Fellowships

A fellowship is an opportunity for growth and development funded by an organization outside of Centre College. It can be a post-graduate (post college) experience, an experience during your undergraduate career, or an experience during the summer. Fellowships are usually academic in nature like a graduate degree, but they can be practical like a research internship or working to eliminate poverty. A fellowship can also be a scholarship that helps with costs at Centre or a stipend that covers living expenses and involves a teaching and learning experience in another country. Regardless, there is always a competitive application and selection process that is used to choose candidates who best exemplify the mission of the fellowship and the criteria used for its selection.

Fellowships can help students and alumni reach their personal academic or pre-professional goals by providing meaningful undergraduate and post-graduate experiences as well as the financial support to pursue them. Fellowships help students advance and/or refine their academic or professional goals through hands-on or on-site study, research, leadership, and/or service activities during the summer, throughout the academic year, or after graduation. These activities can build on or expand the education students receive at Centre and can help students and alumni forge connections in their field or their areas of interest. Applying for fellowships also helps students and alumni think critically about their goals and purposes regarding educational and other pursuits. Regardless of whether students or alumni are successful in their pursuit of fellowships, they will certainly come to know themselves better through the application and selection processes.

Although many fellowship opportunities are available to recent graduates or students getting ready to graduate, a large number of fellowship opportunities are available to current students, too. Eligibility for each fellowship differs, but there are options available for all students regardless of citizen status or nationality. The Office of Fellowships can assist you in finding a fellowship that fits your goals and for which you are eligible.

The best preparation you can make is to pursue your interests and passions through coursework at Centre as well as through related internships, research experiences, service activities, and/or leadership opportunities both on and off campus. You should seek fellowships that fit what you are already doing and that reflect your goals, the vision you have for yourself, and the issues, etc., to which you are deeply committed.

You can find the most up-to-date information about selected fellowships on the Undergraduate or Post-Graduate Opportunities webpages. The Office of Fellowship also announces information sessions, on-campus selection deadlines, summer opportunities, and more via social media and through email using the listserv for your graduating cohort. Look through the opportunities listed and then make an appointment with the Office of Fellowships.

Yes, the Office of Fellowships provides advising to current students as well as alumni for fellowship applications and fellowship interviews. You can receive feedback on your written applications, video submissions, remote or in-person interviews, and all other aspects of the application and selection processes.

The application process for every fellowship is different but most fellowships require at least one personal essay and several letters of recommendation. Some may even require a separate institutional endorsement process, including pre-application processes and on-campus interviews. Thus, it is crucial to understand the application process for each fellowship early on and take the appropriate steps necessary to ensure you complete the process in time to be considered as a candidate. Ideally, this is done months before the on-campus or national deadline. For help and guidance with application deadlines and processes, please make an appointment with the Office of Fellowships.