Principal Fellowships

To refine your fellowship choices, review the chart below of fellowships supported by Smith. Where endorsement is required, we work with others on campus to make selections and provide support for endorsed candidates. After you’ve done some exploring on your own, fill out our questionnaire to express interest and meet with us. Keep talking with us, your faculty advisers and other mentors about your plans. Collaboration will ensure that your plans are tailored to you, consistent with your aims and academically sound.

A note about citizenship status: U.S. citizens may apply for all opportunities listed below. Those with a different citizenship may apply for some opportunities listed. Check the information sheets for more details.

National & International Competitive Fellowships

These fellowships require Smith nomination or endorsement.

Fellowship Eligibility Timing Additional Information
Beinecke US citizens. Juniors apply. Fall selection of one nominee. Beinecke information sheet
Churchill US citizens, seniors, alums. UK STEM graduate fellowship. Spring selection of up to two nominees. Churchill information sheet
DAAD Study All nationalities, seniors, alums. Graduate fellowship. Most disciplines. Summer/very early fall selection of Smith endorsees. DAAD information sheet
Fulbright US citizens, seniors, alums. International graduate fellowship. Start early. Preparation necessary well ahead of external application dates. Application preparation begins in spring of intended application year. Fulbright Focus
Goldwater US citizens & nationals, permanent residents. STEM sophomores & juniors apply. Fall selection of four nominees. Goldwater information sheet | Other
Marshall US citizens, seniors, alums. UK graduate fellowship. Any discipline. Demonstrate competitiveness & express interest by spring, typically of junior year. Marshall information sheet
McCall MacBain Scholarship All nationalities, seniors and alums. Master's degrees in most fields at McGill. Demonstrate competitiveness & express interest by spring/early summer, typically of junior year.  
Mitchell US citizens, seniors, alums. Irish graduate fellowship. Seniors & alums under 30. Spring selection of nominees. Mitchell information sheet
Rhodes Eligibility varies by particular competition. US award competition open to US citizens, permanent residents and DACA students. Seniors, alums. UK graduate fellowship. Almost any discipline. Demonstrate competitiveness and express interest in spring, typically of junior year. Smith will endorse one or two highly qualified candidates for the US competition. Rhodes information sheet
Truman US citizens. Juniors apply. Requires three-year commitment to public service. Demonstrate competitiveness and express interest no later than early fall semester of junior year. Smith may nominate up to four candidates, plus up to three transfer students. Truman information sheet
Udall US citizens, permanent residents. Sophomores & juniors apply. Udall features distinct Tribal Policy/Native Healthcare awards open only to American Indians or Alaskan Natives. Express interest in fall to access application. Nomination of up to four qualified for environment track. Equal number could be nominated in the second category. Udall information sheet

Seek fellowships advising support as you prepare your application for these programs.

