YIF – FAQs

Your letter of recommendation should be written by a person who has been your mentor or colleague academically or professionally. It should not be written by a friend or relative.

The interviews are conducted by panel members who are part of the University Faculty, Senior Leadership, Alumni and the YIF Admissions and Programme Teams.

All personal interviews for the YIF Class of 2021-22 will be conducted online, keeping in mind physical distancing and safety protocols.

You should know your submitted application very well. We expect that during the interview, you will put forth the most authentic version of yourself. The interview is designed to be a conversation.

Yes, you are eligible. However, you should be able to converse, read and write in English given that the medium of instruction at the YIF is English.

No specific skill, background or technical experience is necessary to be eligible for the Fellowship. The selection committee looks for consistent decent academic performance by an applicant. It also looks for activities carried out by the applicants during school and college, which showcases their excellence at sports, performing or fine arts, science and technology or commitment to social service and helping others. We look for the individual’s ability to work well in a collaborative environment, aptitude for leadership, communication skills, humility and adaptability.

The selection procedure at the Young India Fellowship is holistic and takes into account the context and journey of each candidate. While academic performance is important, it is one of the many aspects in your application. We understand that not all candidates have had access to a variety of extra or co curricular opportunities. We encourage candidates to share their non-academic engagements in a separate section of the application, which may include personal interests and hobbies as well.

Apply online by registering on apply.ashoka.edu.in.

Kindly refer to the YIF Admissions Schedule for further updates.

The status of your application will be communicated to you as the process evolves, through email. The earlier you apply within a round, the earlier your application will be reviewed.

No. You can complete the online application in multiple sessions and have the option to save parts of the application as you proceed.

No. You are not required to send us a printed copy of the application form.

Uploading of most documents is optional at the time of application submission. However, we expect you to upload a photograph in the personal details section of the application. If you are shortlisted for the online writing test and personal interview, we would require you to upload your documents on the portal.

Yes. You may apply with your provisional degree duly attested by your respective academic institution.

Yes. You can reapply but not within the same academic year. You will have to submit a fresh application the following year.

Yes, we do.

There is no need to submit a separate resume. The online application module will generate a resume in the required format with the details you have filled as part of the application. It includes your Academic details, Employment details as well as Awards, Achievements and Extracurricular Activities.

There is no pre-defined number of applicants that will be called for the interview or for admission.

For the Class of 2021-22, we will select approximately 200 individuals.

The Young India Fellowship is a year-long residential programme, starting in August and concluding with convocation in early July the next year. Fellows are required to stay in the housing provided through the University.

No, there is no such option. However, the candidate may re-apply in the following academic year (the next admissions cycle).

The duration of the YIF programme is a year.

You can find a course catalogue with the names of the faculty members on the Courses page.

Your workload will vary based on your electives, ELM project, and the Critical Writing programme. But on an average the YIF requires you to put in at least 6-7 hours of work every working day.

Yes, you may attend undergraduate classes as well, provided you have permission from the faculty member whose class you would like to attend.

There is an attendance policy in place. Out of the 10 classes for each subject taught at the YIF, one is eligible to miss only 2 classes without any penalty. Beyond that, a Fellow will be liable to receive a grade cut, or an F grade, which would mean no credits for the course.

You will be working on a project based on your liking and background in groups of 5 Fellows. The Experiential Learning Module at the YIF complements the academic work with real work experience. The ELM work is supported by a team of coaches who provide essential guidance on gaining experience in research and fieldwork or the development sector; structuring business problems, data-analysis and presentations and training you for interests that lie outside of your expertise. Fellows undertake an seven month-long engagement with an organisation after completing the first two terms of the YIF programme.

The Fellows’ mentors are pioneers and leaders in their fields, who have created new organisations, led multi-national companies as well as reputed academic institutions, or have triggered new ways of thinking. They come from diverse sectors like media, civil services, cultural conservation, consulting, non-profits, banking, IT, etc.

The list of mentors will be made available to Fellows in the course of the year by the YIF programme team.

Kindly refer to the Fee and Financial Aid page for the fee structure of the program.

No

The candidate will have to make the entire payment (as applicable, depending on the financial aid grant) before the start of the programme and may do so in 3 instalments. We make exceptions to this plan on a case-by-case basis depending on the circumstances of a candidate.

You may do so through the Online Payment Gateway on the Ashoka University Website, or via RTGS/NEFT/Demand Draft/Cheque.

There are three kinds of career development opportunities each Young India Fellow can avail of while at the Fellowship:

Entrepreneurial: There are guest talks and boot camps for budding entrepreneurs hosted by the Centre for Entrepreneurship. Yearly events like Start-Up Ashoka help you incubate your ideas.

Jobs: There are two career weeks that are held in the course of the year. Career weeks are based on guest talks, and workshops which focus on helping you understand the workings of diverse sectors/industries, skill building and exposure. Career weeks help you build your resume and cover letter writing skills. They also prepare you for group discussions, and personal interviews. Workshops are held to help build your skills in Excel, Linkedin, Stata, R, visual communication, and so on.

Higher Education: Typically, around 25% of each class of YIF goes in for higher studies.

Yes. For more information, please view the placement page here.

The YIF programme enjoys the support of reputed companies and associations, and of mentors, donors and institutions. It will be an invaluable opportunity to forge relationships for the future and widen your frames of reference. For the Young India Fellow who aspires to a career that is off the beaten track, the Fellowship is committed to helping them build that career. No matter what you wish to do, the Young India Fellowship aspires to be an invaluable launch-pad. Kindly refer to the Career Development Office page for a detailed understanding of placements.

No. You cannot be a full-time employee during the one-year course of the programme. We do not encourage working even part-time while you are with us as your schedule with us will be very hectic.

The Ashoka University campus has space for performing arts, poetry, music, cinema, sports and culinary exploits. There is a fully equipped sports block, a piano room, a professional sound recording studio, a media lab updated with the latest technology, a mini-amphitheatre, and an art studio. There are various clubs and societies on campus which help you explore your interests. For more information, please visit the Campus Life page.

For information on sports facilities, please visit the Campus Life page.

Ashoka University is located in Rajiv Gandhi Education City, Sonipat, Haryana.

The Fellows will be staying at a fully furnished residential facility at the Ashoka University Campus. Each room will be shared by two students and will be organized separately for different gender expressions.

Yes, meals are provided at the mess, four times a day, for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner. There are various food outlets on campus as well, some of which offer dining options late at night.

Visiting hours are up to 8 pm. No visitor can stay on campus beyond this time.

Ashoka University runs a dedicated shuttle service for students, staff and faculty that plies between Campus and Jahangirpuri (the closest metro station – Yellow Line) in Delhi every hour. The frequency of shuttle services is different for peak hours, weekends and holiday seasons, so as to accommodate most individuals.

Yes. The Young India Fellowship is a residential program. Fellows are compulsorily enrolled into hostels, with rooms provided on a twin sharing basis. However, residents of Delhi and Fellows with family and friends in Delhi, may choose to stay off-campus in their free time as per the scheduling of classes, ELM, and other engagements on campus.

Ashoka University runs its own shuttle service from Jahangirpuri metro station till the campus in Sonipat, Haryana. The shuttle service is monitored by the administrative team at Ashoka University. Therefore, travelling to Ashoka University from Jahangirpuri metro station by the shuttle service is safe, even late in the night. The last shuttle runs from Jahangirpuri at 11 pm.