Introducing the OSE Fellowship

Announcement: A World-Changing Opportunity

Open Source Ecology (OSE) is excited to introduce the OSE Fellowship, a four-year, a $100,000 work-study grant to empower young people to re-imagine and re-build civilization. 

About the OSE Fellowship

The OSE Fellowship is a unique opportunity for individuals aged 18-24 who are seeking a radical alternative to traditional education and career paths. Fellows will dedicate themselves full-time to OSE’s on-site campus in the Kansas City area, working to reinvent civilization and create a world that works for everyone – a collaborative, open society known as the open civilization.

This program is designed for those with an exceptional desire to:

• Change the world through open collaboration.
• Promote a collaborative and open society based on abundance, rather than artificial scarcity.
• Develop essential skills in learning, design, and personal growth.
• Cultivate character and leadership abilities.
• Unleash their innovative potential.

The OSE Fellowship, introduced in 2025 to accelerate the shift towards a sustainable future, supports young people in gaining the skills and experience to become effective change agents. We are currently offering four (4) OSE Fellowships grants, and are actively fundraising to offer at least four more in 2025. The first cohort of Fellows begins on September 1, 2025. We are recruiting a total of 24 Apprentices and Fellows. See more about the Apprenticeship here.

Program Structure (Fellowship and Apprenticeship)

Both the OSE Fellowship and the OSE Apprenticeship programs involve:

• Two days of work-study per week, combined with a curriculum focused on:
  • Learning how to learn.
  • Designing a wide range of systems and technologies.
  • Developing integrated personal skills.
• A competency-based pay scale for work-study, both during and after the program, that rewards student initiative.
• The option to build a micro-house for on-campus living after six months (contingent on meeting required competencies), as part of a micro-civilization experiment to gather feasibility and replicability data.
• A two-week humanitarian service trip abroad each year.
• Two hours of community service each week.
• The option to participate in special projects or work opportunities for six weeks during the summer.

OSE Fellowship Details

In addition to the core program structure, OSE Fellows receive:

• A $100,000 grant over four years.
• Free tuition.
• Compensation for any work-study time that exceeds the $100,000 grant amount.
• Placement in the Leadership/Enterprise Track.
• A course load of 12-15 curriculum credits per semester.

OSE Apprenticeship Details

The OSE Apprenticeship offers a similar immersive experience, with the following details:

• Tuition ranging from $5,000 to $20,000, depending on the chosen track.
• Work-study compensation ranging from $14 to $40 or more per hour, based on competency.
• A course load of 9-12 curriculum credits per semester.
• Open to all age groups, with a preference for college-age individuals.
• Our Vision

OSE is committed to providing radical re-skilling to empower individuals to rebuild the world through open, collaborative approaches. Both the Fellowship and Apprenticeship programs offer a pathway to participate in an “accelerator for accelerators,” equipping participants with the vision and skills to establish startup cities focused on creating universal basic assets. This includes learning how to perform a 5-day swarm-build of affordable eco-homes.

We recognize that our approach is unconventional. We’ve seen nothing quite like it, and we believe it represents a necessary step towards a more sustainable and equitable future.

Apply Today

The application process for the OSE Fellowship is the same as for the OSE Apprenticeship. Please begin the five-step application process by submitting your Video of Interest, and be sure to mention your interest in the Fellowship in your introduction.

Get Involved: Sponsor Additional Fellowships

OSE is a 501(c)(3) federally-recognized nonprofit organization in the USA. We are soliciting funding for additional Fellowships.  You can sponsor a Fellowship and bring this work to your community. Please email marcin at opensourceecology dot org for more information.