# OpenAI Scholars Program Selects 8 from 550 Applicants with Diverse Backgrounds

OpenAI announced its 2019 class of OpenAI Scholars, selecting just eight individuals from a competitive pool of 550 applicants. The announcement, shared via the company's official Twitter account, highlights the program's highly selective nature with an acceptance rate of approximately 1.5%.

What sets this cohort apart is the remarkable diversity of academic and professional backgrounds represented. The selected scholars bring expertise spanning literature, philosophy, cell biology, statistics, economics, quantum physics, and business innovation—fields traditionally outside the core computer science domain.

This interdisciplinary approach reflects OpenAI's broader vision for artificial intelligence development. By bringing together experts from humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences, the program aims to ensure AI research benefits from diverse perspectives and addresses challenges across multiple domains.

The OpenAI Scholars program typically provides stip