AAUW International Fellowship Eligibility 2027–28: The Eight Gates

Quick eligibility checker

Answer eight questions based on the official 2027–28 rules. This is a planning tool, not an AAUW decision.

Citizenship and residency

You must be a non-U.S. citizen. The FAQ is blunt: people holding U.S. permanent residency, or applicants for permanent residency, are not eligible — even if they are citizens of another country. If you have a green-card petition in progress, you are out for this cycle.

You must also reside in the U.S. (or your country of study) for the whole fellowship period. Fieldwork abroad is allowed, but the FAQ treats an absence of more than about six months as breaking the residency rule.

Degree level: first master’s or first doctorate

The master’s award is only for your first master’s. If you already hold one, or will receive one before or during the award year, you cannot apply at master’s level. The same logic applies to the doctoral award. Professional doctorates count: AAUW’s STEM list includes MD, DO, DDS, DMD, OD, DC, DPM, PharmD and DVM.

You may apply for only one degree type in one field. You cannot submit for both a master’s and a doctorate, or for a master’s in biology and a master’s in physics. You may list up to five admitted programmes and institutions — but if you win, you must enrol in one of them, or you lose the award.

GPA: 3.5 means 3.5

The minimum is a cumulative 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. For master’s applicants AAUW calculates it on your bachelor’s-equivalent degree; for doctoral applicants on the highest degree you hold. If you have two degrees at the same level, the most recent counts.

If your university does not use a 4.0 scale, you must supply the conversion yourself — either with a GPA tool such as Scholaro’s calculator or with a credential evaluation from WES, ECE or another NACES member that shows a course-by-course breakdown. Do this early: an evaluation can take weeks, and a self-made conversion that lands on 3.48 ends the application.

English proficiency

Instead of a score you can submit a written statement that English is your native language, or a transcript or diploma showing that your secondary diploma or undergraduate degree came from an English-speaking institution, or that you completed one semester of full-time study in your discipline at one.

Admission and dates

You must be admitted to or enrolled in a programme “at the time of application”, in the official page’s words. A university application that is still under review does not meet that rule. For 2027–28 you had to begin by 15 September 2027 and finish no earlier than 30 April 2028. If you deferred admission into 2027–28, the FAQ says you are still eligible with proof of the deferral; note that this FAQ answer gives the latest start date as 1 September 2027, not 15 September. AAUW has not explained the difference, so a deferred start on or before 1 September 2027 was the safe reading.

Home country: not a pledge, but it is scored

There is no written requirement to return home. What the 2027–28 criteria do say is that reviewers judge “long-term career objectives and commitment to impact”, including how you will “serve [your] home country or the community in which [you] reside”. Living in your home country when you apply is also one of the preferential criteria. If humanitarian or other circumstances stop you returning, AAUW says it will judge your engagement with your home-country communities and/or the community where you now live.

Who is excluded

• Current AAUW board members, employees (including interns and contractors) and review panelists, and their immediate families.
• Previous AAUW fellowship or grant recipients, except Community Action Grant recipients and winners of branch or local AAUW awards.
• Students enrolled, or planning to enrol, part-time. Only full-time programmes or research qualify.

Recheck the official eligibility list when the 2028–29 cycle is published.