Atlas Fellowship
India
A ₹ 10 Lakh scholarship for India's brightest minds who want to understand how the world really works.
Fellows (up to 50 students) receive:
• ₹ 10 Lakh scholarship
• A completely free 11-day program in Oxford, United Kingdom from 22 October—1 November, 2022 (including travel, visas, housing, food, and all other related expenses)
Finalists (up to 200 students) receive:
• ₹ 40,000 scholarship
Class IX, X, XI, XII studying/passed students in India. Students who did well in competitive exams and olympiads are highly encouraged to apply. If you come from a nontraditional background and/or haven’t taken exams, please still apply—especially if you've built impressive projects before or have deep knowledge in an intellectual field.
Complete a three-round application process consisting of a preliminary application, a written application, and two interviews. The entire application takes 4-5 hours. There are no essays, and previous applicants said they learned about interesting ideas during it.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. The earlier you apply, the more time you have for the later stages of the application, and the earlier you can be selected as a Fellow.
The application deadline for 2022 has passed.

If you nominate someone who applies and gets selected as an Atlas India Fellow (and they haven’t previously started an application), you’ll receive ₹ 10,000.


Give talented students tools to engage with our changing world.
The Atlas Fellowship wants to help smart, thoughtful students be aware of big, global changes, think about them clearly, and act on their beliefs. We think one of the best ways to learn is by building things, breaking things, and poking the world to see what it does—which is why we provide the funding, mentorship, and teammates students need to do so.

The Atlas Fellowship is one of the world’s largest scholarships for students interested in science, philosophy, and the future.
We have received $10 million USD from Open Philanthropy and the Future Fund to run the Atlas Fellowship in 2022.

Understand the forces that shape the world.
Don't just memorize a collection of facts—we want you to have the ability to confront tangled data and draw your own conclusions from it.

The Atlas Fellowship’s unique emphasis on casual discussion and individual thinking was at once invigorating, exhilarating, and inspiring. The fascinating concepts I learned and debated with my peers in this community led me on pathways to the impact that I’ve always wanted to make.
Fellowship Award
Receive a ₹ 10 Lakh scholarship for use on education and professional development-related expenses such as college tuition.
Participate in an 11-day program in Oxford, UK, with other Atlas India Fellows. The program runs from 22 October–1 November, 2022. Food, housing, transportation, visas, and all other costs to participate will be covered.
Access a $1 million USD fund that offers fast grants* to help Fellows learn, experiment, and launch new and innovative projects.
* We may decline to make an award if we are not able to comply with local laws. Specifically, non-scholarship grants to India may not be possible due to the FCRA.
Receive support on the college admissions process (if applying to foreign universities), and support on how to make the most of college when it comes to clubs, internship, research, and work experiences, gap years, etc.
Work with experienced mentors who will help you identify ambitious, impactful work and internship opportunities that are a good fit for your skills and interests.
Interact with an online community of other Atlas Fellows from around the world, including previous Fellows from other application rounds.
Receive free hardcopy books from our library, covering topics from math and science to how to make better decisions to the history and future of humankind.
Application Timeline
Stage 1: Preliminary Application
Time Commitment: 90 minutes
Applicants will know if they’ve proceeded to Stage 2 within five days after submitting. We recommend completing Stage 1 earlier, leaving more time for Stage 2.
Stage 2: Written Application
Time Commitment: 90 minutes
The Stage 2 application gives you a taste of the intellectual content at Atlas. If you enjoy thinking about the questions and concepts in the application, you will probably enjoy our Oxford program.
Stage 3: Interviews
Time Commitment: 90 minutes
Selected students will participate in a 30 minute individual interview and 60 minute group interview conducted online between 6-9 Sep. Applicants will be able to select a time slot that works best for them. No preparation is needed.
Fellows Selected
15 September, 2022
All applicants will be notified of their application status. Fellows will receive instructions on how to sign up for the Oxford program and claim their ₹ 10 Lakh scholarship.
Competitive Candidates
We expect that students who possess some of the traits and inclinations below or are determined to develop them will be great fits for the Atlas Scholarship. A good applicant probably possesses at least three of these traits, though there are sure to be plenty of exceptions. These are merely guidelines.
Indicators of this include working on a passion project that displays deep knowledge of a field, conducting original research, exceptional competitive exam performance (JEE-Mains AIR Top 1000, KVPY Top 500, NTSE Stage 2, representing India in olympiads, or similar), or achievements in competitions at the national level.
Do you seek out ideas that challenge your opinions? If you find evidence that contradicts your opinions, do you eagerly change your mind? Do you enjoy learning and exploring?