Application Basics
Below you'll find information about why it is valuable to apply for a fellowship and which fellowships require nomination through our office.
Why Applying is Valuable
The application process is rigorous and time-consuming but also valuable. Applying for a fellowship can help students and recent alums in at least three ways.
- First, you can grow as a writer. Our office has the resources and expertise to guide you through multiple revisions of your application, and it is in the revision process that writing growth most occurs.
- Second, you can learn about yourself. Fellowships challenge you to tell stories about your past and articulate a vision for your future in ways you seldom or never do in class.
- Lastly, the process can help you identify and strengthen your relationships with the faculty and mentors who have shaped you into the person you are today. Download this fillable PDF of the mentor map to identify the sources of support you can rely upon as you pursue fellowships.
Nomination Process
Some fellowships require nomination, facilitated by our office, but most do not.
The following fellowships currently require a Northwestern nomination:
- Beinecke Scholarship (contact Jason Kelly Roberts)
- Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship (contact Amy Kehoe)
- This award does not require nomination facilitated by the Office of Fellowships, but it does require that both a financial aid adviser and a study abroad adviser certify your application. All of the advisers are already in Gilman's online database, where you can select them from a drop-down menu. Choose your study abroad adviser based upon your destination.
- Boren Scholarship (contact Stephen Hill)
- Churchill Scholarship (contact LaTanya Williams)
- Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst German Studies Research Grant (contact Stephen Hill)
- Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst Study Scholarship (contact Stephen Hill)
- Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Fund Fellowship (contact Stephen Hill)
- Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship (contact Elizabeth Lewis Pardoe)
- This award does not require nomination facilitated by the Office of Fellowships, but it does require a statement from the institution, often supplied by the school's dean or the department's director of graduate studies, confirming that the applicant is on schedule to graduate by the end of the grant period. Only recipients of the Ford Predoctoral Fellowship are eligible for the Dissertation Fellowship.
- Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (contact Stephen Hill)
- Fulbright US Student Program (contact Stephen Hill for study/research; contact Amy Kehoe for English teaching assistantships)
- George J. Mitchell Scholarship (for current undergraduates) (contact Elizabeth Lewis Pardoe)
- Gilman-McCain Scholarship (contact Amy Kehoe)
- This award does not require nomination facilitated by the Office of Fellowships, but it does require that both a financial aid adviser and a study abroad adviser certify your application. All of the advisers are already in Gilman's online database, where you can select them from a drop-down menu. Choose your study abroad adviser based upon your destination.
- Goldwater Scholarship (contact LaTanya Williams)
- Google PhD Fellowship (contact Stephen Hill)
- James C. Gaither Junior Fellows (contact Amy Kehoe)
- Marshall Scholarship (contact Elizabeth Lewis Pardoe)
- McCall MacBain Scholarships (contact Amy Kehoe)
- Michel David-Weill Scholarship (contact Amy Kehoe)
- Rhodes Scholarship (contact Elizabeth Lewis Pardoe)
- Schmidt Science Fellows (contact LaTanya Williams)
- SITE Lombardy (contact Amy Kehoe)
- Please contact the Department of French and Italian for more information about how to be nominated for this award.
- Truman Scholarship (contact Elizabeth Lewis Pardoe)
- Udall Undergraduate Scholarship (contact Jason Kelly Roberts)
- Yenching Scholars (contact Amy Kehoe)
To view a list of fellowships, including those that do not require nomination, use our fellowship finder tool.
A Note on Fellowship Applications and Confidentiality
Northwestern University is committed to fostering an environment where students are safe and free from sexual misconduct. Confidential resources are available to those who have experienced sexual misconduct. Staff in the Office of Fellowships are not confidential resources and are required to report to the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance incidents of sexual misconduct, whether discussed in your application materials or in person and regardless of when or where they occurred. The Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance will then provide information about resources and options. We encourage students who have experienced sexual misconduct to talk with someone to get support.