AAUW International Fellowships 2028-2029 for Women: $20,000 to $25,000, STEM Eligibility and Deadline

The AAUW International Fellowships give women who are not US citizens or permanent residents $20,000 for a master’s degree or $25,000 for a doctorate, to study full time at an accredited university in the United States. They are run by the American Association of University Women (AAUW), a US nonprofit, and the award is paid straight to you. From the 2027-2028 cycle onward, AAUW limits the fellowship to STEM degree programmes, which is the biggest change most listing sites have missed.

The 2027-2028 round opened on 17 August 2026 and closed on 17 September 2026 at 5 p.m. Eastern Time, so it is over. The Deadline for the following round is 17 September 2027, with the portal expected to open on 17 August 2027. Below is everything AAUW published for the last cycle: eligibility, documents, English scores, selection criteria and tax, checked on the official AAUW page on 25 October 2026.

AAUW International Fellowships: key facts

1. Provider: American Association of University Women (AAUW), Washington, DC.
2. Who it is for: women who are not US citizens, not US permanent residents and have no pending green card application.
3. Study level: a first master’s degree or a first academic or professional doctorate.
4. Fields: STEM degree programmes only, judged by the classification of the degree, not your research topic.
5. Amount: $20,000 for master’s, $25,000 for doctoral fellows, paid in two equal instalments.
6. Minimum grade: cumulative GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale for your highest degree.
7. Renewable: no. It is a one-time award.
8. Application fee: AAUW does not mention one.

AAUW International Fellowships Deadline and key dates

AAUW now runs a short, one-month application window. The table shows the 2027-2028 timeline AAUW published, and the dates for the next round.

(Next-round dates are based on this year’s dates; confirm on the official page when the call opens.) The 5 p.m. Eastern Time cut-off is 9 p.m. GMT in September, which is 10 p.m. in Lagos, midnight in Nairobi and 2:30 a.m. the next morning in New Delhi. AAUW’s FAQ says it will not tell anyone their result before 15 March, so do not email asking for an early decision.

If you deferred your admission, the FAQ gives a slightly earlier start rule: the programme must begin on or before 1 September of the fellowship year. Check which rule applies to you before you submit.

How much the AAUW International Fellowships pay

The money goes to you, the fellow, at the start and the midpoint of the fellowship year. It is not a tuition waiver, so you decide how to split it between fees, rent and living costs. That flexibility is useful, but it also means the award is a supplement. Tuition alone at many US graduate schools is higher than $20,000 a year, which is why AAUW asks every applicant for a financial plan.

Tax on the stipend

AAUW withholds US tax from fellows studying in the US: 14% if you hold F, J, M or Q status (or a lower treaty rate applies), and 30% if you hold another status or have no US tax ID. On a $20,000 award, 14% is $2,800, so budget for about $17,200 in hand unless your country has a tax treaty that lowers the rate. Fellows studying outside the US have no withholding.

AAUW International Fellowships eligibility

You must meet every one of these at the time you apply. There is no nationality list: women from any country outside the US can apply, whether you live in Ghana, Brazil, Pakistan, Indonesia or Germany.

• Gender: you identify as a woman.
• Citizenship: you are not a US citizen, not a US permanent resident, and you do not have a green card application pending.
• Admission: you are already admitted to, or enrolled in, a first master’s or first doctorate in a STEM field.
• Prior degree: you hold at least one degree equivalent to a US bachelor’s.
• GPA: at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale for your highest degree.
• One application: one degree type (master’s or doctorate) in one field. Dual-degree students pick one.
• Full-time study: at an institution accredited by the US Department of Education. Part-time study does not qualify.
• Residence: you live in the US, or in your study country, for the whole fellowship year.

Which fields count as STEM

AAUW lists life and biological sciences, physical sciences, earth and environmental sciences, STEM-based health and medical sciences, computer and data sciences, engineering, mathematics and statistics, plus the professional medical degrees in the table above. If you are not sure whether your programme qualifies, AAUW points applicants to the US Department of Homeland Security STEM Designated Degree Program List. The test is the official classification of your degree. A public health master’s with a STEM code counts; a business degree with a data project does not.

Eligibility edge cases

• You already have a master’s: you cannot get the master’s award for a second master’s. You can still apply for a doctorate, as long as it is your first doctorate.
• Your school does not grade on a 4.0 scale: you prove your GPA with your university’s official conversion, a conversion tool such as Scholaro, or a credential evaluation such as WES or ECE with a course-by-course grade list.
• You want to study outside the US: this is allowed only in two cases. Either your country is under a US travel ban and you cannot get a US student visa, or your country is not under a ban and you are a member of Graduate Women International (GWI). Foreign branch campuses of US universities count as outside the US.
• You won an AAUW award before: past AAUW fellowship or grant recipients are not eligible, except for Community Action Grants and branch or local awards.
• Family links to AAUW: AAUW board members, staff, contractors, interns, review panellists and their immediate family cannot apply.

Documents and English test scores

Incomplete applications are not considered, so gather these weeks before the portal opens.

Scores are valid for two years, except Cambridge, which does not expire. Institutional TOEFL scores are not accepted. You can skip the test if English is your native language, or if you hold a secondary diploma or undergraduate degree from an English-speaking institution, or completed one full-time semester in your discipline at one. Applicants from English-medium systems such as Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana or India usually use transcripts or a letter confirming English as the language of instruction.

