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Fellowships

Vassar College

List of Vassar Fellowships for Graduate Study

Apply for a General Vassar Fellowship for Graduate Study

There are several fellowships available in restricted and unrestricted areas of study. Each year the unrestricted awards are $4,000 on average with some restricted fields offering slightly higher awards (complete list of Fellowships with brief description below).

By submitting the general application you will be considered for all of the fellowships you are eligible for. Your field of study will determine for which fellowships you will be considered. An applicant may receive only one fellowship per year but may reapply in subsequent years. It is your responsibility to keep the adviser for fellowships informed of changes and updates regarding your anticipated study or offers of funding that you may receive.

Please note: if you are confident that you will receive a tuition waiver and a generous stipend from your graduate school program, there is no reason to apply for a Vassar Fellowship. However, if you are unsure of the level of financial support you will be offered, feel welcome to apply with the understanding that you will withdraw your application for Vassar funds in the happy event you receive full funding from another source. The Committee on Fellowships will make all decisions regarding the final awarding of the fellowships. Decisions should be announced by May.

I. Restricted Fellowships for Graduate Study

  • Katharine Jones Baker Fellowship: Open to Vassar graduates to do graduate work in the fields of biological sciences, medicine, chemistry or physics at Columbia, Harvard, MIT or other comparable nationally-recognized institutions.
  • Eliza Buffington Fellowship: Open to graduates of Vassar College doing original research. The work need not be done at a college or university or lead to a degree.
  • Nancy Skinner Clark Fellowship: For study in botany and biology. Open to members of the graduating class or, if no senior is qualified, to alums.
  • De Golier Fellowship: To be awarded to a De Golier Prize recipient, past or present for graduate study.
  • Elizabeth Skinner Hubbard Fellowship: For study in religion. Open to members of the graduating class or, if no senior is qualified, to alums.
  • Sheila Cobb Ewing Fellowship: For graduating seniors and/or alums to pursue graduate education in literary or creative studies with a preference for those pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in poetry. 
  • Ilse Hempel Lipschutz Fellowship: To provide support to graduating seniors or alums for advanced study, or academic or field research in French or Francophone studies, including but not limited to the disciplines of history, anthropology, literature, and language.
  • Linda Nochlin '51 Fellowship: For a graduating senior or recent alum to pursue advanced study in Art History.
  • H.B. and J.S. Nicholas Fellowship: For study at Yale in fields of science, preferably zoology.
  • Mary Pemberton Nourse Fellowship: For graduate study in medicine, public health, nursing, social work or related fields.
  • Margaret C. Peabody Fellowship in International Relations: Open to members of the graduating class. (This has been awarded to alums in the past as well.)
  • Helen Dwight Reid Fellowship: To be awarded each year to an outstanding senior for advanced study in international affairs or any related field contributing to better international understanding.
  • Julie Reinganum ’77 Fellowship for Peace and Diplomacy: For graduating seniors and/or alums to pursue graduate education in international studies. Preference will be given to those students who wish to study in Asia and the Middle East to pursue peace and diplomacy.
  • Mary Landon Sague: For the study of chemistry.
  • Belle Skinner Fellowship: For graduate study in history in France, preferably at a university of the provinces. Open to members of the graduating class or, if no senior is qualified, to alums.
  • Elinor Wardle Squier Townsend Fellowship: For the study of art history, preferably abroad. Open to members of the graduating class or to alums.
  • Margaret Floy Washburn Fund: For a promising graduate, with a preference for students in psychology.
  • Emilie Louise Wells Fellowship: To aid in the advancement of knowledge of economics and social activities and to promote social work. Open to members of the graduating class and to alums.

II. Unrestricted Fellowships for Graduate Study

Open to any field of graduate study

These fellowships are frequently divided; normally 16–20 are awarded each year.

  • Mary Richardson and Lydia Pratt Babbott Fellowship: Open to graduates of Vassar College and members of the graduating class, for graduate study.
  • Eloise Ellery Fellowship: For study in the first and second years after graduating from Vassar College.
  • Dorothy Evans Fellowship: Research and graduate work in any field.
  • The Oppi Handler Fellowship: Open to members of the graduating class or recent graduates for graduate study.
  • James Ryland and Georgia A. Kendrick Fellowship: Open to members of the graduating class or graduates of the previous year.
  • Adolph Sutro Fellowship: Open to members of the graduating class or to alums of the last five years. (For distinguished scholarship, scientific discovery, and inventions.)
  • Louise Hart Van Loon Fellowship: Open to members of the graduating class or to alums.
  • Elsie Van Dyck DeWitt Scholarship Fund: To be used to aid and encourage graduates of Vassar in pursuing post-graduate studies.

NOTE: These two fellowships for study abroad have separate applications:

Walter N. Maguire Fellowship Fund: for study in any country outside the United States in which a graduating senior or recent graduate can pursue their special interest in the humanities, broadly defined.

Ann Cornelisen Fund for Post Graduate Fellowships: for language study abroad preferably in conjunction with an interest in sociology, diplomatic service or international law.