Fellowships for Graduate or Professional Study

28 September 2024

I often speak with students and recent alumni who are interested in learning about fellowships that can support graduate or professional study. If you’ve not heard of that distinction before, professional study usually refers to programs directed toward work as a specific type of professional – such as the JD or MD – while graduate study usually refers to graduate education that provides specialized knowledge that is not directed toward a specific type of work – such as a PhD program.

There are many national/international fellowships that include a scholarship for graduate or professional study but the first, most important thing to know about them is that the scholarship is often a reward for being the kind of person that those who award the fellowship want to recognize. In other words, the competition is not based on how well you fit the criteria for the graduate or professional program (like a purely academic scholarship might be) but on how well you fit the criteria for the fellowship itself…and many of these fellowships are quite competitive.

The vast majority of people find ways to pay for their graduate or professional study without the support of a national/international fellowship. Most PhD programs offer extensive funding to the applicants they choose to admit (though that number, especially in the humanities or social sciences, can be small). Some Masters Degree programs also offer funding, but many students bear some of the cost of such programs (through loans or work-study-type arrangements). Professional programs vary widely in how much funding they offer; there is a trend among highly ranked MD and JD programs to cover the cost of attendance for all admitted students and there are some other types of professional programs like MPPs and MBAs that offer need-based and merit-based scholarships.

If you want to apply for a graduate or professional program, you should certainly consider whether any of the fellowships listed below are appropriate for you. But the most important steps you should take in thinking about graduate or professional study are the following:

  • talk with your faculty advisor and other mentors, especially those in the field you want to study;
  • consult with the Career Center and reach out to appropriate alumni;
  • do thorough research on the graduate and professional programs that interest you most;
  • and talk to people at those programs (admissions staff, faculty, students) to learn how students fund their degree programs.

Talking with people at those programs, including students in them, will also give you the best insight into when it might be best to start the program (for example, do you need additional experience after your BA?) and what it is really like to study in the program.

Some fellowships that support graduate or professional study are listed below. Some of them are for use at specific institutions, while many may be used at a variety of institutions. Unless otherwise indicated, they are applied for as a senior or recent alum. This is not an exhaustive list! It is just a list of opportunities I know about because of communications related to fellowships. Be prepared to do your own research to learn about the funding opportunities that are most appropriate for you.

Fellowships open to non-US Citizens are marked with a double asterisk ** (keep in mind that some are restricted to citizens of select countries other than the US).

Please see the post “Fellowships in Focus: Highly Selective Awards for Graduate or Professional Study in the UK” for more extensive information on some of the awards listed below that are for graduate or professional study in the United Kingdom.

Non-field-specific Awards

Field-specific Opportunities

**Some of the following may be open to international students.

Country- or Region-specific Opportunities

**Some of the following may be open to international students.

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