Fellowship Eligibility Timing Additional Information
Critical Language Scholarship US citizens & nationals. Open to enrolled students in any discipline and any year of undergraduate or graduate study. Mid-November deadline.  
DAAD RISE All nationalities (additional conditions for German citizens). Sophomores, juniors. Mid-December deadline.  
Gates Cambridge All nationalities (except UK). Seniors, alums. UK graduate fellowship. October for US citizens in US; December/January for others. Gates Cambridge information sheet
Hertz US citizens. Seniors, alums. STEM graduate fellowship. Late October external deadline. Hertz information sheet
Knight-Hennessy All nationalities. Seniors, alums. Graduate fellowship. Summer before application. Smith offers institutional endorsement as supplement to required 2 letters of recommendation. Knight Hennessey information sheet
NOAA Hollings US citizens. Sophomores apply who have a major relevant to NOAA’s mission. Candidates must express their interests and find their sponsoring recommenders in the fall of sophomore year. External deadline for admissions application in mid-January. NOAA Hollings information sheet
NSF Graduate 
Research Fellowship		 US citizens, permanent residents. Seniors, alums. Graduate fellowship. Candidates must express interest in applying in the spring preceding application. Will need to work with a faculty research mentor and may seek advice from Fellowships. NSF information sheet 
Payne US citizens. Seniors, alums. Underrepresented students encouraged. Graduate fellowship. Fall application. Payne information sheet
Pickering US citizens. Seniors, alums. Underrepresented students encouraged. Graduate fellowship. Fall application. Pickering information sheet
PPIA Junior Summer Institute All nationalities (but program options limited for international students). Juniors only. Mid-November deadline.  
Rangel US citizens. Seniors, alums. Underrepresented students encouraged. Graduate fellowship. Fall application. Rangel information sheet
Rangel Summer Enrichment Program US citizens. Sophomores, juniors, seniors. Mid-February deadline.  
Schwarzman All nationalities. Seniors, alums. Graduate fellowship. Demonstrate competitiveness and express interest in spring semester. Deadline for Chinese applicants, end of May. Other applicants, end of September. Schwarzman information sheet
Scoville US citizens & foreign nationals (currently live in US and have work visa valid for length of program). Seniors, alums. Early October deadline for spring awards. Early January deadline for fall awards.  
Soros - 
New Americans		 Immigrants to US, children of immigrants, and DACA students. Seniors, alums. Graduate fellowship. November 1 deadline. Soros information sheet
UK Summer Institutes US citizens. Freshmen & sophomores with little to no travel/study experience outside North America. Early February deadline.  
Yenching All nationalities. Seniors, alums. Graduate fellowship. December external deadline. Yenching information sheet

Am I Qualified for a Fellowship?

As a prospective fellowships applicant you want to know that you are “in the right ballpark,” meaning that you meet the eligibility requirements for a program and have sufficient relevant strengths and experience to make you a strong potential applicant. Once you are in the ballpark, your commitment to the application process will make the difference between being a strong potential applicant and becoming a competitive applicant. Fellowship advisers guide you in making the most of the application process.

GPA is one measure—but by no means the only measure—of academic excellence. Most fellowships for which we advise are highly competitive. Awardees’ GPAs will, in general, be high. Some of the most competitive awards (UK graduate scholarships, for example) may specify a GPA of at least 3.7. Other competitive awards, like Fulbright, may not specify a minimum GPA, but they will look closely at your transcript for your academic success in the courses most relevant for, say, the graduate course or research you plan to pursue while on your fellowship.

Your job as a candidate is to understand what your program means by academic excellence, and then make your best case for how you’ve demonstrated relevant strengths and achievements.

Fellowship programs seek talented and diverse individuals who are ready to make the most of the opportunities on offer. “Talent” is defined in multiple ways by the various programs and most fellowships pride themselves for the different backgrounds and interests of their fellows. Your unique talents will be appreciated by some programs—the challenge is matching your talents to particular programs.

All programs focus their pursuit of excellence based on what matters most to them: for example, exercise of leadership or pursuit of public service or creation of new knowledge. Candidates need relevant preparation and achievements. Sometimes academic excellence is most important. Sometimes a record of impact as a change maker or leader may matter most. As a prospective candidate, play to your strengths.

Additional Options

The universe of fellowships does not end with our list of principal fellowships. Many more possibilities exist. Check out additional resources on the Resources page for links to databases of opportunities that you can search according to your personal circumstances (e.g. citizenship, academic year of study) and type of award (e.g. research award, postgraduate scholarship, summer program, study abroad).

“I am proudest of learning what specific research questions I am interested in ... describing my goals and abilities was empowering.”
Mackenzie Litz ’20
“My applications helped me better realize and articulate my life and career goals.”
Natalie Baillargeon ’21

Internships & Postgraduate Experiences

Sometimes a rising senior or recent alum is looking for a post-grad experience in the United States that has some of the elements of fellowship (competitive, leadership training, networking cohort) but is not formal graduate school. These sorts of opportunities are often advertised in Handshake or search engines as “internships” or “jobs,” as well as “fellowships.” The level of stipends and benefits associated with each program varies greatly. Be sure to read the fine print!

“Applying for the Fulbright grant made me realize how important it is to travel and seize opportunities at this phase of my life.”
Sofia David ’20