Even though there were many challenges to 2021, it was still a great year for fellowship programs and their applicants! ProFellow’s member base of over 186,000 fellowship seekers gives us helpful insights into the world’s trendiest fellowships for students, professionals, and academics. In addition to the Top 10 Most Popular Fellowships of 2021, we’ve discovered fellowship programs in the U.S. and abroad that were in a league of their own this year. By comparing the number of new favorites by our users in 2020 to that of 2021, we identified the top 10 trendiest programs this year. Congrats to those who made the list!
#1 PEN American Gap Year Fellowship Program
PEN America, a nonprofit organization working at the intersection of literature and human rights, offers a unique learning opportunity for individuals who are passionate about human rights, free speech, and creative expression, and interested in how the nonprofit sector works. This fellowship opportunity will require a commitment of nine months. It is ideal for a student seeking to take a “gap year” between studies or pausing undergraduate or graduate school. The fellowship provides an opportunity to work with one of the following PEN America departments.
#2 Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship
The Phi Kappa Phi Fellows Program funds first-year graduate students who are pursuing post-baccalaureate degrees across any academic or professional discipline. Endorsed by their local chapter, fellows go on to study at some of the nation’s top graduate schools. There are currently fifty Fellowships of $8,500 each, six at $20,000 each, and two at $35,000 each. Fellows are active members of Phi Kappa Phi who applied to a full-time post-baccalaureate program of study at the accredited US or international institution. International students are eligible. Selection is based on the applicant’s promise of success in graduate or professional study.
#3 Eisenhower Global Scholars
Eisenhower Global Scholars are American college graduates who go abroad for an academic year. They experience intensive study and hands-on work experience, leading to a Master of Public Policy degree from the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford in England or a Master’s in International Relations degree at the School of Global and Public Affairs at IE University in Spain. Candidates must be US citizens or residents between 20 and 30 years old, with a strong academic record, commitment to community involvement, proven leadership potential, and a concrete project proposal that the year of study will advance.
#4 New Urban Progress Fellowship
Urban Progress Fellows strengthen the transatlantic partnership between the US and Germany. Fellows are researchers, journalists, academics, practitioners, community organizers, start-up founders, metro-level problem solvers, or work in city administration. The two-year fellowship includes virtual work and road trips through the US and Germany to engage with innovative urban areas. The program provides an excellent platform for Fellows and integrates them into a large transnational urban public policy network. Week-long delegation trips through the United States and Germany are covered financially by New Urban Progress.
#5 Dorothy Day Fellowship Program
The Dorothy Day Fellowship Program is for women of faith who desire to live in a community and share life with families experiencing homelessness. The two-year residential program in Ohio offers private living space, a stipend, educational options, and opportunities for growth, and more. Each fellow receives mentoring in the fight against family poverty and homelessness, as well as shares in the work of maintaining and staffing the shelter. While not required, fellows can also attend classes at nearby Xavier University to work towards a master’s degree or professional certificate. Women of color are strongly encouraged to apply.
#6 Project Involve Fellowship
Each year, 30 filmmakers from diverse backgrounds work in Los Angeles for nine months to hone skills, form creative partnerships, create short films, and gain industry access needed to succeed as working artists through the Project Involve Fellowship. Fellows develop and produce six original short films, from pitch through premiere. Film Independent provides script consultation, mentorship, equipment, and casting and post-production services. In addition to a cash production grant, filmmakers are provided with resources for raising additional funds. Writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, editors, animators, executives, programmers, and critics from underrepresented communities are invited to apply.
#7 Hodges Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships
The Hodges Foundation for Philosophical Orientation supports innovative dissertations in the wider field of philosophical scholarship, but also outstanding projects in any academic field if they produce philosophically significant insights regarding the research of orientation. Fellowships of $30,000 will be awarded for 12 months of full-time dissertation writing. Candidates must be in the writing stage of their dissertation by the time the fellowship begins. Fellows may be based at an academic institution anywhere in the world, but dissertations must be written in English and connect with the philosophy of orientation.
#8 Critical Thinking Unit Campus Program
The Critical Thinking Unit Campus Program is now accepting applications for fellows to help start a conversation on their campuses about human rights to help spur action. Fellows will act as campus leaders to organize events that stimulate a dialogue among university students about the cultural and socio-religious ideas connected with Islam and the adaptability of those ideas to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Ideal fellows will be active in student organizations that can range from social justice, women’s rights, and to groups that advance liberty. Fellows receive a small stipend, training, network opportunities, and more.
#10 Graduate Fellowships for STEM Diversity
The Graduate Fellowships for STEM Diversity offers fellowships to students in the physical sciences and engineering fields, emphasizing recruitment of a diverse applicant pool. Fellowships last for up to six years, provide a $20,000 annual stipend, and cover all tuition. This opportunity also allows a fellow to hold a research or teaching assistantship, including one or two paid summer internships with a government agency. A mentor will also be provided. If you have previously interned, have been employed, or are employed by a government agency or laboratory, you can ask your mentor or supervisor to directly nominate you for this fellowship.
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