Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships

Urban Fellows Program

The Urban Fellows Program is a nine-month fellowship in New York City that combines work in Mayoral offices and City agencies with volunteer service opportunities and a seminar series that explores current urban issues impacting public policy.

https://www1.nyc.gov/site/dcas/employment/urban-fellows.page

Deadline: January 13, 2023, 6pm EST (Tentative Deadline)

Penn’s Application Process

• While the Urban Fellows Program does not require Penn’s nomination, CURF will be happy to provide advice, guidance, and application assistance to you.

Critical Language Scholarship

The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program is a fully funded summer overseas language and cultural immersion program for American undergraduate and graduate students. With the goal of broadening the base of Americans studying and mastering critical languages and building relationships between the people of the United States and other countries, CLS provides opportunities to a diverse range of students from across the United States at every level of language learning.

http://clscholarship.org/

Deadline: November 15, 2022 (Tentative deadline)

Penn’s Application Process

• While the Critical Language Scholarship does not require Penn’s nomination, CURF will be happy to provide advice, guidance, and application assistance to interested graduate students.  Undergraduate students are encouraged to contact Kristyn Palmiotto in Penn Abroad (krpalm@upenn.edu). 

Humanity in Action

Fellows first participate in an intensive three-week summer educational program providing a country and context-specific curriculum (currently: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, the Netherlands, or Poland) that examines historical and contemporary challenges to human rights, pluralism and equality. Then, they embark on developing Action Projects in their own communities.

https://www.humanityinaction.org/fellowship/

Programs projected to be VIRTUAL in 2021 (https://www.humanityinaction.org/fellowship/become-a-fellow/)

Deadline: February 12, 2023 (Tentative Deadline)

Penn’s Application Process

• While Humanity in Action does not require Penn’s nomination, CURF will be happy to provide advice, guidance, and application assistance to you.

Chevening Scholarship

The British Chevening Scholarships, funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), are prestigious scholarships that enable mid-career professionals from abroad to pursue postgraduate studies in the United Kingdom. These scholarships are offered to citizens of more than 100 countries (note: US citizens are not eligible). Applicants must have at least two years of work experience to be eligible to apply.

http://www.chevening.org/

Deadline: November 1, 2022 (12:00pm Noon, GMT) (Tentative Deadline)

Penn’s Application Process

• While the Chevening Scholarship does not require Penn’s nomination, CURF will be happy to provide advice, guidance, and application assistance to you.

Boren Graduate Fellowship

Boren Fellowships, an initiative of the National Security Education Program, provide funding for US graduate students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to US interests.  Boren Fellowships provide funding for overseas language study, academic study, research, an academic internship, or a combination of the above (though all proposals must include a significant language component).  Boren Fellows commit to working in the federal government for at least one year after graduation.

http://www.borenawards.org

Penn Deadline: January 16, 2023 (Tentative Deadline)

Penn’s Application Process

• Submit your application materials directly through the Boren Fellowship website by January 16, 2023.  CURF is then responsible for the final submission of your application. 

Hertz Fellowship

The Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellowship Award supports graduate students working towards the Ph.D. degree in the applied physical, biological and engineering sciences.

https://www.hertzfoundation.org/the-fellowship/

Deadline: October 28, 2022 (Tentative Deadline)

Penn’s Application Process

• While the Hertz Fellowship does not require Penn’s nomination, CURF will be happy to provide advice, guidance, and application assistance to you.

Scoville Peace Fellowship

The Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship funds college graduates to spend six to nine months working on key issues of peace and security in Washington, DC.  Recruited for either a spring or fall fellowship, Fellows serve as full-time project assistants at the participating organization of their choice.  Fellows also attend policy talks, Congressional hearings, coalition meetings, and small group events with experts in government and NGOs arranged by the fellowship. The fellowship provides a salary, benefits, travel expenses to DC for interviews and moving, in addition to a small stipend for attending conferences, policy courses, and foreign language classes.

http://scoville.org/  

Deadlines: January 20, 2023 (for Fall 2023) 

Penn’s Application Process

• While the Scoville Peace Fellowship does not require Penn’s nomination, CURF will be happy to provide advice, guidance, and application assistance to you.  

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP)

The National Science Foundation offers approximately 900 graduate fellowships each year, including additional awards for women in engineering and computer and information science. Fellowships provide three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based master’s or doctoral degrees at US universities in science, mathematics and engineering supported by the NSF and are intended for students in the early stages of their graduate study.

Potential applicants should:

• Review this NSF-GRFP slide deck presented by an experienced NSF reviewer (Penn login required)
• View this NSF NSF-GRFP Video with NSF reviewer & SEAS Associate Dean (Penn login required)

Deadline: Varies by field – October 17, 2022 (Tentative Deadline, VARIES BY FIELD) see this page for deadlines by field. Detailed NSF program info in HTML or PDF format here)

Questions about eligibility for the NSF-GRFP? See pages 2-3 of https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2021/nsf21602/nsf21602.pdf or contact NSF at info@nsfgrfp.org

Penn’s Application Process

• Applicants should seek assistance on their Proposed Plan of Research essay from their PI, research mentors, and faculty in their proposed field at Penn or their proposed graduate institution
• While the NSF-GRFP does not require Penn’s nomination, CURF will be happy to provide advice, guidance, and application assistance, particularly through draft review of NSF-GRFP Personal, Reverent Background and Future Goals statements
• NSF-GRFP Personal, Reverent Background and Future Goals statement draft review requests should accompanied by your Proposed Plan of Research essay (though CURF's feedback will focus on the NSF-GRFP Personal, Reverent Background and Future Goals statement)

The Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships program provides allocations of academic year and summer fellowships to institutions of higher education to assist meritorious undergraduate students and graduate students undergoing training in modern foreign languages and related area or international studies or with the international aspects of professional or other fields of study.  FLAS awards are available only for specific languages, and are contingent on federal funding.

The FLAS Fellowship in Middle Eastern Languages is for Arabic, Hebrew, Kurdish, Persian, Tajik, and Turkish.

Deadline: February 6, 2023 (Tentative Deadline)

Penn’s Application Process

• Penn’s FLAS application process is not managed by CURF.  Please visit https://www.sas.upenn.edu/flas/instructions.html for application instructions and FAQs, and direct questions to Penn's appropriate FLAS Coordinator. 

Trudeau Scholarship

The Trudeau Scholarship provides three years full funding for a doctoral degree on one of four program themes: Human Rights and Dignity, Responsible Citizenship, Canada and the World, and People and their Natural Environment for either:

• Canadians to earn a doctorate at a foreign (i.e., non-Canadian) university
• Non-Canadians to earn a doctorate at a Canadian university

http://www.trudeaufoundation.ca/en/programs/scholarships

The Trudeau Foundation is currently reviewing the Scholarship with a focus on Inclusive Excellence and Engaged Leadership. Information on this year's competition is now posted.

Application Deadline: December 20, 2022, 5:00pm Eastern Standard Time (Tentative Deadline)

Penn’s Application Process

• While the Trudeau Scholarship does not require Penn’s nomination, CURF will be happy to provide advice, guidance, and application assistance to you.