2020-21 Masters Student Fellowships

2020-21 Departmental Master’s Fellowship Awards

Applications Due: Friday, May 15, 2020

Each year, Berkeley Social Welfare administers or directly awards approximately two million dollars in graduate student support. Thanks to the generosity of donors, alumni, past and present faculty, staff, and friends of the School, a substantial portion of this amount is given in the form of Departmentally Restricted Awards. These are fellowships established by donors to the School.

What’s Available for 2020-21

We anticipate awarding between 25-30 departmental fellowships for MSW students for the 2020-21 academic year. Award amounts are expected to range between $2,500 and $7,500 with an average award amount of around $4,600. Individual amounts, and the total number of awards made, are subject to availability of funds. Preference may be given to students who have not received as much funding as other students in the department.

Who Can Apply

All continuing MSW students are eligible to apply. This includes students who are already receiving, or plan to apply for, an additional stipend award (e.g. Child Welfare Scholars, LCOE, etc.), those who are already receiving another departmental fellowship award, those who are ineligible to complete the FAFSA, international students, and student loan borrowers.

How to Apply

You must complete and submit one online application (Google Form)

You will be required to upload to your application form a written essay consisting of two parts:

Part 1 - Statement of Need

Please provide any relevant information regarding your financial need that might not otherwise be captured by the FAFSA (or equivalent). Describe any unique situations and/or hardships that may help us better understand your financial need. Any information provided will be used only for SSW fellowship consideration.

Please limit your response to 300 words or less.

Part 2 - Statement of Interest

Please provide a brief statement addressing the following:

a) your career goals and/or areas of focus (and how you've developed them)
b) how this potential award might help you achieve your goals
c) highlight any academic achievements, values, interests and skills relevant to your graduate school career at Berkeley
d) any additional information you feel may aid the selection committee in considering your application.

Please limit your response to 500 words or less.

You will automatically be considered for all available fellowships for which you are eligible. To aid you in crafting your statement of interest, please refer to our Departmental Graduate Fellowships web page to learn more about each individual fellowship's terms.

All fellowship application forms must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, May 15, 2020. No late applications will be accepted. Notification of awards can be expected by July, 2020.

Combining Fellowships with Student Loans

Because your total aid amount cannot exceed the Graduate Student Budget amount, your student loan amounts are adjusted by the Financial Aid Office whenever you receive any additional award. For more information please consult the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office’s Graduate Award Guide.

Additional Fellowship Opportunities

We actively encourage all graduate students to apply for extramural funding opportunities. There are hundreds of public and private fellowships, each with different eligibility requirements and selection criteria. Many Berkeley Social Welfare students have been successful at securing extramural funding - you should apply to all for which you are qualified and eligible! Visit our External Fellowships web page to explore potential outside fellowship opportunities.