The Path to Impact:

Spring 2024 Next System Fellows Program

by Sara Aftab

How to Apply

The application deadline is October 31st, but our admissions committee will begin formal reviews as early as October 1st. Don't miss this opportunity to shape your future and be an important part of the Next System Studies community.

Apply here:

to.gmu.edu/fellows

Learn More

Discover more about our courses, internship program, and the new field of Next System Studies a truly transdisciplinary approach to preparing for a transition to a better society that unites the social sciences and humanities, business and management, environmental and physical sciences, and technology and computer sciences.

Read about 2022's cohort, our first Next System Fellows.

Take a look at this short video to get a sense of one of the types of activities experienced by our Fellows.

This is your chance to embark on a transformative educational journey, to prepare for a transition to a better society, and to make a real impact. Join us on this exciting adventure!

If you're a Mason undergraduate or graduate student who is passionate about making a meaningful impact on the world and you aspire to a career in public service, research, education, entrepreneurship, activism, law, or advocacy, the opportunity of a lifetime awaits you:

The Spring 2024 cohort of Next System Fellows is now open for applications, offering a unique way to realize your ambitions. Creating a new world system is our ultimate goal and the focus of our research. We are exploring the various pathways through which new configurations of political, economic, legal, technological, social, and ecological systems can be brought about, making possible a more democratic, sustainable, and just future.

Why Become a Next System Fellow?

We are proud that Next System Studies is involved in Mason's prestigious Arlington Fellows program. As a Next System Fellow, you'll have the chance to:

Intern with a partner organization, union, or research group, or with Mason’s own Democratizing NOVA, Digital Commonwealth, or Next Constitutions projects.
Set yourself up for a career in social and public service, organizing, research, technology, cooperative development, social entrepreneurship, teaching, and more.
Learn about and engage directly with real world next system projects such as worker cooperatives and solidarity economy initiatives, community owned enterprises and services, campaigns for abolition and political democracy, transition and resilient communities, democratic and sustainable technologies, non-violent conflict resolution and restorative justice projects, and more.
Join a cohort taking multiple courses together (four courses for undergrads, three for graduate and professional students):

- Next System Studies Seminar (required for all)*
- Internship Practicum (6 credits) (required for all)
- Power, Politics, and Society/Political Sociology Seminar (required for undergrads, elective for graduate students)
- Data, Technology, and Society/Social Networks, New Media, and Inequality (elective for all)
- Social Movements and Political Protest/Social Movement Studies Seminar (elective for all)

* note that if you have already taken one or more of these courses, you need not re-enroll again.

Your Spring 2024 semester will be transformed into a Next System Fellowship experience, as you study alongside peers, and collaborate closely with our esteemed faculty and community partners. This is the kind of college experience many of you have been searching for.

You can apply here: https://to.gmu.edu/fellows

For more information