–June 11 for Business, Law, and Design & Technology, or June 18–July 2 for Medical, Clergy & Religious Leaders, and Journalism.

The two weeks are full participation commitments. Fellows attend seminars, walking tours, historical site visits, group meals, and other scheduled activities. FASPE says Fellows can expect to walk one to two hours a day on average, including tours, travel between sites and meals, and two days at the Auschwitz Memorial Museum. Longer transfers are made by bus, including the group journey between Berlin and Krakow. Hotel rooms are shared with another Fellow, with roommates rotated during the program.

Before travelling, Fellows receive required readings such as articles, original documents, and book excerpts. They must complete one or two short writing assignments in response to a prompt, and submitting those assignments on time is a condition of participation. After the program, each Fellow completes a capstone project on a historical or contemporary ethics question in their professional field. Depending on the track, the project might be a paper, case study, article, sermon, or blog post. Some projects may be selected for the FASPE Journal.

These obligations matter for fit. Someone who can afford the travel but cannot reserve the dates, complete the readings, participate in emotionally difficult conversations, or finish the capstone should not treat the funding as the main reason to apply. FASPE is funding a structured cohort experience, not simply providing a free trip.

How to prepare a stronger application

Begin by choosing the correct track and reading that program’s eligibility page and 2027 essay questions. Do not write one generic statement about ethics and paste it into six different applications. The strongest application will be specific to the professional situations the applicant understands and to the kind of contribution they can make in a mixed cohort.

Make the connection between experience and inquiry concrete. Describe the work, study, reporting, clinical training, design practice, legal service, religious leadership, or business responsibility that has put ethical decisions in front of you. Then identify the questions you are still working through. The goal is not to claim perfect answers. FASPE’s own selection language values self-reflection and the ability to engage responsibly with different views, so a credible account of uncertainty can be more useful than a polished declaration that every ethical problem is simple.

Use evidence rather than labels. Instead of calling yourself a leader, describe a decision you helped shape, a difficult conversation you handled, a project you organised, or a moment when you accepted responsibility for consequences. Instead of saying you value diverse perspectives, explain how you have worked with people whose professional, cultural, political, or religious assumptions differed from yours. The examples should be truthful and proportionate; a small but specific experience is more persuasive than an inflated claim.

Prepare recommenders to address the qualities FASPE identifies. Its guidance asks recommenders to discuss academic or professional experiences that would enrich a contemporary professional-ethics program, participation in discussion, written and verbal expression, reactions to intense or diverse exchanges, ability to work and travel in small groups, and leadership potential. Send a short briefing early, and make sure the recommender knows which program and cohort dates you are targeting.

Finally, plan the practical side. Confirm that your passport or travel documents will be current, investigate visa requirements if applicable, and check whether your school or employer has any leave requirements. Tell FASPE about dietary, health, or accessibility needs as early as possible. The organisation says it makes efforts to accommodate dietary and other requirements, but early communication is better than assuming every arrangement can be made at the last minute.

Common mistakes to avoid

The first mistake is applying to FASPE as if it were a general Holocaust history fellowship. The organisation explicitly distinguishes its programs from a Holocaust studies course and from a genocide-prevention program. Historical material is central, but the purpose is professional ethics and leadership in present-day settings. Make that connection clear without reducing the historical study to a convenient metaphor.

The second mistake is ignoring track eligibility. A recent graduate in an unrelated field does not automatically qualify for every program. Check the exact student, degree, experience, and career requirements for Business, Clergy & Religious Leaders, Design & Technology, Journalism, Law, or Medicine before spending time on essays.

Do not submit a transcript screenshot, leave recommender requests until the deadline, or assume that a former professor cannot write. FASPE accepts unofficial transcripts and permits recommendations from appropriate former professors or work supervisors. The practical risk is not using the wrong kind of recommender; it is failing to give the right person enough time to submit directly through the portal.

Avoid presenting the funding as personal income. FASPE covers specified participation costs, including travel, lodging, meals, materials, and pocket money for non-group meals. It does not publish a general stipend, and the program’s support should not be described as a cash award that can be used for unrelated expenses.

Finally, do not underestimate the participation commitment. The program includes long walking days, shared accommodation, daily seminars, group travel, required readings, pre-program writing, and a capstone after the trip. Explain why this format fits your professional development and confirm that you can attend the complete assigned session.

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2027 FASPE application open?

Yes. The official application guidance says the 2027 application is open through January 3, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. ET. Recommendation letters have a separate January 10 deadline.

How much money does FASPE award?

FASPE does not state a single cash amount. It describes the fellowship as fully funded and lists covered costs such as round-trip economy airfare, group transportation, admission fees, program materials, hotels, group meals, and pocket money for non-group meals.

Do I need to be a U.S. citizen?

No. FASPE says eligible applicants may apply regardless of citizenship or residence. Fellows are responsible for their own visa arrangements, although FASPE can provide documents needed to support a visa application.

Can I apply if I am no longer a student?

Yes, if you fit the early-career eligibility rules for the selected program. The exact rules differ: for example, Law uses a recent-degree or training framework, Journalism accepts working journalists with undergraduate or graduate degrees, and Business and Design & Technology generally focus on early-career applicants with no more than 10 years of experience.

Must I belong to a particular religion for the Clergy program?

No. The Clergy & Religious Leaders program is multifaith. Applicants may be preparing for or working in practical religious leadership, and formal ordination or recognition is not required under the published guidance.

Can I attend only part of the trip?

No. FASPE requires Fellows to participate in the program from start to finish, including seminars, site visits, group activities, and travel. Check the assigned dates before applying.

Official links and next steps

Start with the official FASPE How to Apply page, which contains the online application route, required materials, track-specific 2027 essay questions, program dates, and contact email. Then read the FASPE Fellowships overview and the official page for the track that matches your background: Business, Clergy & Religious Leaders, Design & Technology, Journalism, Law, or Medical.

Before opening the application, confirm the track’s eligibility, save the essay questions, request transcripts, and ask two suitable recommenders. Draft answers from real examples of professional judgment, leadership, collaboration, and ethical uncertainty. Check the live Submittable form for any updated instructions, submit by January 3, and remind recommenders that their letters are due January 10. The official FASPE site is the final authority if any date, requirement, travel rule, or program detail changes.