Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship for Public Service: 2025-2027 Current Cohort; 2026-2028 Closed Cycle

Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship for Public Service: 2025-2027 Current Cohort; 2026-2028 Closed Cycle

Status: historical reference

The Obama Foundation’s official Voyager Scholarship page says that applications for the Voyager Scholarship for Public Service are now closed. The same page currently highlights the 2025-2027 Voyagers. This entry therefore serves two purposes: it points readers to the live official program page, and it preserves the details of the 2026-2028 intake as an archive record. It is not an open application listing, and no new application deadline is announced on the current official page.

The 2026-2028 application deadline was March 17, 2026, at 11:59 PM Central Time. That date has passed. Anyone looking for a future round should monitor the Obama Foundation’s program page and official updates rather than relying on the archived date below. The Foundation has not published a replacement deadline in the sources linked here.

At a glance

The amounts above describe the published program design, not money currently available through this page. The official program page presents the scholarship as a combination of financial aid, an immersive work-travel experience, and access to leaders and mentors. The Obama Foundation administers the program. Airbnb provides the travel credits and related support, while the FAQ says International Scholarship & Tuition Services (ISTS) administered the 2026 application and scholarship disbursement.

What the scholarship provides

The core award is up to $50,000 in last-dollar financial aid. The Foundation describes this as up to $25,000 per year for the student’s junior and senior years of college. “Last dollar” matters: the award is intended to help reduce the remaining burden of college costs after other aid is considered, rather than functioning as an unrestricted payment that automatically covers every expense. Students should consult their college financial aid office about how an award would interact with other assistance.

The Summer Voyage is the program’s distinctive experiential component. Between the junior and senior years, a Voyager receives a $10,000 stipend for travel and living expenses connected with an immersive work-travel experience. The official FAQ says the experience can be an internship, volunteer placement, research opportunity, or a combination of those activities. It also says that the experience must be at least six weeks long. Airbnb provides up to $4,200 in travel credits to support housing during the Summer Voyage. The student is responsible for coordinating travel and for costs that exceed the available support.

The Summer Voyage is designed by the student with program guidance. Participants identify a possible theme in the scholarship application, then develop a more detailed plan with workshops, coaching, and network connections. The plan and budget are reviewed and approved during the planning process. International travel is allowed, but the FAQ says it must be approved by program staff; students must also handle passport, visa, and other travel requirements themselves. The program does not guarantee an internship.

The longer-term benefit is an Airbnb travel credit of $2,000 each year for 10 years after graduation. The official page describes this as $20,000 in total support. The intended purpose is to help alumni continue building connections and learning through travel during their public-service careers. This benefit is separate from the Summer Voyage stipend and should not be counted as cash tuition aid.

The program also includes monthly virtual programming, speaker series and mentorship roundtables, Summer Voyage design workshops, coaching sessions, and access to a network of leaders. During the junior year, Voyagers may have the option to attend an in-person Fall Summit. After graduation, participants join the Obama Foundation’s global community and can access Foundation resources and programming. The scholarship is consequently a time commitment as well as a financial award.

Eligibility for the archived 2026-2028 intake

The criteria below are the last published criteria tied to the 2026 application. They are included to make the closed-cycle record useful for comparison and future monitoring. They should not be read as confirmation that a new round is open or that a future round will use identical rules.

Applicants had to be current college sophomores planning to enroll full-time in their junior year at an accredited four-year college or university in the United States in Fall 2026. The FAQ also included students transferring from a two-year college to a four-year institution for their 2026-2027 junior academic year. The Foundation’s explanation focuses on students at the transition into the third year of undergraduate study, not students already applying for graduate school or professional school.

Applicants had to demonstrate financial need. ISTS calculated need using a formula similar to the FAFSA and considered the financial information and supporting documentation supplied in the application. The published criteria also required a minimum 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale or equivalent, with unofficial transcripts uploaded as part of the application. The FAQ says selected students who seek renewal for senior year must maintain a 2.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale or equivalent and remain actively engaged in required monthly programming.

The program looked for a demonstrated commitment to public service and a plan to pursue a public-service career after graduation. The Foundation defines public service broadly. Its examples include government, nonprofit work, teaching, community organising, social work, socially impactful entrepreneurship, journalism, arts, and design. Eligibility is not limited to one major or degree field, but the applicant’s past experience and future direction needed to show a credible service orientation.

Status requirements for the archived intake were U.S. citizen, U.S. national, U.S. permanent resident with a Permanent Resident Card, or an individual granted deferred action under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Applicants also needed to commit to full participation in once-per-month programming, including individual meetings with coaches and network connections, as well as developing an actionable Summer Voyage plan.

