Fellowships

The Caltech Fellowships & Scholarships website provides information on major awards for graduate study in the U.S. and abroad. Also included are a few lesser known, but interesting, awards. The fellowship guide for 2022-23 can be found here.

The following links provide more in depth information for the fellowships and scholarships that fall into each specified category. Be sure to check the sponsor's website for the most current information and accurate deadlines. Additional information regarding and the application process can be found on our FAQs page.

The Bishop Fellowship
The Bishop family has agreed to honor the memory of Dr. Amasa Bishop who graduated from Caltech with his B.S. in physics in 1943 by establishing the Amasa Bishop Summer Study Abroad Fellowship. Please see further information about this fellowship available for freshmen, sophomores, and juniors.

The SanPietro Travel Prize
Craig SanPietro, a Caltech alumnus of the class of 1969, has generously donated $250,000 to endow a summer travel prize for fun and personal growth. This prize will be open to rising juniors (current sophomores), rising seniors (current juniors) and continuing and graduating seniors. The travel experience should be one that expands the applicant's horizons and challenges them. Please see here for further information.

Watson Fellowship
The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship is a one-year grant for purposeful, independent exploration outside the United States, awarded to graduating seniors by one of 41 partner colleges. Caltech is a partnered university and nominates up to 3 students a year for fellowship consideration.

Items shared by recent Caltech 2021 Watson Fellow Liana Merk:

Study in the United Kingdom

The following information may be valuable for students considering graduate study in the United Kingdom.

Additional Resources for Fellowships

Example Essays

In our FASA office library we have winning fellowship essay examples for students to look through. Linked below are a few of those examples. If you review these essays, we request you respect the intellectual property of these students, do not plagiarize or copy. Adhere to the Caltech Honor Code:

Hertz Fellowship
National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship (NDSEG) (Winner from 2021-22)
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) (2020 winners)
- 2021-22 NSF GRFP Winning Essay Examples (Couple of the Most Recent Winning Examples, More Essays Available in FASA Office)
- Application Guidelines & Templates

-Also as a resource, our NSF GRFP: 2022-23 NSF GRFP PowerPoint and FAQ's-"Alex Lang's" website also has shared NSF GRFP examples*, at the bottom of the page (*Review the more recent winning essays which better reflect the more recent solicitation rules. Keep in mind that he is not an NSF GRFP rep so information may be dated on his page. Always refer to the current solicitation directly for the most current accurate information.)

These data bases can also be searched for fellowship opportunities:

National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, & Medicine
Search the UCLA Graduate Fellowship and Postdoctoral Award Finder for national and international graduate and postdoctoral fellowships
Profellow
U. Chicago Fellowship Database
UCLA Fellowship Database
Harvard CARAT Fellowship Database
University of Illinois Fellowship Finder

Please Note: FASA advises on a range of graduate fellowship opportunities for undergraduates and early-stage graduate students, but does not advise on research grant proposals. Please contact your department or division office and your research advisor regarding assistance with the application and to determine any necessary department or division authorization processes. You can also contact the Hixon Writing Center, which provides assistance with research grant proposals and the Office of Sponsored Research.