Now Accepting Applications for the Class of 2026

Are you a student working towards a career in aerospace? We have good news: we are now accepting applications for the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship’s Class of 2026!

The Patti Grace Smith Fellowship was designed to be the perfect pathway into industry for talented, hard-working students who haven’t yet gotten their foot in the door. It provides key elements that can make all of the difference to someone just beginning their career:

• Interviews with several companies hand-chosen to be a good match to each student’s skills and interests;

• A paid summer internship with one of the nation’s leading aerospace companies;

• Personal, one-on-one relationships with two mentors — one who has already climbed to the peak of the aerospace industry, and another who is only a few steps ahead of you on that journey;

• A four day leadership development summit with your fellow Patti Grace Smith Fellows;

• A cash grant of $2,500 that can be used for tuition or for any other expenses related to your professional or academic development.; and

• Lifelong membership in an active community like-minded, talented peers in aerospace.

Our Fellows work with rockets, satellites, space stations, rovers, drones, airplanes, and more. Although most of our Fellows work in engineering fields, we also have had incredibly successful Fellows who work as scientists, journalists, investment analysts, policymakers, and more.

Our program has a proven track record of helping talented student start their careers and of helping companies connect with new talent. Roughly half of our most recent class will be returning to their employers next summer for an additional internship or even a full time job; and many of the others are tracking multiple potential job offers.

One way we’ve had such success is by connecting with and recognized talent in places and forms that often go overlooked. For the US to maintain and expand our global leadership in aerospace, and for individual companies and programs to maintain competitive advantages over their peers, it is vital that they be able to recruit and retain candidates with the highest degree of individual merit, aptitude, work ethic, and determination. Numerous reports and comments from leaders in industry, academia, and government have highlighted significant challenges in maintaining a world-class workforce, noting the clear need to identify talent in areas that are currently underutilized and underrepresented. This includes the community of Black Americans, who make up 12% of the US population, 13% of the overall US workforce, and 11% of the US undergraduate student population, but only 7.2% of the overall aerospace and defense workforce, and only 5.2% of aerospace and defense engineers – an indication that there is likely a large pool of talented, hardworking, and driven Black undergraduates who have to date gone unrecruited by the overall US aerospace workforce.

To be eligible to earn a Patti Grace Smith Fellowship, applicants must be:

• a current student in a Bachelors Degree program or in any year of an Associates Degree program;

• a US Citizen, US Permanent Resident, US National, a Refugee in the United States under 8 U.S.C. § 1157 or an Asylee in the United States under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, and legally permitted to work in the United States;

• not yet be part of the aerospace workforce; and

• a person of strong moral character who is dedicated to furthering the mission of our program and our community.

Our application process is designed to find talent among students who don’t yet have a lengthy resume. Being selected is difficult, but successful applicants can (and have!) come from any background.

So, to all our applicants out there: we wish you the best of luck! We encourage you to start soon and to put as much thought as you can into your essays in particular. Applications are due October 12th!

For any of you who are applying for a second, third, or fourth time, please know that repeat applicants are treated fairly and fondly.

The Patti Grace Smith Fellowship and our sister programs have successfully changed lives, unlocked doors, launched careers, and embraced talent that was too often left outside a locked door by the traditional aerospace community and the typical way it recruits, selects, and promotes people. We're honored to be changing the world in this important way. We hope that you will consider applying yourself, if you are eligible, and that you will spread the word to every undergrad in your life who is considering a career in aerospace!