The program is nonpartisan and does not require a particular political affiliation. However, the FAQ says applicants running campaigns for public office during the program term do not meet the eligibility criteria. Study abroad also required care: the published rules allowed scholarship funds only when the program was offered through an accredited U.S. four-year college or university, counted toward the degree, was paid through the U.S. institution, and had Obama Foundation approval. The Foundation reserved the right to deny funding if study abroad interfered with satisfactory participation.

How the closed application worked

The 2026-2028 application opened on January 28, 2026 and closed on March 17, 2026. The official FAQ specified a deadline of Tuesday, March 17, 2026, at 11:59 PM Central Time (UTC-6). Applications were then reviewed and scored by a selection committee. The published timeline listed finalist notifications in May 2026, scholarship notifications in July 2026, and fund disbursement from August through October 2026. The FAQ said the program began in August 2026.

Because applications are closed, there is no current submission step to complete. For historical reference, the published application asked applicants to provide evidence across several areas: academic performance; current and past public-service experiences; work experience; school and community activities; access to other leadership-development programs; a video answer; and essays about the applicant’s public-service vision, approach to working with others, and intended use of the program. The application also included financial-need sections and required unofficial transcripts.

Letters of recommendation were not required. That did not remove the need for evidence. A strong historical application would have needed concrete examples of service, work, leadership, and collaboration, plus a specific explanation of how the applicant’s proposed Summer Voyage connected to a public-service path. Applicants were expected to describe a direction they could develop through the program rather than simply state that they wanted to help people.

The 2026 application and scholarship disbursement were administered by ISTS, while the Obama Foundation administered the Voyager Scholarship itself. That distinction is useful for future applicants because a later application may use a different portal or administrator. The official program page and FAQ should be checked for any new instructions before a future submission; the archived steps here are not a promise that a later form will be identical.

Participation and renewal expectations

Voyager is a two-year program, not a one-time tuition payment. Monthly virtual sessions are expected to take place over Zoom for approximately 90 minutes, and the FAQ also describes individual coaching and network-connection sessions. Some months require additional work outside the regular session so that a participant can submit an actionable Summer Voyage plan on time.

The Summer Voyage planning sequence is substantial. The FAQ places design workshops between October and February of the junior year, with continued planning and support through the Fall Summit and the Foundation’s leader network. Participants select a meaningful work-travel experience, establish learning goals, prepare a budget, and obtain approval. A student who cannot make room for this work, or who expects the scholarship to operate without regular participation, would not be a good fit even if the financial criteria are met.

Renewal for senior-year support is not described as automatic. The Foundation’s discretion, continued eligibility, good standing, a 2.5 GPA or equivalent, and active participation in required monthly programming all matter. The FAQ also says students cannot defer scholarship funding for use in later semesters. The award can be applied only to undergraduate studies, and students must generally remain enrolled full-time to receive scholarship funding, although the Foundation may make accommodations in extenuating circumstances.

Who should monitor this page

This archive is most useful for current undergraduates, advisers, and scholarship-tracking teams who want to understand the profile of the Voyager program. It is especially relevant to students approaching the sophomore-to-junior transition who have public-service experience, documented financial need, and a realistic capacity for a two-year cohort commitment. It is not useful as a live March deadline listing: that deadline is over, the current program page says applications are closed, and the page currently presents the 2025-2027 cohort.

A sensible monitoring routine is simple. Keep the official program page bookmarked, subscribe to Obama Foundation updates if appropriate, and check the FAQ before preparing a new application. Confirm the cohort label, eligibility, application administrator, required documents, award structure, and deadline from the new official materials. Do not carry the 2026-2028 deadline into a future cycle, and do not assume that a new cycle exists merely because the scholarship has had multiple cohorts.

Official sources

• Program page and current status: https://www.obama.org/programs/voyager-scholarship/
• Official FAQ with the published eligibility, award, timeline, and application details: https://www.obama.org/programs/voyager-scholarship/faq/
• Official announcement for the archived 2026-2028 intake: https://www.obama.org/press-releases/the-obama-foundation-opens-applications-for-the-2026-2028-obama-chesky/

The practical conclusion is clear: the 2026-2028 Voyager Scholarship intake is closed, while the Obama Foundation’s live program page identifies 2025-2027 as the current cohort. The program itself remains described as a two-year public-service scholarship and leadership experience with substantial financial aid, a supported Summer Voyage, travel credits, and ongoing mentorship. Until the Foundation announces another application window, this page should be treated as a historical reference and monitoring link, not an invitation to apply.