Designed to enhance the education of future international leaders, the Fox International Fellowship Program is a direct two-way student exchange partnership between Yale University and eleven of the world's leading universities in Russia, England, Germany, China, Japan, France, India, Mexico, Turkey, Israel, and South Africa. It was established to identify and support talented individuals who will be future leaders in their respective fields and who, by virtue of those leadership positions, will contribute to decisions affecting global policies and international relations. The Fox International Fellowship Program utilizes international scholarly exchange as a medium through which promising young intellectuals can pursue academic research, immerse themselves in the local language and culture of another country, and develop lasting friendships with peers from other countries, with the goal of better understanding the people and institutions, thereby building a solid foundation from which to contribute to peaceful coexistence worldwide.

The Fox International Fellowship Program began in 1989 as a graduate and professional student exchange program and has now, over a decade later, been expanded to include graduating college seniors. The Program is based at Yale University, one of the premier universities in the United States, where world leaders in industry, finance, education and government have been trained. The partner institutions are equivalent in excellence, breadth of resources and research, and similarly attract the future leaders of their respective countries. They include Moscow State University, Sidney Sussex College at Cambridge University, the Free University of Berlin, Fudan University in Shanghai, the University of Tokyo, Institut d'etudes de Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), Jawaharlal Nehru University, El Colegio de Mexico, Bogazici University, Tel Aviv University, and University of Cape Town.

Fox Fellows continue to be enrolled in their home institution while carrying out independent research projects at their host institution. As Fox Fellows they have full use of the resources of the host university, allowing them to undertake research, work with faculty, utilize archives and library resources as well as audit courses, take domestic professional development trips and interact with other students.

The Fox Fellows' fields of study reflect the areas around which many of the world's major decisions revolve: law, economics, finance, environmental policy, business, political science, international relations and contemporary history.

The Program provides support for airfare and housing expenses, a stipend for living expenses, as well as some in-country travel related to research. Priority is for a full academic year, although shorter term awards are possible.

The Fox International Fellowship Program is guided by the vision and generosity of Joseph Carrère Fox (Yale '38) and his wife, Alison Barbour Fox, whose lifelong commitment to encouraging better understanding between the US and other countries led them to offer support for exchanges between Yale and leading universities worldwide.

The program is administered by The MacMillan Center Center, Yale University's principal agency for coordinating international activities. A similar administrative unit manages the Program at each of the seven partner institutions.