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Major Fellowships

The list below contains some of the most common fellowships for which W&L students and alumni apply.

A more comprehensive database of fellowship opportunities can be found on the Barnard College website.

Fellowships requiring institutional review or endorsement have been marked with an asterisk (*)

Fellowships that are open to non-US citizens are indicated with a [+]

Beinecke Scholarship* – graduate school

Description: $34,000 to support up to five years of graduate study (usually an M.A. or Ph.D.) in the arts, humanities or social sciences

Year(s) of eligibility: Juniors

Other eligibility criteria: U.S. citizen; must have history of receiving need-based financial aid; institutional endorsement required (limited to one nominee)

Internal deadline: Mid-January

National deadline: Mid-February

Website: http://fdnweb.org/beinecke/

Boren Scholarship – language study, study abroad, summer, STEM

Description: Up to $25,000 to study less commonly taught languages abroad in world regions critical to U.S. national security interests

Year(s) of eligibility: First-years, sophomores, juniors

Other eligibility criteria: U.S. citizen; program must be a minimum of 12 weeks abroad (minimum 8 weeks for STEM students); one-year federal service requirement after graduation

Internal deadline: None

National deadline: Early February

Website: https://www.borenawards.org/

Churchill Scholarship* – graduate school, STEM

Description: Full scholarship for one year of master’s study in a STEM field through Churchill College at the University of Cambridge

Year(s) of eligibility: Seniors, recent graduates (within one year of W&L graduation)

Other eligibility criteria: U.S. citizen; only certain degrees supported (see website); institutional endorsement required (limited to two nominees)

Internal deadline: September 15

National deadline: Early November

Website: https://www.churchillscholarship.org/

Critical Language Scholarship – language study, study abroad, summer

Description: Fully funded summer program to study foreign languages that are critical to U.S. national security (Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Swahili, Turkish, Urdu)

Year(s) of eligibility: First-years, sophomores, juniors, seniors

Other eligibility criteria: U.S. citizen

Internal deadline: None

National deadline: Mid-November

Website: https://www.clscholarship.org/

DAAD RISE [+] – study abroad, summer, STEM

Description: Support for summer research internships in science and engineering in Germany (knowledge of German not required)

Year(s) of eligibility: Sophomores, juniors

Other eligibility criteria: None

Internal deadline: None

National deadline: Mid-December

Website: https://www.daad.de/rise/en/rise-germany/

Fulbright UK Summer Institute – study abroad, summer

Description: Fully funded 3-4-week summer program at a UK university to explore the culture, heritage and history of the UK

Year(s) of eligibility: First-years, sophomores

Other eligibility criteria: U.S. citizen; minimum 3.7 GPA; less than four weeks of cumulative international travel experience within the past five years

Internal deadline: None

National deadline: Mid-February

Website: http://www.fulbright.org.uk/going-to-the-uk/uk-summer-institutes

Fulbright US Student Program* – post-grad, graduate school

Description: Full funding to teach English, complete graduate study, pursue a creative project, or conduct independent research abroad for one year after graduation

Year(s) of eligibility: Seniors, recent graduates

Other eligibility criteria: U.S. citizen; language proficiency (depending on country); institutional endorsement required

Internal deadline: August 15

National deadline: Early October

Website: https://us.fulbrightonline.org/

Gates Cambridge Scholarship [+] – graduate school

Description: Full funding to complete a graduate degree in any subject at the University of Cambridge (with some exceptions)

Year(s) of eligibility: Seniors, recent graduates

Other eligibility criteria: None

Internal deadline: None

National deadline: Early October

Website: https://www.gatescambridge.org/

Gilman Scholarship – study abroad, summer

Description: Up to $5,000 to support study or internship abroad (and up to an additional $3,000 to support study of a critical need language)

Year(s) of eligibility: First-years, sophomores, juniors, seniors

Other eligibility criteria: U.S. citizen; must be receiving federal Pell Grant at time of application or at time of program start OR must have parent who is active duty military; must earn academic credit through proposed program

Internal deadline: None

National deadlines: Early October (for programs beginning December 1 through October 31 of the following year); early March (for programs beginning May 1 through April 30 of the following year)

Website: https://www.gilmanscholarship.org/

Goldwater Scholarship* – STEM

Description: Up to $7,500 in junior and/or senior years to pay for eligible academic expenses for STEM students intending to pursue a research career

