AAUW International Fellowships 2027-28 – Eligibility, Deadline and How to Apply

Status: Closed — applications for the AAUW International Fellowships 2027–28 opened on 17 August 2026 at 9:00 a.m. ET and closed on 17 September 2026 at 5:00 p.m. ET. Award notification is in March 2027. This article was checked against the official AAUW programme page on 14 November 2026, and the official source is linked at the end so you can confirm the next cycle when it is announced. AAUW’s International Fellowships are for women from outside the United States who want to study in the United States, and they have a long history: since 1917, AAUW’s fellowships have supported women in graduate study, and today the international programme is an important route for women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics to study at an American university.

For the 2027–28 fellowship year, the programme is focused on STEM. The supported degrees are a master’s degree, an academic doctorate and a professional doctorate, and all studies must be in a STEM field at an accredited U.S. institution, on a full-time basis. That focus is important to understand, because it means that the fellowship is not a general graduate scholarship. It is a targeted award for women in science and technology disciplines who want to study in the United States, and it is also a programme that looks for applicants who are committed to supporting other underrepresented women and girls in their field.

Who is eligible

The eligibility rules are precise, and AAUW asks you to check each one against your own circumstances before you apply. Applicants must identify as a woman, and must be non-U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the United States. Applicants must be admitted or enrolled in their first master’s degree or an academic or professional doctorate degree at the time of application, and the degree must be in one of the STEM disciplines. Applicants must also possess at least one academic degree, earned in the U.S. or abroad, that is equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree.

Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale for the highest degree earned. Applicants may apply for only one degree type — either a master’s or a doctoral programme — and in a single specific field, such as Computer Science, Engineering or Physics. If you are pursuing a dual degree, you must select one of the fields in your application. Transcripts are required, and the application should give you guidance on what to submit and how to present an international grading scale.

The programme also sets the timing of the study: applicants must begin their programme on or before 15 September 2027, and complete it on or after 30 April 2028. Study must be pursued in the U.S. on a full-time basis at an institution accredited by the U.S. Department of Education. AAUW sets out its full eligibility rules on the programme page, and those rules should be read in full before you complete an application, because a single overlooked condition can end an otherwise strong application.

What the fellowship provides

Awards for the 2027–28 year are set by level of study. A fellow at master’s level receives a $20,000 stipend for their master’s degree, and a fellow at doctoral level receives a $25,000 stipend for their doctorate. The awards are made in two equal payments, and the first stipend payment is expected between July and September 2027. The award is paid to fellows, not to institutions, and can be used for study-related expenses, so applicants should think carefully about how they will fund their degree, because $20,000 or $25,000 does not pay for a full American graduate programme, and will need to be supplemented by the institution, by other funding sources or by savings.

That is an important point to be honest about. The AAUW fellowship is a meaningful award, but it is a stipend, not a full scholarship. A master’s or a doctorate at a U.S. institution costs far more in tuition alone than the stipend covers, and applicants should check with the institution where they intend to study what the total cost will be, and what other financial aid, scholarships and assistantships are available. The AAUW award is designed to help, but it is not designed to pay for an entire degree.

Who else can benefit from the award? AAUW’s mission is to advance equity for women and girls, and the International Fellowships programme is intended for women who will use their education to support their communities and the next generation of women in STEM. The programme page states that it is for women in STEM programmes, and for women whose studies at a U.S. accredited institution are expected to be in a STEM field. If you are studying a STEM field and you are a woman from outside the United States, and you are ready for full-time graduate study, the AAUW International Fellowship is a worthwhile addition to your funding plan.

What the fellowship does not fund

AAUW’s International Fellowship is for study in the United States. It does not fund study outside the United States, and it does not fund study that is not in a STEM field in the 2027–28 cycle. The award also cannot be deferred — if you are selected and you cannot begin by the programme’s start date, you will lose the award. It cannot be used to pay for a degree you have already completed, and it cannot be used to fund a degree that begins before the fellowship year starts.

It also does not pay for the costs of non-academic travel, of dependants, or of study that is not part of the degree you are funded for. The award’s rules make that clear, and applicants should read them before they commit to a place at an American university. If you are unsure whether a particular expense is covered, ask AAUW before you rely on the award to pay it, rather than after you arrive in the United States.

The 2027–28 timeline

For the 2027–28 year, applications opened on 17 August 2026 at 9:00 a.m. ET and closed on 17 September 2026 at 5:00 p.m. ET. The application deadline was 17 September 2026, and applicants were asked to submit before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Given that the deadline is now past, the 2027–28 call is closed, and the next step is to watch for the next cycle and to prepare a strong application in good time.

For fellows selected in this cycle, the timeline is as follows: award notification is in March 2027, the first stipend payment is expected in July to September 2027, fellows must begin their programme by 15 September 2027, and complete it on or after 30 April 2028. If you are reading this after the 17 September 2026 deadline, start working on your application for the next cycle now: find an institution, think about your GPA and transcripts, and contact your referees, so that your application is ready when the window opens again.

How to apply

Applications are made through the AAUW application portal, and there is no fee to apply. When the next cycle is announced, apply through the AAUW programme page, not through an agent or a paid intermediary. Prepare to show your GPA and transcript, your degree plans and your commitment to the STEM field you want to study. AAUW asks for proof of your academic record, and the application portal will specify what to submit, when to submit it and how it will be used.

Keep in mind that the application is short — less than five weeks from opening to closing in the 2027–28 cycle — and that the deadline is at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. In Pakistan, that is a different time of day, and a difference of several hours matters. If your application includes letters, a transcript and evidence of how you plan to support women in your field, collect those materials before the window opens, rather than after it, so you are ready to submit early.

Official source

Verify the award amounts, eligibility and timeline on the official AAUW page before you apply: https://www.aauw.org/resources/programs/fellowships-grants/aauw-international-fellowships/. This article was checked on 14 November 2026; programme details can change, so the official page is the final authority.