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Yale Silver Scholars

Unique opportunity for ambitious college seniors to pursue a Yale MBA degree immediately after graduation and begin an accelerated career path in any industry.

Preview image for the video "Barry Nalebuff on the Silver Scholars Program".

As a Silver Scholar, you will spend your first year at Yale SOM developing the basic skills and mindset of a manager through our innovative core curriculum. After the first year, you will work full-time for one or more years; this extended professional experience will put your management education into practice, develop your leadership skills, and give you a competitive advantage as you pursue a permanent position. After your work experience, you will return to campus for the conclusion of the MBA program, taking electives at Yale SOM and elsewhere at the university in the areas that most interest you and support your career goals.

While at Yale, you will learn from our renowned faculty of scholars and active practitioners, and you will have the benefit of your classmates' diverse life and work experiences. The Yale SOM Career Development Office will help you examine possible career paths, develop your networking and interview skills, and pursue an internship and a post-MBA position. The Yale SOM alumni network will serve as a resource during your job search and throughout your life.

Program Overview

FIRST YEAR
Yale SOM Core Curriculum

Inter-Program
Full-time Professional Experience/s (one or more years)

FINAL YEAR
Yale Elective Courses

Frequently Asked Questions

Silver Scholars pursue varied paths for their internships and post-graduation. Silver Scholars have secured internships at organizations such as Booz Allen Hamilton, Boston Consulting Group, CARE, Coca-Cola, Dow Jones, Motorola, Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Pfizer, Time Inc., the U.S. State Department, and Vanguard. Graduates of the Silver Scholars Program have gone on to full-time positions at organizations including Barclays Capital, Boston Consulting Group, British Petroleum, Citigroup, Google, Kimberly-Clark, Mercy Corps, Nationwide Insurance, the New York Times Company, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the U.S. Treasury.

Silver Scholars are chosen for their combination of intelligence and common sense, maturity and curiosity, passion and compassion. Each has made a difference and distinguished themselves in a particular field of interest. We are looking for college seniors who will be future leaders in business, government, and nonprofit endeavors.

Applicants to the Yale SOM Silver Scholars Program complete the same online application as the  full-time MBA program. Additional instructions for Silver Scholar applicants: 

Only current college seniors are eligible to apply. Your graduation date must be on or after December 1, 2022. You must be scheduled to graduate (complete all coursework and submit a final transcript with proof of undergraduate degree conferral) by August 1, 2023. If you have any questions about eligibility (if you have had previous full-time work experience, if you went directly into another graduate program, etc.) you may email us  for more individualized guidance.

Silver Scholars must provide two letters of recommendation: one (1) letter from an academic instructor and one (1) letter from an employer. Academic recommendation: This should be a faculty member who has taught you in class and graded your performance. Employer recommendation: This is someone for whom you have worked professionally in some capacity during college  (full-time during a summer internship or part-time during the academic year). If you have no work experience, then you may secure a letter from an extracurricular activity or volunteer organization in which you have been actively involved.

If invited to interviewSilver Scholar applicants have one half-hour interview with one or more members of the Silver Scholars Committee. The interview will focus on your personal goals and interests, and your academic background.

International students are welcome to apply. If your undergraduate degree is a three-year course of study, you are eligible to apply in your final year.

For the Work Experience section of the application: Do not list any work (part-time, full-time, or summer internships) that took place during your undergraduate studies in this section; instead, be sure to include them in your resume.

For the Activities section of the application: You may use this space to highlight up to two (2) activities to which you dedicate a significant amount of time outside of class. You may include additional activities on your resume. If you are still an undergraduate, do not make any entries under “Post-undergraduate Activities.”

Meet Yale Silver Scholars

Mena Cammett

“After spending the last seven years helping investors manage country risk in emerging markets, it’s clear to me that the Silver Scholar Program paved the way for my career.”

—Mena Cammett ’12

“The Silver Scholars Program has been an invaluable asset for my personal and professional development.”

—Andrey Simeonov ’21

andrey simeonov portrait
Kelly Xu portrait

“SOM taught me how to think about my career choice systematically in terms of industry, function, and career path.”

—Kelly Xu ’17

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