The following fellowship opportunities accept applications from students and alumni without U.S. citizenship. Specific restrictions are listed next to the title of each opportunity below. Note: programs accepting U.S. permanent residents, nationals, or those with work authorization also accept U.S. citizens.
This list includes only selected opportunities. If you would like to view a longer list of fellowships available to students without U.S. citizenship, please contact osf@scu.edu.
We also encourage you to visit Immigrants Rising for lists of additional opportunities.
Undergraduate Opportunities
The Goldwater award provides scholarship support to undergraduate students majoring in the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics who intend to pursue research careers in these fields. The award provides $7500 annually in support for undergraduate tuition, room and board, books and fees.
Open to Sophomore and Junior natural sciences, engineering, or math majors who are actively involved in research.
- Recent SCU Goldwater winner: Rob Cady (2022), Michael Nguyen (2022), Max Bjorni (2020), Mike Hayes (2009)
- Recent SCU Goldwater Honorable Mention: Delaney Gray (2018)
Internal Deadline: November 13, 2023
Fully-funded summer program that brings together international groups of Fellows to study minority rights and produce original research exploring how and why individuals and societies, past and present, have resisted intolerance and protected democratic values. Separate programs take place for five weeks every summer in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Berlin, Copenhagen, Sarajevo, and Warsaw.
The Undergraduate Diversity Fellowship at the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) offers paid four-month summer fellowships to extend educational, professional, and mentorship opportunities to Black and brown students who are freshman, sophomore, and junior college students interested in international affairs or U.S. foreign policy. Fellows will receive a monthly stipend and an amount to cover domestic roundtrip airfare to Washington, D.C.
JSI is an intensive seven-week summer program that focuses on preparing students for graduate programs in public and international affairs and careers as policy professionals, public administrators and other leadership roles in public service. Upon completion of the Junior Summer Institute, PPIA fellows receive a one-time $5,000 scholarship at a PPIA graduate school if admitted for a Master’s degree. PPIA Fellows often receive financial offers above and beyond this minimum from their graduate program.
The Voyager Scholarship was created by the Obamas and Brian Chesky, Airbnb CEO, to help shape young leaders who can bridge divides and help solve our biggest challenges together. Even though they come from different backgrounds, both the President and Brian believe that exposure to new places and experiences generates understanding, empathy, and cooperation which equips the next generation to create meaningful change. This scholarship gives college students financial aid to alleviate the burden of college debt, meaningful travel experiences to expand their horizons, and a network of mentors and leaders to support them. Open to students starting their junior year in the fall.
Post-Graduate Opportunities
The American India Foundation’s (AIF’s) Banyan Impact Fellowship is an interdisciplinary experiential learning program that places young professionals from India and the U.S. in service with development organizations in India. Through collaboration and capacity-building, Fellows and local communities exchange knowledge and skills to steer projects that advance social and economic development. Fellows learn about grassroots development and inclusive leadership. Since 2001, AIF has selected, trained, and supported 490 Fellows and 214 partner organizations to scale impact, catalyze change, and build the next generation of socially-minded change makers. AIF provides Fellows with a living stipend, health insurance, professional development, mentorship, and programmatic benefits to enable their service.
- SCU Winner: Sri Ramesh '17 (the award was known as the Clinton Fellowship at the time)
The Capital Fellows Programs are nationally recognized public policy fellowships which offer unique experiences in policy-making and development in each branch of government. Capital Fellows are placed at some of the highest levels of California state government and assist state legislators, senior-level executive staff, and court administrators with a broad range of public policy issues and projects and are typically given assignments with a significant amount of responsibility and challenges.
The Coro Fellows Program develops emerging leaders to work and lead across different sectors by equipping them with knowledge, skills, and networks to accelerate positive change. The program includes participation in a hands-on project in public affairs, group interviews with prominent decision makers, and rigorous group seminars to develop problem-solving skills. Coro Fellows will work in one of five locations: Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, or St. Louis.
The Fulbright Foreign Student Program enables graduate students, young professionals and artists from abroad to study and conduct research in the United States. The Fulbright Foreign Student Program operates in more than 160 countries worldwide. Approximately 4,000 foreign students receive Fulbright scholarships each year.
The Fulbright Foreign Student Program is administered by binational Fulbright Commissions/Foundations or U.S. Embassies. All Foreign Student Program applications are processed by these offices. Program eligibility and selection procedures vary widely by country.
The Gaither Program, funded by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, is designed to provide a substantive work experience for students who have a serious career interest in the area of international affairs. Selected students are hired to work as employees at the Carnegie Endowment in Washington, DC on a full-time basis for a period of one year.
The Gaither Junior Fellows provide research assistance to scholars working on Carnegie Endowment’s projects. They have the opportunity to conduct research, contribute to op-eds, papers, reports, and books, edit documents, participate in meetings with high-level officials, contribute to congressional testimony and organize briefings attended by scholars, activists, journalists and government officials.