How to apply for the AAUW International Fellowships

1. Secure admission first: apply to US graduate programmes in late 2026 and early 2027 so that you hold an admission letter by August 2027. Without proof of admission or enrolment, you cannot apply.
2. Confirm your degree is STEM: check the programme’s classification against the DHS STEM list or ask the department for its CIP code.
3. Convert your GPA: get an official 4.0-scale conversion or a WES or ECE evaluation. Evaluations can take several weeks, so order early.
4. Arrange translations: get certified English translations of your highest degree documents if they are not in English.
5. Brief your two referees: send them your plan, CV and the selection criteria in July, and give them a target date a week before the deadline.
6. Open the application on 17 August: create an account on the AAUW application portal linked from the official fellowship page and start the form.
7. Write and upload your narrative: answer each question against the selection criteria below.
8. Submit before 5 p.m. ET on 17 September: check that every upload opens, that names match across documents, and that both letters have arrived.

If you need help briefing referees, our guide to the recommendation letter for scholarships has samples you can share with them. AAUW discourages form letters, so ask each referee to write about specific work you did with them.

How AAUW selects fellows

Panels score master’s and doctoral applicants on the same five core criteria. Doctoral applicants get one extra.

• Academic excellence: grades, research and awards.
• Feasibility of your plan: whether your study timeline and goals are realistic.
• Commitment to women and girls: what you have already done for them through work, community or civic activity.
• Long-term career goals and impact: where the degree takes you and who benefits.
• Financial plan: how you will pay the costs the fellowship does not cover.
• Doctorate only: the originality and potential contribution of your proposed research.

When two applicants are equally strong, AAUW may prefer the one who comes from a country underrepresented among past fellows, is studying abroad for the first time, lives in her home country when applying, is a first-generation graduate, grew up in or heads a single-parent household, has caregiving responsibilities (including pregnancy), or studies at an R2 university or one with limited research resources.

How to write the AAUW narrative

AAUW does not publish its narrative questions or word limits before the portal opens, so build your draft around the scoring criteria. I would plan it in four parts.

1. The problem you work on: one specific scientific or health problem and why it matters where you come from.
2. Your track record: the research, job or project that proves you can do this degree, with numbers where you have them.
3. Your work for women and girls: a concrete example, such as a coding club you ran for schoolgirls or a maternal health outreach you organised, with how many people it reached.
4. Your plan and money: course timeline, career goal after graduation, and a line-by-line budget showing tuition, living costs, the AAUW award, and your other funding.

A short example opening for a public health applicant: “In the district clinic where I worked for three years, one in four pregnant women we screened was anaemic, and none of our records could show why. My MPH in epidemiology is how I plan to find out.” Yours should come from your own work, with your own numbers.

Costs the fellowship does not cover

• Any tuition above what you choose to pay from the award, which at many US universities is well over $20,000 a year.
• University health insurance, which most US schools require international students to buy.
• The US visa application fee and the SEVIS I-901 fee.
• Flights, which AAUW does not pay separately.
• The 14% or 30% tax withholding described above.
• Credential evaluation, translation and English test fees.

Your university will also ask for proof of funds before it issues your I-20, and the AAUW result comes in March, often after that request. Many fellows combine the award with a teaching or research assistantship from their department.

Common mistakes applicants make

• Applying with a non-STEM degree because an old listing said all fields were eligible.
• Applying before getting admission. The fellowship does not fund applicants who are still waiting on universities.
• Uploading a GPA on a 5-point or percentage scale without an official 4.0 conversion.
• Using a referee’s personal Gmail address or a dossier service.
• Leaving the financial plan vague. “I will look for other scholarships” is not a plan.
• Treating the deadline as midnight. It closes at 5 p.m. Eastern Time.

AAUW compared with similar US awards

For a wider list, see our roundup of US scholarships with upcoming deadlines and our guide to scholarships for college students, which separates awards open to international students from those for US citizens.

Who should apply and who should not

Apply if you are a woman from outside the US, you already hold or expect admission to a STEM master’s or doctorate starting by mid-September, your highest degree converts to at least 3.5, and you can point to real work that helped women or girls. It is worth the effort even if you have an assistantship, because the money stacks with it.

Skip it if your programme is in business, law, the humanities or most social sciences, if you are studying part time or online, if you already finished a master’s and want a second one, or if you hold a US green card or have one pending. Postdoctoral researchers should look at AAUW’s separate postdoctoral fellowship.

FAQ on the AAUW International Fellowships

When is the AAUW International Fellowship deadline?

The Deadline is 17 September 2027 at 5 p.m. Eastern Time, with applications opening on 17 August 2027. The 2026 round closed on 17 September 2026.

Is the AAUW International Fellowship fully funded?

No. It pays $20,000 for master’s or $25,000 for doctoral study, which usually covers part of a year’s costs. You must show how you will pay the rest.

Can I apply for the AAUW fellowship without admission?

No. You must already be admitted to or enrolled in your programme and upload the admission letter or enrolment proof with your application.

Can non-STEM students apply for the AAUW International Fellowships?

Not under the 2027-2028 rules, which limited the fellowship to STEM degree programmes, including medicine, pharmacy and veterinary degrees. Check the official page each August in case AAUW changes the field list.

Sources and updates

Dates, amounts, eligibility, documents, English scores, selection and preference criteria, and tax withholding come from the official AAUW International Fellowships page and its FAQ, read on 25 October 2026. The fellowship-year framing and the older all-fields rule were compared against Scholars4Dev’s AAUW listings for 2026-2027 and 2027-2028. Next-round dates are based on the 2027-2028 calendar and will be updated here when AAUW opens the 2028-2029 call.

Jude Chinecherem

I am Jude Chinecherem, a final-year MBBS student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I know what it feels like to want an education your family cannot afford. When my parents could not pay for my schooling, I had to learn how to find scholarships and work the system out on my own, with nobody to guide me. I came out the other side, and now I share everything I learned so the next student does not have to figure it out alone. This is the advice I wish someone had given me back then.