Application Deadline: February 21, 2025
Applications are now open for the 2025 McCain Institute Global Leaders Program. To adapt to and meet the needs of an ever-changing and complex global environment, the McCain Institute will determine a global thematic focus area as well as technical areas of focus for each region and recruit participants who work on relevant issues related to each theme. Throughout the 12-month program, the Leaders will participate in programming that is both regional and global with the goal of connecting them to a highly relevant and targeted professional peer group in their home region, as well as a broader and diverse network of global peers.
2025 Global Theme: Advancing Democracy and Human Rights
2025 Regional Themes
- Western Hemisphere: Protecting the Human Rights of Migrants
- Europe and Eurasia: Countering the Spread of Authoritarianism
- Africa and the Middle East: Building the Foundations for Conflict Resolution
- Asia and Oceania: Managing the Great Power Competition in the Asia-Pacific
Leaders are selected through a competitive, open recruitment process. There are up to 25 Leaders per annual cohort broken into 4 regional groupings. Though there is no age requirement, Leaders are typically between the ages of 25 and 45. Leaders should possess a strong track record of serving a cause greater than oneself as well as experience working directly on the global theme of defending democracy and their respective regional theme. The McCain Institute emphasizes diversity in the form of gender, ethnicity, persons with disabilities, political viewpoint, economic background, and education.
Eligibility Requirements
- Applicants should be mid to senior- career professionals, possess excellent working proficiency in English, and actively work on the focus issue areas of the program as it relates to the global and regional theme.
- Aspiring McCain Global Leaders (MGLs) should work in a leadership role in their field, and actively be “in the arena” striving to enact change in their home communities.
- Applicants should be committed to serving a cause greater than oneself and should be invested in full participation in virtual engagements, in-person programs and post program alumni activities.
- There is no minimum educational requirement no requirement for a specific field or job area.
Program Schedule
Leaders will participate in three impactful in-person events, which will be enhanced by online learning. They include expert-led practical skills trainings and an integrated leadership development curriculum inspired by Senator McCain’s legacy and emphasizes peer-mentoring and group problem-solving.
Benefits
- Participants will receive a stipend meant to cover incidental expenses incurred throughout the program. However the direct costs of participation in the program (economy class travel, hotels, visas) will be fully covered by the McCain Institute.
- There will be no cost of participation other than the time commitment that MGLs make to participate in programming.
Summer 2025
The McCain Leadership Curriculum: Throughout the program, Leaders participate in a curriculum that is administered both online and in person. The curriculum is designed to incorporate lessons and experiences from Senator McCain’s life, to reinforce and augment in-person engagements and to focus on community building and group problem-solving. A central tenet of the curriculum is a dynamic peer-mentorship model, through which the Leaders support each other’s journeys directly. The curriculum will help each leader chart their own journey as a changemaker while also imparting real-world skills that will assist leaders as they take on some of the most difficult challenges facing their home country and region.
Fall 2025
(Annapolis, M.D. and Washington, D.C.): The first in-person event of the program, the Leadership Experience, brings together all participants for the first time at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and in Washington, D.C. The 10-day long program exposes leaders to the principles that guided Senator McCain’s leadership approach and connects them with experts in their core thematic areas and with key decision-makers. Leaders will also work together and with experts to establish their own leadership philosophy and goals.
Winter 2025/2026
The Changemaker Tour (Host Country in Each Region): The second in-person event of the program convenes each regional cohort and members of the Global Advisory Council for five-day regional study tours that provide exposure to the global theme of defending democracy in a host country and focuses on developing targeted regional connections and networks, while providing the opportunity to discuss solutions and ideas related to the theme. Leaders will be encouraged, but not required, to explore regional professional collaborations – the McCain Institute will actively support any resulting collaborations. There will be one Changemaker Tour for the participants in each respective region. Past Changemaker Tours have occurred in Colombia, Poland, Singapore, and South Africa.
Spring 2026
The Legacy Experience (Vietnam): The capstone program of the 10-month journey will, for a second time, bring all Leaders together in a country of significance to Senator McCain’s own leadership journey. The Legacy Experience will take place in Vietnam and examine the journey and relationship between Senator McCain and the people of Vietnam. During this seven-day trip, Leaders, MGL Alumni and members of the Global Advisory Council will convene to reflect on their experience during the program, share how their own leadership philosophies have evolved, explore professional collaborations, outline the next steps of their leadership journey, and learn about the resources that they can access as program alumni.
If you have a question, please email leadershipinitiatives@mccaininstitute.org.
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the McCain Institute Global Leaders Program
