To continue empowering tomorrow’s leaders, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and Student Veterans of America (SVA) will once again host the 2025-2026 VFW-SVA Legislative Fellowship, providing exemplary student veterans the opportunity to make their voices heard on Capitol Hill and in their community. This program has been held annually since 2014.
Candidates will undergo evaluation based on the following criteria:
- Current VFW membership (or eligible for VFW membership)
- Proof of current enrollment (e.g. unofficial transcript, class schedule, letter from school, etc.) at an accredited college or university during the fellowship program
- Proof of military service (DD214-member 4 copy, preferred). Click here to make sure you are protecting your personal information on your DD214.
- This program is open to all majors, and some may be eligible for college credits.
- Submission of an essay (length 3-5 pages). The submission should consist of a discussion of why advocacy is important to the veteran community and how the fellowship candidate plans to address solutions through community-based advocacy.
- Submission of a 30 to 60 second video describing why you want to become a VFW-SVA Legislative Fellow. For help with your video submission, click here.
- Virtual or phone interview with the selection committee
The 2025/2026 VFW-SVA Legislative Fellowship program is scheduled from October 2025 to March 2026. Chosen Fellows will work with VFW and SVA staff on a shared policy priority. Selected fellows will attend and participate in SVA’s Leadership Institute from Oct 16 – 18, 2025, followed by the 18th Annual SVA National Conference in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Jan. 8 – 10, 2026. They will then be flown to Washington, D.C., to ensure the veterans’ message is delivered to Capitol Hill alongside 500 fellow advocates as part of the VFW Washington Conference, Feb. 28 – March 5, 2026.
Travel expenses will be covered for both trips to include airfare, hotel accommodations, local transportation to/from meetings and a per diem allowance.
The application period for the 2026 fellowship class are now open. Applications must be received no later than Sept. 12, 2025.
If you have questions on the VFW-SVA Legislative Fellowship program, please contact us.