The Gates Cambridge mission is to build a global network of future leaders committed to improving the lives of others. It aims to achieve this mission by selecting outstanding scholars, providing them with financial and non-financial support at one of the world’s leading universities and facilitating community building at and beyond Cambridge. Each year Gates Cambridge offers c.80 full-cost scholarships to outstanding applicants from countries outside the UK to pursue a full-time postgraduate degree in any subject available at the University of Cambridge. Approximately two-thirds of these awards will be offered to PhD students, with approximately 25 awards available in the US round and 55 available in the International round.
The mission of The National GEM Consortium is to enhance the value of the nation’s human capital by increasing the participation of underrepresented groups at the master’s and doctoral levels in engineering and science. GEM’s fellowship programs span the entire recruitment, retention, and professional development spectrum. GEM’s principal activity is the provision of graduate fellowships at the MS and PhD levels coupled with paid summer internships. GEM also offers fellowships without paid summer internships through the GEM University and Associate Fellowship programs.
A graduate-level scholarship aimed at preparing the next generation of global leader to address the increasingly complex challenges facing our world. Up to 100 scholars will receive full funding to pursue a graduate education at one of Stanford’s 125+ graduate programs. The Knight-Hennessy Scholars program has a distinctly multidisciplinary focus, and will provide opportunities for leadership training, mentorship, and cohort-based experiential learning. The goal of the program is to empower Knight-Hennessy Scholars to navigate across business, government, academia, and the nonprofit sectors.
Institutional endorsements are neither required nor encouraged by the Knight-Hennessy program, but we are happy to provide them. In order to receive an institutional endorsement letter, we require applicants to submit a draft of their Knight-Hennessy application by 9/1/2021. Submissions for internal review should include three to four letters of recommendation from members of the SCU community -- two of these will ultimately be submitted to the Knight-Hennessy program with the application, the rest will inform the institutional endorsement.
- SCU Knight-Hennessy winners: Hayley Raquer '16, Jasmyn Burdsall '20
This fellowship program selects, trains, and places promising young leaders in two-year, paid, full-time fellowships in local public-serving institutions (local governments, nonprofits, community foundations, etc.) to tackle tough challenges facing the community, strengthen their hometown's civic infrastructure, and join a new generation of transformational community leaders. Fellows are catalysts for national community revitalization -- starting right where they live.
Deadlines vary by opportunity
The Rhodes Scholarships are the oldest and one of the most celebrated international fellowship awards in the world. It is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford. Set numbers of scholarships are awarded to students applying from set "constituencies" around the world, so interested applicants should go here to discover the process for applying from their home countries. Rhodes Scholars are chosen not only for their outstanding scholarly achievements, but for their character, commitment to others and to the common good, and for their potential for leadership in whatever domains their careers may lead.
- Recent SCU winners: Sean Reilly (in 2017) and Aven Satre Meloy (in 2014)
- Recent SCU Finalists: Haley Howard (in 2021), Erika Francks (in 2018), and Lauren Cloward (in 2017)
Internal deadline: September 1, 2023
Established in 2021, Samvid Scholars invests in future leaders committed to effecting positive change in the world. The scholarship provides up to $50,000 in tuition support each year for two years for students in graduate schools across the United States. Scholars also receive two years of leadership development programming to support them to continue to fulfill their extraordinary potential. The program seeks candidates who have an exceptional record of achievement and are driven to make an impact.
The mission of the San Francisco Fellows program is to foster community stewardship by preparing recent college graduates and young professionals for roles in public service and administration. The Fellows program is a unique opportunity to learn about public administration in local government while working full time as a City employee. Competitively selected applicants will join a cohort of up to 18 Fellows for an 11.5-month full-time work experience as City employees. Fellows will earn an annualized salary of approximately $59,000, plus health, dental, retirement and other benefits.
Schwarzman Scholars is a highly-selective, fully-funded scholarship program for a one-year Master’s in global affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing. It is designed to build a global community of young leaders in business, political and civil society who can effectively serve as bridges between China and the rest of the world.
- SCU winners: Jesse Caemmerer (2015) and Omar Hamade (2021)
The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans program honors the contributions of immigrants and children of immigrants to the United States. The fellowship provides $90,000 to fund one to two years of graduate education for New Americans—immigrants and children of immigrants—who are poised to make significant contributions to US society, culture, or their academic field.
Eligibility note: parents must be from abroad; applicant must be one of the following: U.S. citizen, legal permanent resident, refugee or asylee, OR graduated from high school and college in the U.S.
The Smithsonian offers a world of research opportunities for graduate, pre-doctoral, or post-doctoral students, as well as for visiting professionals, students, scientists, or scholars conducting independent research. Their Office of Fellowships and Internships can guide you through the process.
The Yenching Academy of Peking University offers a Master’s degree in China Studies offered in the English language. Fellowships for international Yenching Scholars, which cover airfare, tuition/fees, and a single dorm room on campus, are for twelve months, during the course of which Scholars complete their coursework and may complete the thesis. Financial aid packages are available for those who wish to remain on campus for a second year.