Selected Professions Fellowships by AAUW

Selected Professions Fellowships are awarded to women who intend to pursue a full-time course of study at accredited U.S. institutions during the fellowship year in one of the designated degree programs where women’s participation traditionally has been low. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

These fellowships were established in 1970 with a $25,000 grant from the Max C. Fleischmann Foundation. 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.

AAUW encourages applicants interested in funding for bachelor’s degrees, associate degrees, certification programs, technical school, and other master’s degrees to consider eligibility guidelines for Career Development Grants. 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).