Fellowships & Scholarships

Fellowships, broadly defined, fund purposeful activity.

To be more specific, fellowships can fund (among other things) language study abroad, undergraduate and postgraduate research, service opportunities, graduate and professional study, independent projects, teaching (both in the U.S. and abroad)... the possibilities are endless, which can be both inspiring and intimidating! Career Education and the Fellowships team are here to help you navigate, no matter where you’re starting or where you hope to go.

So how can we help?

Smart and capable as you are, you don't have to go it alone! The Fellowships team is here all year 'round, including over the summer, and happy to help you explore fellowships, brainstorm ideas, review drafts, choose recommenders, prep for interviews, and much more. Book a fellowships appointment now-- we can't wait to talk with you!

But wait, there's more: Fellowships virtual drop-ins, workshops, and panels happen throughout the calendar year: check out our events listings!

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Not sure where to start thinking about postgrad plans? Try this Visions & Values exercise, and use this fillable Timeline and Materials template to begin to organize your plans!

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Help us celebrate Wellesley nominees, finalists, alternates, honorable mentions, and awardees of fellowships! Will your name be next on our list?

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You Are Here | Common Starting Places | Toolkit

First things first...

I am a...

• Undergraduate
• Graduate
• International student

I am looking for a fellowship to support…

Browse fellowships by topic, including:

• Undergraduate research
• Graduate or professional degrees/
research study
• Travel
• Service
• Teaching
• Language study/study abroad

Common Starting Places

Kate Dailinger

Director, Fellowships

Caitlin Roberts-Donovan

Senior Assistant Director, Fellowships

I don’t know where to begin.

This is a great place to start. (After all, no one spontaneously becomes a fellowships expert!)

Suggestions for where to start exploring and learning more

Explore possibilities by major or interest.
Peruse our deadlines (which you can filter by clicking on Fellowships!).
Make an appointment via Handshake: we would love to meet you, learn more about your interests, and start a conversation about which fellowships might be a good fit (you can also drop by our Virtual Pop-up advising—listings in Handshake).

I don’t know what I want to do after graduation.

We completely understand (believe us: from personal experience, we understand) that often it can feel like everyone but you has a plan for after graduation. The truth, though, is the quiet majority aren’t certain about what comes next. Fellowships can provide amazing opportunities postgrad!

Fellowships for graduates

Check out our resource for graduates.
Look through some of our deadlines (which you can filter for Postgraduate opportunities by clicking on Fellowships to see a variety of options for after graduation).
- Did you know? “Postgraduate” does not exclusively mean graduate school! There are many postgraduate fellowships that support travel, service, and other activities.
Make an appointment via Handshake: we would love to meet you, learn more about your interests, and start a conversation about which fellowships might be a good fit for what you might like to do next (you can also drop by our Virtual Pop-up advising—listings in Handshake).
You can also book a general career advising appointment with other members of the Career Education team.

I could never get a fellowship– why even bother looking into them?

Here’s the truth: there is no platonic ideal of a fellowships candidate, and no one could be an equally strong (or equally weak!) candidate for every fellowship. Fellowships are all about fit and feasibility: are you a good fit for what a program is looking for, is it a good fit for you, and is what you’re proposing to do feasible? We’re here to help you navigate those questions.

Some things to keep in mind

The only way to 100% guarantee that you won’t get a fellowship is if you don’t apply.
Our promise to you is that we’ll be honest: if something you’re looking at isn’t a very good fit, we’ll be happy to talk it through with you.
Many people are worried about GPA—but many fellowships do not have a minimum GPA requirement. Even when grades do factor into an application, they are just one of many things considered: essays, resumes and experience, and letters of recommendation make up a much more complete picture of a candidate.
Exploring fellowships doesn’t lock you in to anything, and you don’t have to have the next ten years of your life planned out in order to apply.

I’ve already graduated (perhaps a while ago). Is it too late for me to apply for a fellowship?

