Frequently asked questions.

ISDL is open to emerging and established leaders worldwide — including founders, people working in organisations, public servants, and community change-makers. Formal management experience is not required. What we look for is evidence of reflection, curiosity, and a willingness to challenge assumptions constructively.

Every complete application is assessed against the same published rubric: motivation and programme fit, critical thinking, reflective capacity, initiative, ethical and systems awareness, contribution to the cohort, and readiness. Final decisions are made by authorised human reviewers. AI may help summarise answers against the rubric, but it never makes an admission or scholarship decision.

Yes. Once you create an account, your application saves as you go. You can return at any time before the deadline from your applicant dashboard.

We aim to reach decisions within the service period published on the Admissions page, counted from the date your application is complete. If we need more information, we will contact you through your dashboard and by email.

If you believe there was a factual error in how your application was handled, you can request a review through the contact form. If you need to correct information after submission, contact admissions; changes are made through a logged correction process so the reviewed version remains clear.

No. Scholarship consideration is part of the application. You can select one, several, or none of the scholarship categories and provide a short statement.

No. Selecting an award indicates that you would like to be considered. Awards depend on the published criteria, available funding, and the review outcome. Only a written scholarship decision from ISDL confirms an award.

By default, each admitted learner receives at most one scholarship percentage. Awards are not stacked unless the published terms for that cohort say otherwise.

Admission and scholarship decisions are recorded separately. You can be admitted without a scholarship, with a scholarship, or with a scholarship decision still pending.

Twelve weeks, organised as three four-week modules. Each week contains one learning unit: a lecture, reading, knowledge check, reflection, and applied task.

Most learners need five to seven hours per week. Some weeks, particularly the capstone week, may require more.

The core programme is delivered online in weekly units released to the whole cohort, so you learn alongside others while choosing when in the week to study. Any optional live sessions will be announced to the cohort with joining details.

A modern web browser on a laptop, tablet, or phone, and an internet connection capable of streaming audio or video. All lessons have transcripts, so you can learn in text if bandwidth is limited.

Tutor Assist is an AI learning assistant available only to enrolled learners inside lessons. It answers questions about the approved ISDL course materials you have access to, helps you practise, and supports reflection. It does not answer unrelated questions, does not provide quiz answer keys, and does not make any academic or administrative decisions.

Weekly knowledge checks are scored automatically, with explanations. Applied tasks and the capstone are reviewed against published rubrics. AI-assisted feedback may be offered as a formative aid and is always labelled; it does not determine results.

You will receive a supportive reminder, and you can contact the course team about pacing or adjustments. Completion requirements are visible in your dashboard from the start.

Learners who meet all published completion requirements receive an ISDL Certificate of Completion with a unique certificate number and an online verification page. It is not an academic degree or accredited qualification.

Complete all twelve weekly units, pass the required knowledge checks at the published threshold, submit the capstone, and meet the academic integrity policy. Any exception must be approved and is logged.

You can describe what would help in the optional, confidential accommodation question in the application, or contact us at any time. You do not need to share a diagnosis.

Lessons are designed to meet WCAG 2.2 AA as a target: keyboard navigation, captions and transcripts for all audio and video, text descriptions of key visuals, and quizzes that do not rely on colour or drag-and-drop.

Only for admissions, scholarship consideration, and programme administration, as described in our privacy notice. Uploaded documents are stored privately and accessible only to authorised staff through short-lived secure links.

No. ISDL does not use application essays to train external AI models. Where AI assists reviewers, only the minimum necessary data is sent to the configured provider, and the provider's data-use settings are reviewed.

Tuition is published for each cohort on the Cohorts & Calendar page and in your offer letter, together with any scholarship value and the remaining balance. No fee is charged unless it is published.

Withdrawal and refund terms are set out in the admissions and scholarship policy for your cohort and in your offer letter. Please contact admissions before withdrawing so we can discuss options.