What is a Fellowship?
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What are Fellowships? Fellowships are like merit-based scholarships given to students to aid their education costs abroad. These fellowships are generally given to students for advanced studies at UG, PG or research levels.
In this guide about what a fellowship is, we'll discuss the meaning, different types and top available fellowships for Indian students going to study abroad. These fellowships are suitable for PhD candidates, master's students and even UG researchers. This article will provide you with the right knowledge to get a suitable fellowship for yourself to do research abroad.
Since both the fellowship and scholarship are monetary funds given to students to pay for their higher education, confusion in understanding the difference between both is commonly observed among our readers. To help with that, this article also presents a clear difference between the two.
In general, Fellowships are aimed at promoting the professional development of their recipients. The organisation granting a fellowship aims to enhance its leadership in the field for which it’s being given. The recipient also gets to accomplish his/her professional/educational pursuits without the stress of having limited monetary funds.
- What is a Fellowship?
- What is a Fellowship Program?
- Types of Fellowships Abroad
- Top Fellowships Abroad for Students
- How to Apply for Fellowships Abroad?
- What are the Differences between Fellowships and Scholarships?
What is a Fellowship?
A fellowship meaning is funding or financial aid provided to researchers from varied backgrounds - professional and academic. Fellowships are funds offered to exceptional students willing to research a unique topic. Researching on a large scale requires funding, thus for this exercise, fellowships are offered. Fellowships are ideally offered to PhD and MPhil students in universities abroad. In some cases, undergrads working on research can also be eligible for a fellowship. Also in Australia, there are master's courses by research and those applicants can also avail of fellowships.
What is a Fellowship Program?
A fellowship program is a funding program that gives students opportunities to take up MPhil or PhD programs with funding. Some UG courses are also eligible for fellowship. Fellowship programs give students the financial support in terms of study costs, living costs and even travel costs to attend workshops or seminars in different locations. A fellowship is basically multifaceted funding to research students.
Importance of a Fellowship to Study Abroad
Once you have understood what is a fellowship let's dig deeper about it. There are a few key pointers which describe the importance of funding programs offered to students abroad-
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Offer funding to conduct research (on and off field) and to attend workshops related to their project and research. Plus, funding includes tuition and living and may also involve travelling costs in some cases.
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Funding programs also include mentorship to students. This means they get mentors or guides (in simpler terms) who help them research their project. The applicants do not have to pay their mentors directly, rather the funding takes care of it.
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Funding programs also include allowing researchers to work as teaching assistants (TA) or research assistants (RA). Both of these roles are a part of learning and the applicants get a stipend also. This is a type of learning before actually becoming a professor.
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Fellowship programs often bring together researchers which in turn help them to network with one another. This opens opportunities for exchanging ideas, knowledge and even references for research the applicants are working on.
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Finally, students can find good employment opportunities if they get fellowships to complete their education.
Universities are usually not the only ones to offer fellowship programs. The fellowships can also be offered by the government, private institutions and other institutions.
Types of Fellowships Abroad
As per Oregon State University, there are four types of fellowships offered to students across the globe. Check out the details about them all in the following section-
Predoctoral Fellowships
A predoctoral fellowship is another name for a graduate fellowship is government-funded fellowship for students. In this case, applicants have the right to choose the program and university they wish to pursue their studies in once their research proposal is accepted. These fellowships are offered to some of the most meritorious students and the competition is usually very high. The funding is provided through fellowships is for a long duration, spanning multiple years. The funding includes studying costs and living costs of the awardee, in some cases a research allowance may also be included.
Dissertation Fellowships
Dissertation fellowships are offered only for one year to students which is just to complete their dissertation writing. The funding may not include educational expenses, however, living costs are included for those qualifying for the dissertation fellowships.
Traineeships
The traineeships are also a type of fellowship offered to research level students. These fellowships offer a competitive stipend, costs to cover education funding. Traineeships are basically are offered under training grants secured by institutional faculty to develop the next generation of disciplinary and/or multidisciplinary experts who will become leaders and innovators in their professional careers. The only difference between predoctoral and traineeship fellowships is that the principal investigator selects the applicants for the advanced program.
Institutional Graduate Fellowships
Academic programs or the Graduate School may offer institutional graduate fellowships to attract or retain high-quality graduate students and promote a diverse student body with a wide range of perspectives. These fellowships are typically funded through donations to the OSU Foundation or other authorized funds designated by the Provost for strategic purposes. Such internally funded fellowships generally provide a stipend to cover the recipient's living expenses but do not include funds for education or research costs.
