AAUW International Fellowships

For more than a century, AAUW has helped more than 11,000 women from over 130 countries break through barriers and pursue their dreams of obtaining graduate degrees or making an impact in their communities.  Fellowship and grant recipients undergo a highly competitive selection process. Academic excellence, commitment to improving the human condition, and the promise of continued impact are cornerstones of the rigorous criteria. Respected scholars, researchers, teachers, and practitioners review the fellowship and grant applications. These reviewers are either experts in specialized fields of study or community leaders who recognize the power of collaboration at the local level.  The International Fellowships will support graduate studies at accredited U.S. institutions.  

Specific Eligibility Criteria

• 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 reapply.

• To be eligible for an International Fellowship, applicants must meet the following criteria:
  • Have citizenship in a country other than the U.S. or possession of a nonimmigrant visa if residing in the U.S. Women who are currently, or expect to be during the fellowship year, a U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident, or dual citizen with the U.S. and another country are not eligible.
  • Hold an academic degree (earned in the U.S. or abroad) equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree completed by November 15, 2019.
  • 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 (written statement required), that she received her secondary diploma or undergraduate degree from an English-speaking institution (transcript required), or that she will have completed one semester of full-time study in her discipline at an English-speaking college or university between November 2017 and November 2019 (transcript required), she must upload a recent ETS TOEFL* (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score (no older than November 2017). Institutional TOEFL scores and other English proficiency test scores (such as IELTS) will not be accepted. Minimum score acceptable: 550 for Paper-Based Test (TOEFL PBT); 79 for Internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT); 60 for Revised TOEFL Paper-Delivered Test.
  • Master’s/first professional degree and doctoral applicants must have applied by November 15, 2018, 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., D.M.) or an M.F.A. by November 15, 2019; 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 U.S. 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 U.S.
  • 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.