Fellowships for the Social Sciences

sophia
Crafting a proposal is a very introspective process. I was challenged to understand my motivations and interest in death and dying, then explain how those have informed my life’s course. From this, I gained a deeper sense of myself, academically and personally, which was rewarding in and of itself.
Sophia Zupanc ’19
2019 Watson Fellow "Dispatches from Death: Exploring How We Die"

Fellowships for the Social Sciences

Discover Funding Opportunities

A wide range of social sciences fellowships are open to students and graduates of any nationality. Explore the resources below to get started!

Office hours 

Already reviewed the resources and ready to take the next step? Book a fellowships advising appointment or stop by pop-up advising hours (listed as events in Handshake) to meet with the Fellowships team!
8:30 am – 4:30pm
Green Hall 444

Deborah Tien ’12, 2019 Schwarzman Scholar
Deborah Tien ’12, 2019 Schwarzman Scholar
Sep 22, 2025

Daniels Fellowship - expected direct application deadline

Eligible: seniors in good standing at Wellesley.

Undergraduate, International Student, Research/Gradschool

Wellesley's Pamela Daniels ’59 Fellowship is a merit award intended to encourage the maverick spirit at Wellesley. It is meant to provide an opportunity for seniors to envision and carry out a piece of work that they would love to do before graduation—a work of imagination as well as intellect, a worthy and vivid dream project that explores who they are as well as what they know. The Daniels supports a senior project (that may be but is not required to be an honors thesis).

What would you love to do...

Sep 22, 2025

Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship - expected direct application deadline for spring semester

Eligible: graduating seniors and recent grads with US citizenship/permanent residency or OPT/appropriate work permit.

Service, International Student, Postgraduate

The Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship Program invites recent college and graduate school alumni to apply for full-time, six-to-nine month fellowships in Washington, DC. Outstanding individuals will be selected to work with nonprofit, public-interest organizations addressing peace and security issues. Explore further details and the application HERE.

*Did you know? Lizamaria Arias '17 was a Scoville Fellow in Fall 2018? Read more...

Sep 23, 2025

Saudi Arabia Rhodes Scholarship - direct application deadline

Eligible: graduating seniors and recent graduates from Saudi Arabia, in any field.

Research/Gradschool, International Student, Travel, Postgraduate

The Rhodes Trust, based at the University of Oxford, brings together and develops exceptional people from all over the world, and in all fields of study, who are impatient with the way things are and have the courage to act.  There are two Scholarships available for Saudi Arabia each year, to support postgraduate study at Oxford.  

**For details of eligibility and how to apply, see the official Rhodes website: https://www....

“My favorite feature of the fellowship is the latitude that fellows have in the classroom. The Wellesley-Yenching Graduate Teaching Fellowship is a fantastic opportunity to explore teaching. This continued to be true as we transitioned to remote teaching [due to Covid-19], especially with the support of my co-fellows.”

Teaching Fellowships

Caitlin Roberts-Donovan
Caitlin Roberts-Donovan

One of the common “purposeful activities” that fellowships can fund is teaching: in the U.S. or abroad; opportunities with or without previous teaching experience; and at all levels of instruction, from elementary school to university level and beyond. This resource is by no means exhaustive, but instead aims to provide seniors and graduates with an introduction to the biggest and most common teaching fellowships