You have spent years fighting inequality on the ground. Now one of the world’s top universities wants to back you with time, tools and a lifelong community. Applications close 11 January 2027.
Be honest with yourself for a second. When was the last time you had real room to step back from the work, think clearly, and ask what would make your impact ten times bigger?
If the answer is “not in a long time,” this opportunity was made for you.
The Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity (AFSEE) programme has officially opened applications for its 2027/28 cohort. It is a fully funded fellowship based at the International Inequalities Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and it is looking for people who are already doing the hard work of tackling inequality, wherever in the world they are.
What Is the AFSEE Fellowship?
AFSEE brings together policymakers, researchers, activists, practitioners, artists and movement builders from across the globe. The goal is to explore and challenge the root causes of inequality, not just its symptoms.
The programme launched in 2016 and marks its tenth anniversary in 2026/27. In its first ten cohorts, it has gathered more than 160 changemakers from 60 countries. The long term vision is a community of 400 Fellows over two decades. The 2027/28 intake will be the eleventh cohort.
Programme leaders describe the fellowship as a rare chance to pause, reflect, refocus and build the skills and networks needed to make a bigger difference later on.
Who Should Apply?
This fellowship is aimed at mid career social change leaders with at least seven years of experience challenging inequalities. It is not for beginners, and it is not limited to one profession.
Applications are open to people working across many areas, including:
- Economic and social rights
- Sustainability and environmental justice
- Tax justice and economic alternatives
- Women’s, minority and disability rights
- The right to education
- Public policy
- Housing and urban inequalities
- Labour rights
- Community organising
- Arts and culture
- Peacebuilding and transitional justice
The list is not exhaustive. If your work fights inequality and you have the experience to show for it, you belong in this conversation.
Two Ways to Take Part
AFSEE gives you a choice, which matters if uprooting your life for a year is not realistic.
The Residential track. You spend a year in London and complete the MSc in Inequalities and Social Science at LSE. Alongside the degree, you take part in four bespoke fellowship modules.
The Nonresidential track. You stay in your home country and keep working in your own context. You develop a practice based project and join Residential Fellows, online and in person, for the fellowship modules. When you complete the active fellowship year, you receive a Postgraduate Certificate in Social and Economic Equity.
Both tracks share the same modules, which draw on academics, practitioners, campaigners and civil society professionals. They cover the foundations of social and economic inequalities, policy for equity, how to challenge and transform inequality, and the live debates shaping the field.
The Real Prize Comes After the Fellowship Year
Many fellowships end when the certificate is handed out. This one does not.
AFSEE is a lifelong fellowship. After the active year, you move into the Senior Fellowship, which opens access to funding, initiatives and collaborative projects for professional development, learning and knowledge exchange. You also join the wider Atlantic Fellows community across all seven Atlantic Fellows programmes worldwide, supported by the Atlantic Institute at the Rhodes Trust in Oxford.
Past Fellows say the experience helped them connect their local work to the global structures they are trying to shift, and that every session challenged assumptions and amplified voices that are rarely heard. That is the kind of environment most change leaders never get to enjoy.
Key Details at a Glance
- Programme: Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity, 2027/28 cohort
- Host: International Inequalities Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science
- Funding: Fully funded
- Who it is for: Mid career social change leaders with at least seven years of experience challenging inequalities
- Tracks: Residential (London) and Nonresidential (home country)
- Deadline: 5.00pm GMT on 11 January 2027. Late applications will not be accepted.
Your Move
You have just over three months, and strong applications are not written the night before a deadline. Start by gathering the evidence of your work: the campaigns you led, the policies you shaped, the communities you served. Then decide which track fits your life and your goals, and begin drafting.
Inequality will not fix itself, and the people best placed to fix it are the ones already in the trenches. If that is you, this is your invitation to go further, with a global community behind you for life.
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