Securing a fellowship abroad can be a life-changing opportunity for students and researchers alike. Not only these programs provide financial support, but also offer invaluable experiences, mentorship and networking opportunities that can shape your academic and professional trajectory. Thus, choose the best possible option to fund your education abroad.
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Top Fellowships Abroad for Students
Some of the most popular fellowships abroad for students studying across different countries are as follows-
Fellowships in USA
In order to study in USA, here are a few commonly offered fellowships to students planning for US university admissions-
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American Association for University Women – International Fellowships
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American Scandinavian Foundation
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Association for Women in Science Educational Foundation
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National Academies Fellowships
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Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship Program
Check out the complete list of scholarships and fellowships in USA for international students.
Fellowships in UK
If you want to pursue a research level program in the UK, you can check out some common fellowships offered across UK universities-
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APS/British Academy Fellowship for Research in London
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APS/Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities Fellowship for Research in Edinburgh
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Atlantic Fellows Programme- Visiting Atlantic Fellow
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Atlantic Non-Residential Fellows
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Anne McLaren Fellowships
Check out the complete list of scholarships and fellowships in UK offered to international students.
Fellowships in Canada
To study in Canada some of the renowned research programs, applicants can check out fellowships offered at Canadian universities below-
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Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship
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Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship & Fellowship Plan
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Trudeau Scholarships & Fellowships
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Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Doctoral Fellowships For Innovative Researchers
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Government Of Canada Postdoctoral Fellowships For International Scientists
You can also check out other scholarships and fellowships in Canada for research students.
You can also check out about the popular Fulbright Fellowship as well if you are planning to study abroad as a research student.
How to Apply for Fellowships Abroad?
If you are applying for a fellowship abroad, then you will have to check the channel for applications. If it is a government funded fellowship, then the applications will be accepted through the government website. However, if the applications are accepted through the university website along with the admission application then there is a different course of action. The application process may differ with who the fellowship provider is. Applicants can follow the steps to submit fellowship requests based on the instructions they get.
What are the Differences between Fellowships and Scholarships?
The broad difference between the meaning and purpose of these two is that a scholarship in general is given to students for academic/higher education pursuits, while a fellowship is given for doing research.
- A fellowship requires you to do research on a specific topic in exchange of the monetary grant. While a scholarship is given to you without demanding anything in return. So, you don't have to repay by doing research or by repaying equal amounts of money to the awarding organisation.
- Certain fellowships may also require a research proposal from you for the screening round. You commit to do this research during the period for which the fellowship will remain valid, if granted to you. While the application for scholarships do not require a research proposal.
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Commonly asked questions
Availing scholarships for handling expenses becomes important for international students to manage all university expenditures and cost of living, while studying in their dream university. Scholarships pay a great role in deciding a student's career prospect by decreasing the burden of expenses from their shoulders. There are various attractive Scholarships that can be availed by Indian Students for studying abroad. Some of them are:
Student cannot study in abroad without taking standard exam. Exams are required for admission to foreign universities. Exams is way to know about student's academic abilities and language proficiency. It make sure that they are prepared for struggles of studying abroad. But there are few exceptions as mentioned below-
- Language Programs- Students who enroll in language program they need not need to take academic subject tests. But students will still need to show language proof.
- Portfolio Programs- For some programs such as- art, design, etc., students may be able to submit portfolio of their work instead of taking exams.
- Work Programs- Some programs such as internships may not require students to take exams such as SAT, IELTS, TOEFL, etc.
University of East London is a public university based in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1898 and runs seven schools. In the World University Rankings 2025 it ranks 1001-1200th. It ranked 89th in the United Kingdom and scored Top 50% across 119 topics of research. Out of 131 universities in England it ranks at #73 and #18 out of 35 universities of london.
The medical insurance for international students in UK will cost £776 per annually. This is the Immigration Health Surcharge, paid during the visa application, along with the visa fees. This will allow the students to gain access to NHS services, which will make healthcare affordable, except for dental care, eye care, surgeries, or prescription medications. If there is a dependent accompanying the student, a separate Immigration Health Surcharge fee needs to be paid during the visa application fee payment. If one feels, one can add a private health insurance along with NHS services to cover the other aspects of healthcare, not covered by the NHS.
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