The International Fellowship program has been in existence since 1917. The program provides support for women pursuing full-time graduate or postdoctoral study in the United States who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents.A limited number of awards are available for study outside of the United States (excluding the applicant’s home country) to women who are members of Graduate Women International (see thelist of GWI affiliates). Preference is given to women who show prior commitment to the advancement of women and girls through civic, community, or professional work.

Up to five International Fellowships for master’s/first professional degrees will be renewable for a second year; renewal instructions will be provided to fellows during their fellowship year.

December 1, 2015, by 11:59 p.m. Central Time

Deadline for online submission of application and supporting documentsApril 15, 2016

Notification of decisions e-mailed to all applicants. AAUW is not able to honor requests for earlier notification.

July 1, 2016–June 30, 2017

Fellowship year

International Fellowships are not open to previous recipients of any AAUW national fellowship or grant (not including branch or local awards or Community Action Grants). Members and officers of the AAUW Board of Directors are not eligible to apply for fellowships and grant awards. AAUW staff or volunteers with decision-making authority who wish to apply for an award must recuse themselves from the decision-making process.
Unsuccessful applicants may re apply.

To be eligible for an International Fellowship, applicants must meet the following criteria:

Have citizenship in a country other than the United States or possession of a nonimmigrant visa if residing in the United States. Women holding dual citizenship in the United States and another country are not
Hold an academic degree (earned in the United States or abroad) equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree completed by September 30, 2015.
Intend to devote herself full-time to the proposed academic plan during the fellowship year
Intend to return to her home country to pursue a professional career
Be proficient in English. Unless the applicant can verify that her native language is English, that she received her secondary diploma or undergraduate degree from an English-speaking institution, or that she will have completed one semester of full-time study in her discipline at an English-speaking college or university between October 2013 and September 30, 2015 (transcript required for validation), she must upload a recent score (no older than October 2013) on the ETS TOEFL*(Test of English as a Foreign Language). Institutional TOEFL scores and other English proficiency test scores (such as IELTS)will not be accepted. Minimum score acceptable: 550 for paper-based tests; 213 for computer-based tests; 79 for Internet-based tests. Test scores must be provided in the online application by the December 1, 2015, deadline, and score reports must be uploaded by December 1, 2015. Either originals or copies of score reports may be uploaded.
Master’s/first professional degree and doctoral applicants must have applied by December 1, 2015, to an accredited institution of study for the period of the fellowship year and must indicate the name of the institution in the International Fellowship application.
Master’s/first professional degree fellowships are intended for master’s or professional degree-level programs such as J.D., M.F.A., L.L.M., M.Arch., or medical degrees such as M.D., D.D.S., etc.
Doctoral fellowships are intended for doctorate degrees, such as Ph.D. or Ed.D.
Postdoctoral applicants must provide proof of their doctorate degree; hold a doctorate classified as a research degree (e.g., Ph.D., Ed.D., D.B.A., M.D.) or an M.F.A. by December 1, 2015; and indicate where they will conduct their research.
Master’s/first professional degree and doctoral applicants must be enrolled in a U.S. accredited institution located in the United States during the fellowship year.
A limited number of awards are available to GWI members for study or research in any country other than their own. Note that foreign branches of U.S. institutions are considered outside of the United States.
Applicants must be conducting a full year of study or research. International Fellowships do not provide funding for a partial year of study or research. Programs ending prior to April of the fellowship year are not eligible.
Master’s/first professional degree and doctoral fellowships support traditional classroom-based courses of study at colleges or universities. This fellowship program does not provide funding for distance-learning or online programs or for degrees heavily dependent on distance-learning components.Final decisions about what constitutes distance learning under these fellowships will be made by AAUW.

* TOEFL is given at designated test centers throughout the world. AAUW International Fellowship applicants should take the test as early as possible. The code for AAUW is 9231.

You can also visit their website, ets.org/toefl; fax 610.290.8972; call 609.771.7100; or e-mail toefl@ets.org.

The International Fellowships Panel meets once a year to review applications for funding. Awards are based on the selection criteria outlined on this page. Recommendations by the panel are subject to final approval by the AAUW Board of Directors. Fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis according to funds available in a given fiscal year.

To ensure a fair and objective review process, it is the policy of AAUW not to comment on the deliberations of its award panels. No provisions exist for reconsideration of grant proposals after the board has acted. AAUW does not provide evaluations of successful or unsuccessful applications.

Applications and supporting documents become the sole property of AAUW and will neither be returned nor held for another year.

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