Fellowships & Grants

Fellowships and scholarships offer fantastic ways to enhance and extend students’ engagement with environmental issues at Northwestern.  These programs provide the resources, financial and otherwise, to pursue a number of opportunities, including laboratory research, travel, research assistantship, independent research, specialized and/or professional study, and graduate education.  While scholarships like the Fulbright and the Goldwater are very popular and competitive, smaller, lesser known programs can also be extremely beneficial to your course of study.  Below you’ll find a menu of fellowship and scholarship options at sponsored by Northwestern and other renowned educational organizations.

Please note that most of these programs entail extensive application processes that must be initiated far in advance from the application deadlines.  Many of the external fellowships, such as the Udall, have an internal selection process by which Northwestern chooses nominees to compete with students from colleges and universities across the country.  Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that you research fellowship options and their eligibility requirements and applications thoroughly on the Office of Fellowships website, consult with the staff of the Office of Fellowships, and plan how and when you will complete each application step.  The result can be a transformative educational and professional experience!

Northwestern:

• Lane Environmental Studies Grant is a special Weinberg grant for environmental research.
• Undergraduate Research Grants (URGs) support independent academic and creative work in all fields of study.
• Circumnavigator's Travel-Study Grant offers an award to travel to at least five countries on five continents to study a topic of choice.
• Undergraduate Research Assistant Program is a pilot program in which students assist faculty members in their research.   
• Weinberg Undergraduate Research Grants provides funding for some students whose proposals are not accepted for URGs.
• NU Public Interest Program is a one-year fellowship for seniors that includes paid public interest work, professional development seminars, and mentorship opportunities.

External:

Note: Many of the following grants are administered by Northwestern, and applicants must be nominated.  For more information, visit the Office of Fellowships Website.

• Morris K. Udall Scholarship is a subsantial award for sophomores and juniors with a demonstrated commitment to careers related to the environment.
• Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship offers funding for tuition and expenses for sophomores and juniors studying mathematics, the natural sciences, or engineering.
• Green Corps Field School for Environmental Organizing and Advocacy sponsors a year-long paid program for college graduates seeking to gain experience in environmental organizing and advocacy.
• Woods Hole Summer Fellowship is a ten-week research internship for juniors and seniors at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.
• Hollings Scholarship covers a significant portion of tuition for one year for sophomores majoring in fields relevant to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  Includes a ten-wk internship.
• NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates support undergraduate research participation in any of the areas funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
• Eckenfelder Scholarship awards juniors majoring in civil, chemical, or environmental engineering or environmental sciences who hope to pursue careers within the environmental industry.
• EPA Greater Research Opportunities Fellowship offers funding for the junior and senior years for students in environmental fields of study as well as an internship at an EPA facility.