Austin, TX & Remote

November 2022 - June 2023

polaris fellowship

Cultivating principled leadership
Discussion in the Oval Room
Mission

UATX’s inaugural Polaris Fellows join our vast network of entrepreneurs, business leaders, public intellectuals, and world-class scholars to engage in a rigorous study of classical and contemporary leadership.

The UATX Polaris Fellowship is a part-time, year-long program focused on cultivating principled leadership.

Polaris Fellows study the interaction between law, markets, and institutions through contemporary and classic texts, acquire fundamental leadership and managerial skills, and meet with leading-edge public and private entrepreneurs, among others.

Our inaugural fellowship attracted a highly competitive applicant pool, with a 9.8% acceptance rate. Successful applicants demonstrated the promise and drive to develop an idea for a public or private startup.

Our extraordinary cohort of fellows includes a former diplomat, a Princeton dropout/fintech first-hire, an Air Force Special Operations commander, and an accomplished cellist. Thanks to the generous support of our donors, tuition, lodging, and meals are covered. Fellowship applications are now closed. To find out when our next application cycle opens, subscribe to our newsletter.

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instructors & selected featured speakers

Judge Glock
Judge Glock
Director of Research & Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute; Contributing Editor, City Journal
John Papola
John Papola
Co-Founder & CEO, Emergent Order Foundation
Siri Terjesen
Siri Terjesen
Professor of Business & Associate Dean, Florida Atlantic University
Avik S. A. Roy
Avik S. A. Roy
President, The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity
Charles W. Calomiris
Charles W. Calomiris
Dean of the Center for Economics, Politics, & History, UATX
Eric Alston
Eric Alston
Scholar-in-Residence, University of Colorado, Boulder
Joe Milam
Joe Milam
Founder, AngelSpan/The Legacy Funds
Matt Ocko
Matt Ocko
Co-Managing Partner and Co-Founder of DCVC
John DeVine
John DeVine
Vice President of Global Operations, Meta
Tyler Cowen
Tyler Cowen
Holbert L. Harris Chair, Department of Economics, George Mason University
Joshua Katz
Joshua Katz
Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Amanda Bradford
Amanda Bradford
Founder and CEO of The League
Michael Fertik
Michael Fertik
Managing Director and Founder, heroic Ventures; Founder, Reputation.com
Katherine Boyle
Katherine Boyle
General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz
Pano Kanelos
Pano Kanelos
President, UATX
Roland G. Fryer
Roland G. Fryer
Professor of Economics, Harvard University
Greg Lukianoff
Greg Lukianoff
President & CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE)
Adrian Fenty
Adrian Fenty
Former Mayor or Washington DC; Founding Managing Partner, MaC Venture Capital
Arthur Brooks
Arthur Brooks
Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership, Harvard University
Linda Avey
Linda Avey
Co-founder of 23andMe & Precisely
Daniel Lubetzky
Daniel Lubetzky
Founder of KIND snacks
Ian Rowe
Ian Rowe
Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
22nd Prime Minister of Canada
Niall Ferguson
Niall Ferguson
Milbank Family Senior Fellow, Stanford University
Carlos Carvalho
Carlos Carvalho
Professor of Statistics, UT-Austin
Johnathan Bi
Johnathan Bi
Founding Team, Opto; René Girard Scholar
Joe Lonsdale
Joe Lonsdale
CEO of 8VC, Co-Founder of Palantir

select instruction

topics

Classical, Historical, and Contemporary Perspectives on Leadership

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Financial Markets and Institutions

At UATX, admissions, hiring, and promotions are earned, not gifted. We laud individual achievement, hard work, and ability.

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Foundations of Capitalism and a Free Society

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Building a Business

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Raising Capital for New Ventures

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Fintech and Crypto

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Corporate Responsibility and ESG

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polaris explained

meet our fellows

Eric Andresen
Austin, Texas
Teodor Cataniciu
Bucharest, Romania
Dave Fan
Brooklyn, New York
Jonathan Feld
New Haven, Connecticut
Ezra Gershanok
New York, New York
Jake Greenspan
New York, New York
Eric Hobby
Austin, Texas
John Kidenda
Nairobi, Kenya
Shlomo Klapper
Bronx, New York
Laura Komkov
Dripping Springs, Texas
Andrew Liu
Hamilton, New Jersey
Bohan Lou
San Francisco, California
Jordan-Nicolas Matte
Montréal, Canada
Gunnar Michelsen
Austin, Texas
Trent Nelson
Watertown, Massachusetts
John Pedro
Boston, Massachusetts
Jeff Pickhardt
Palo Alto, California
Carmen Rodriguez
Guatemala City, Guatemala
Cassandra Shand
Chula Vista, California
Valerie Shen
Menlo Park, California
Stephan Spazier
Austin, Texas
Michael Tartre
Austin, Texas
Corin Wagen
Boston, Massachusetts
Henry Wetherall
Denver, Colorado
Eliana Yang
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Kelvin Yu
Corvallis, Oregon
Daren Zhu
San Francisco, California

details And Requirements

Eligibility

Our Fellows are young professionals, many of whom are just starting their careers. Most of our Fellows have graduated college, though it is not necessary for applicants to have attended or graduated.

Location & Dates

The year-long fellowship is largely held remotely with three in-person weekends in Austin, TX.

applications are now closed.

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your questions answered

What are the requirements for the program?

Our Fellows are young professionals, many of whom are just starting their careers. Most of our Fellows have graduated college, though it is not necessary for them to have attended or graduated.

May Fellows work during the program?

The Polaris Fellowship is designed for working professionals. As such, Fellows may work full-time or part-time jobs during the program. Some of our Fellows are currently developing new ventures.

What is the cost to attend?

Thanks to the generous support of our donors, hotels, some meals, and activities are covered by UATX. Participants are responsible for covering their travel expenses to three planned in-person meetings.

What is required to apply?

1) A CV or résumé\n 2) Unofficial transcripts from any institutions of higher education that the applicant has attended\n 3) Unofficial record of one undergraduate or graduate standardized test score, e.g., SAT, ACT, GRE, LSAT, GMAT, etc.\n 4) Short bio\n 5) Two academic/professional/personal recommendations\n 6) Brief essay(s)\n 7) An academic or professional writing sample of no more than 15 pages

Are Fellows required to be U.S. citizens?

Fellows are not required to be U.S. citizens, but they must be proficient in the English language. During the application cycle, we highly recommended that non-U.S. applicants submit a writing sample to demonstrate their proficiency in English. At this time, we cannot help with visa applications.

Can Fellows receive college credit, continuing education credits, credit hours, a diploma, or any other measure of completion for participating in this program?

No, our program is not a credit-bearing or degree program. Fellows may not earn continuing education credits, credit hours, or a diploma for participation in this program. The program is a part-time enrichment program of no more than twenty hours of content per month.

Further questions?

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