United States: Selected Professions Fellowships 2023

Initially, they focused on opening doors for women in the male-dominated fields of law and medicine. However, the focus expanded over time to include science and technology, since the demand for a technologically skilled workforce has grown without proportional representation by women.

Selected Professions Fellowships are awarded for the following master’s programs:

• Architecture.
• Computer/information sciences.
• Engineering.
• Mathematics/statistics.

Fellowships in the following degree programs are restricted to women of color, who have been underrepresented in these fields:

• Master’s in business administration.
• Law.
• Doctorate in medicine.

Funding Information

• Award amount: $20,000

Eligibility Criteria

• AAUW awards Selected Professions Fellowships to women, including people who identify as women, who are citizens or permanent residents of the United States and who have achieved high standards of academic excellence and show promise of distinction in their respective fields.
• Applicants must be full-time students at an accredited U.S. institution during the fellowship year and must pursue a course of study in the United States over the full academic year. Priority is given to women who do not already hold a master’s or first professional degree.
• Selected Professions Fellowships are not open to previous recipients of any AAUW national fellowship or grant (not including branch or local awards or Community Action Grants).
• Women in two categories are eligible to apply:
  • Science and Technology Group
  • Focus Professions Group.
• Applicants can only apply for one AAUW award per year.
• Science and Technology Group Fellowships
  • The following disciplines and master’s level degrees are eligible for fellowship funding:
    • Architecture (M.Arch.).
    • Computer/information science (MS).
    • Engineering (ME, MS).
    • Mathematics/statistics (MS).
• Focus Professions Group Fellowships
  • Open only to women from ethnic minority groups historically underrepresented in certain fields within the United States: Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino/a, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.
  • The designated fields eligible for fellowship funding are:
    • Business administration (MBA).
    • Law (JD).
    • Medicine (MD), (DO).

Ineligible

• Selected Professions Fellowships are not available for:
  • Purchase of equipment.
  • Indirect costs.
  • Research assistants.
  • Previous expenditures, deficits or repayments of loans.
  • Publication costs.
  • Institutional (overhead) costs.
  • Tuition for dependent’s education.

Selection Criteria

• The following criteria apply to the selection of Selected Professions Fellowships
  • Demonstrated commitment to education and equity for women and girls.
  • Reason for seeking higher education.
  • Degree to which study plan is consistent with career objectives.
  • Potential as a practicing professional and potential as a role model in new and innovative or nontraditional fields of study, research or practice.
  • Intent to contribute (through chosen profession) to societal well-being and commitment to the advancement of women and girls.
  • Quality of written proposal.
  • Priority is given to women who do not already hold a master’s or first professional degree.
  • Applicant is from an underrepresented racial/ethnic background.

For more information, visit AAUW.