Year(s) of eligibility: Sophomores, juniors

Other eligibility criteria: U.S. citizen or permanent resident; must intend to pursue a research career in a STEM field (M.D. typically not supported); minimum 3.0 GPA; institutional endorsement required (limited to four nominees)

Internal deadline: Early January

National deadline: Late January

Website: https://goldwater.scholarsapply.org/

James C. Gaither Junior Fellows Program* [+] – post-grad

Description: One-year paid fellowship (at least $40,000) to work as research assistant for senior scholar associated with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC (projects vary by year)

Year(s) of eligibility: Seniors, recent graduates (within one year of W&L graduation)

Other eligibility criteria: Institutional endorsement required (limited to two nominees)

Internal deadline: Early January

National deadline: Mid-January

Website: https://carnegieendowment.org/about/jr-fellows/

Knight-Hennessy Scholarship [+] – graduate school

Description: Full funding to complete any graduate degree at Stanford University

Year(s) of eligibility: Seniors, recent graduates (must have graduated within last seven years)

Other eligibility criteria: institutional endorsement optional

Internal deadline: None

National deadline: Early October

Website: https://knight-hennessy.stanford.edu/

Luce Scholarship – post-grad

Description: One year of professional placement in Asia for individuals with little prior exposure to Asia

Year(s) of eligibility: Seniors, recent graduates (must be under the age of 30)

Other eligibility criteria: U.S. citizen or permanent resident; cannot have majored in East Asian Languages and Literatures

Internal deadline: None

National deadline: Mid October

Website: https://www.hluce.org/programs/luce-scholars/

Marshall Scholarship* – graduate school

Description: Full funding to complete up to two years of graduate study at up to two different UK universities

Year(s) of eligibility: Seniors, recent graduates (must have graduated within last three years)

Other eligibility criteria: U.S. citizen; minimum 3.7 GPA; cannot have begun graduate school in the UK; institutional endorsement required

Internal deadline: August 15

National deadline: Late September

Website: https://www.marshallscholarship.org/

Mitchell Scholarship* – graduate school

Description: Full funding to complete one year of graduate study at any university in Ireland or Northern Ireland

Year(s) of eligibility: Seniors, recent graduates (under the age of 30 at time of application)

Other eligibility criteria: U.S. citizen; institutional endorsement required (current seniors only)

Internal deadline: August 15

National deadline: Late September

Website: https://www.us-irelandalliance.org/mitchellscholarship

PPIA Junior Summer Institute (JSI) Fellowship Program [+] – graduate school, summer

Description: Fully funded summer program on public policy and international affairs; provides funding for future graduate school

Year(s) of eligibility: Juniors

Other eligibility criteria: U.S. citizen, permanent resident or DACA recipient; international students are eligible to apply to select institutes

Internal deadline: None

National deadline: Late OctoberWebsite: https://ppiaprogram.org/page/junior-summer-institute

Rhodes Scholarship* [+] – graduate school

Description: Full funding to complete up to two years of post-graduate study at the University of Oxford

Year(s) of eligibility: Seniors, recent graduates (must have graduated within last two years)

Other eligibility criteria: Minimum 3.7 GPA; institutional endorsement required

Internal deadline: July 1 (for international students); September 1 (for U.S. students)

National deadline: Late July (for international students); Early October (for U.S. students)

Website: https://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/

Schwarzman Scholars [+] – graduate school

Description: Full funding to complete a one-year M.A. in Global Affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China

Year(s) of eligibility: Seniors, recent graduates (under the age of 28)

Other eligibility criteria: None

Internal deadline: None

National deadline: Late September

Website: https://www.schwarzmanscholars.org/

Truman Scholarship* – graduate school

Description: $30,000 in support of future graduate study for change agents committed to pursuing a career in public service

Year(s) of eligibility: Juniors

Other eligibility criteria: U.S. citizen; institutional endorsement required (limited to four nominees)

Internal deadline: Mid-January

National deadline: Early February

Website: https://www.truman.gov/

Udall Scholarship* – summer, STEM

Description: Up to $7,000 to pay for eligible academic expenses for students committed to issues related to the environment or Native American nations

Year(s) of eligibility: Sophomores, juniors

Other eligibility criteria: U.S. citizen or permanent resident; to apply under “Native American” track, students must be Native American or Alaska Native

Internal deadline: None

National deadline: Early March

Website: https://www.udall.gov/OurPrograms/Scholarship/Scholarship.aspx