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

Luce Scholars Program (seniors & graduates)

Kate Dailinger
Kate Dailinger

Supports one-year professional placements (along with language training) in Asia for those who have not had extensive experience in Asia. Eligible are US citizens or permanent residents who are graduating seniors, recent graduates, and professionals under the age of 32 -  or if older, no more than three years out from receiving bachelor’s degree [Davis Scholars, we're looking at you]. Direct application deadline typically in October.

Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program (seniors & graduates)

Kate Dailinger
Kate Dailinger

Offers full scholarships for any graduate or professional degree offered at Stanford University, plus leadership development, aimed at preparing leaders to find creative solutions for the world's greatest problems. Eligible are graduating seniors and recent graduates, from any country. Apply to the Knight-Hennessy by their deadline in early October, and to the Stanford degree program of your choice by the deadline for that program.

The Susan Rappaport Knafel ’52 Scholarship for Foreign Study or Traveling Fellowship (seniors)

Kate Dailinger
Kate Dailinger

Scholarship for Foreign Study – up to $36,000
The scholarship will be awarded to a member of the graduating class who displays a desire for learning and an ability to impart knowledge and judgment to others.  It will fund a year of study at a foreign institution to pursue a specific subject that requires contact with foreign scholars, libraries or other resources.  

Traveling Fellowship – up to $36,000
The fellowship will be awarded to a member of the graduating class who displays an interest in and an acceptance of others, and who displays the ethos of a Wellesley education.  It will fund a year of purposeful travel abroad to explore a particular interest with the requirement that the recipient not remain in the same area for more than two months.

Cost and Financial Assistance (Health Profession Schools)

Cindy
Cindy Seltzer, Ed.D., MBA

It is expensive to apply to and attend health professions schools. It is important to begin learning about and planning for managing these costs.

Killam Fellowships Program (students)

Kate Dailinger
Kate Dailinger

The Killam Fellowships Program, administered by Fulbright Canada, allows undergraduate students from Canada and the United States to participate in a program of binational residential exchange. Killam Fellows spend either one semester or a full academic year as an exchange student in the host country. Students can apply either to the direct exchange program, which is limited to certain participating university partners, or to the open competition, allowing for participation from (and to) any accredited degree-granting college or university in either country.

Elisabeth Luce Moore ’24 Wellesley-Yenching Fellowship at Ginling College in Nanjing (seniors & graduates)

Kate Dailinger
Kate Dailinger

Each year the Wellesley-Yenching Program sponsors two English teaching fellowships in cooperation with Ginling College, part of Nanjing Normal University in Nanjing, China. Wellesley College seniors or graduates are eligible to apply for this one-year fellowship which can be extended to a second year. The Wellesley-Yenching Committee interviews applicants, then sends the credentials of one or two nominees for final approval by Ginling College.