It is never too late to apply for a fellowship. While it is true that some fellowships are only available to graduating seniors, many more are evergreen opportunities—whether you graduated months, years, or decades ago! If you’re not sure where to get started, here are some helpful tips:

Postgraduate Fellowship Exploration

Check out our resource for graduates.
Look through some of our deadlines (which you can filter for Postgraduate opportunities by clicking on Fellowships to see a variety of options graduates).
- Did you know? “Postgraduate” does not exclusively mean graduate school! There are many postgraduate fellowships that support travel, service, and other activities.
Make an appointment via Handshake: we would love to meet you, learn more about your interests, and start a conversation about which fellowships might be a good fit for what you might like to do next (you can also drop by our Virtual Pop-up advising—listings in Handshake).
You can also book a general career advising appointment with other members of the Career Education team, like an Alumnae Advisor.

I know what I want to do, but I’m not sure how I can get there.

The good news is that there are potentially a lot of different ways for fellowships to support what you’d like to do, and we’re here to help you figure out your options!

Begin with your interests

Explore possibilities by major, activity, or international student status.
Make an appointment via Handshake: we would love to meet you, learn more about your interests, and strategize about which fellowships might help you reach your goals (you can also drop by our Virtual Pop-up advising—listings in Handshake).
You can also make an appointment to talk with your Advisor for Career Exploration (ACE) or Alumnae Advisors to see what other paths there might be towards your goals.

I’ve heard of [insert name of fellowship!] and think it sounds interesting, but I’m not sure where to start.

Excellent! This is a great chance not just to look at the fellowship you’re interested in, but also potentially others. One of the best things about fellowships is that the work you put in to one application is a huge help for other potential applications in the future:

Let's dig deeper

Many fellowships have resources on the Fellowships & Scholarships page, where you can learn more about requirements, timelines, application materials, and other details.
- Did you know? There are many more fellowships out there that do not have resources on our website, because you apply for them directly (that is, not through Wellesley). The fellowships team is always happy to help with any fellowship application, whether it’s a Wellesley opportunity or not!
Look through some of our deadlines and explore fellowships by major or activity (like travel, service, etc.). Are any of them similar to what you’re looking at, sparking similar interest…?
Make an appointment via Handshake: we’d love to meet you and talk about the fellowships process, what might be a good fit, and what your next steps might be.

I want to apply for [insert name of fellowship or fellowships]

Great! Let's get going

Many fellowships have resources on the Fellowships & Scholarships page, where you can learn more about requirements, timelines, application materials, and other details.
- Did you know? There are many more fellowships out there that do not have resources on our website, because you apply for them directly (that is, not through Wellesley). The fellowships team is always happy to help with any fellowship application, whether it’s a Wellesley opportunity or not!
Check out our toolkit and sample timelines to get a sense of how the application process might shape up.
Make an appointment via Handshake: Did you know that the Fellowships team doesn’t just advise? We can do draft review, help you build timelines, and strategize about your applications as well.

Toolkit

Deadlines

Looking thruogh our fellowships deadlines listing is a great way to explore possibilities and stay on top of timelines. Click on "Fellowships" then filter by major or activity (i.e.travel, service, etc.)

Browse deadlines

Personal Statements

A personal statement is a narrative essay that connects your background, experiences, and goals to the mission, requirements, and desired outcomes of the specific opportunity you are seeking. Learn more about this key component to many fellowship applications by watching our webinar or through the written resource below.

Learn More

Requesting References

We recommend that you allow at least eight weeks for a recommender to prepare a letter of reference, and we offer tips to help.

Learn More

Writing your Resume or CV

Resumes and CVs (curriculum vitaes) are documents that clearly presents your current and past experiences and accomplishments so that your reader can understand the unique value that you bring. Career Education has several resources to help you compose these documents.

Learn More

Celebrating Fellowships!

The Wellesley Fellowships team congratulates all our fellowship awardees, nominees, and honorable mentions! In these applying for fellowships and scholarships, these students and graduates dared to articulate their present interests and their hopes and dreams for the future.

View the list

My professors and peers taught me that wherever you look, there is a question that needs to be explored and that can speak to your meaning in life. When you find one, you must believe you can answer it and realize that you may be surprised by what you discover.

Amal Cheema ’17

2017 Watson fellowship recipient

Learn more about the Watson