Deadline: December 1, 2021
Applications are open for the AAUW Selected Professions Fellowships 2021/2022. The Selected Professions Fellowships are awarded to women who intend to pursue a full-time course of study at accredited U.S. institutions during the fellowship year in one of the designated degree programs where women’s participation traditionally has been low.
These fellowships were established in 1970 with a $25,000 grant from the Max C. Fleischmann Foundation. Initially, they focused on opening doors for women in the male-dominated fields of law and medicine. However, the focus expanded over time to include science and technology, since the demand for a technologically skilled workforce has grown without proportional representation by women.
Funding
- The fellowships awards $5,000–18,000.
Eligibility
- Open to individuals who identify as women who are citizens or permanent residents of the United States who have achieved high standards of academic excellence and show promise of distinction in their respective fields.
- Applicants must be full-time students at an accredited U.S. institution during the fellowship year and must pursue a course of study in the United States over the full academic year.
- Priority is given to women who do not already hold a master’s or first professional degree.
- Selected Professions Fellowships are not open to previous recipients of any AAUW national fellowship or grant (not including branch or local awards or Community Action Grants).
- Women in two categories are eligible to apply: the Science and Technology Group and the Focus Professions Group.
- Science and Technology Group Fellowships: The following disciplines and master’s level degrees are eligible for fellowship funding:
- Architecture (M.Arch.).
- Computer/information science (MS).
- Engineering (ME, MS).
- Mathematics/statistics (MS).
- Focus Professions Group Fellowships: Open only to women from ethnic minority groups historically underrepresented in certain fields within the United States: Black/African American, Mexican American, Puerto Rican and other Hispanic, Native American/Alaska Native and Asian American/Pacific Islander. The designated fields eligible for fellowship funding are:
- Business administration (MBA).
- Law (JD).
- Medicine (MD), (DO).
- Science and Technology Group Fellowships: The following disciplines and master’s level degrees are eligible for fellowship funding:
Selection Criteria
The following criteria apply to the selection of Selected Professions Fellowships:
- Demonstrated commitment to education and equity for women and girls.
- Reason for seeking higher education.
- Degree to which study plan is consistent with career objectives.
- Potential as a practicing professional and potential as a role model in new and innovative or nontraditional fields of study, research or practice.
- Intent to contribute (through chosen profession) to societal well-being and commitment to the advancement of women and girls.
- Documentation of opportunities in chosen field.
- Feasibility of study plans and proposed time schedule.
- Validity of proposed budget and budget narrative, including sufficient outside support.
- Quality of written proposal.
- Academic excellence and related academic success indicators.
- Applicant is from an underrepresented racial/ethnic background.
- Financial need.
- Priority is given to women who do not already hold a master’s or first professional degree.
- Special consideration will be given to applicants who demonstrate their intent to enter professional practice in disciplines in which women are underrepresented, and/or their intent to serve under-resourced populations and communities, to pursue public interest areas, or who are nontraditional students.
Applications
For more information, visit AAUW.
