The Zonta International Foundation is inviting suitable and qualified applicants for the Amelia Earhart Science & Engineering Doctoral Fellowship Grants. The Fellowships are granted annually to women pursuing graduate Ph.D./doctoral degrees in aerospace-related sciences and engineering.
Around the globe, women make up around 25 percent of the workforce in the aerospace industry. Zonta International offers the Amelia Earhart Fellowship to carry out its mission that women have access to all resources and are represented in decision-making positions on an equal basis with men.
Scholarship Summary
- Scholarship Sponsor(s): Zonta International Foundation.
- Scholarship Type: Full Scholarships/Research Grant
- Slots: 30 slots available yearly
- Host Institution (s): Any university or college (worldwide).
- Scholarship level: PhD/Doctoral Study Level
- Nationality: All Nationalities
- Scholarship Worth: Grant is worth up to USD 10,000
- Application Deadline: 15 November, 2024
About the Amelia Earhart Science & Engineering Doctoral Fellowship
The Amelia Earhart Fellowship was established in 1938 in honor of famed pilot and Zontian, Amelia Earhart. The award worth up to US$10,000 per beneficiary is given to excellent female students in selected fields of science and engineering and is awarded yearly to about 35 PhD and Doctoral students already enrolled in a full-time program.
Students must be registered in a full-time Ph.D./doctoral program when funds are received in September and will not graduate before April 2025. Current fellows may apply to renew the Fellowship for a second year and will undergo the same application and evaluation procedures as first-time applicants.
Since the program’s inception in 1938, Zonta has awarded 1,764 Amelia Earhart Fellowships, totaling more than US$11.9 million, to 1,335 women from 79 countries. The fellows have gone on to become astronauts, aerospace engineers, geologists, business owners, heads of companies, and even the Secretary of the US Air Force.
Funding for the Amelia Earhart Fellowships
Amelia Earhart Fellowships are made possible by generous contributions to the Zonta Foundation for Women Amelia Earhart Fellowship Fund.
The Amelia Earhart Fellowships Fellows
- Bayan Abusalameh, Jordan
- Hamda Al-Ali, United Arab Emirates
- ulia Di, United States
- Manisha Dwa, Nepal
- Stephanie Menten, United States
- Samantha Moruzzi, United States
- Barza Nisar, Pakistan
- Nana Obayashi, Japan and United States
- Elise Oezalp, Germany and France
- Kanak Parmar, India
- Luisa Piccolo Serafim, Brazil and Italy
- Carmen Possnig, Austria
- Erin Richardson, Canada
- Keziban Saloglu, Turkey
- Shruti Tandon, India
- Hannah Tomio, United States
- Ria Vijayan, India
- Rebecca Wang, United States
- Kierra Wilk, United States
- Zoelle Wong, United States
- Lynn Pickering, United States and Germany
- Hannah Hajdik, United States
- Madelyn Hoying, United States
- Mennatallah Hussein, Egypt
- Véranika Latour, France
- Andrea Lopez, Spain
- Eden McEwen, United States
- Shion Andrew, United States
- Johanna Bürger, Germany
- Margaret Deahn, United States
Eligibility Criteria for the Amelia Earhart Science & Engineering Doctoral Fellowship
To participate and be given the award, the following eligibility conditions are taken into account.
- Women of any nationality pursuing a Ph.D./doctoral degree who demonstrate a superior academic record in the field of aerospace-related sciences and aerospace-related engineering are eligible.
- In addition to being a registered PhD/Doctoral Student, applicants should also have completed at least one year of that program or have received a master’s degree in an aerospace-applied field at the time the application is submitted.
- Students must be registered in a full-time Ph.D./doctoral program when funds are received in September and will not graduate before April 2025.
Please Note that the following sets of candidates are not eligible to apply for the Amelia Earhart Science & Engineering Doctoral Fellowship Grants;
- Applicants who have been previously awarded the Amelia Earhart Fellowship are not eligible to apply or to renew the Fellowship for a second year.
- Applicants who are members and employees of Zonta International or the Zonta International Foundation are also not eligible to apply for the Fellowship.
- Applicants in post-doctoral research programs are not eligible for the Fellowship.
Application procedures for the Amelia Earhart Science & Engineering Doctoral Fellowship
All applicants are evaluated on the criteria stated in the requirements section of the application. All details of the evaluations are kept confidential; evaluations are not disclosed to the applicant.
The Zonta International Amelia Earhart Fellowship Committee will review the applications and recommend suitable persons worthy of receiving the award to the Zonta International Board.
How-to-Apply: Interested and qualified persons should submit their applications online to the Zonta International Amelia Earhart Fellowship Committee through the application link.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- How many Amelia Earhart Fellows are chosen on an annual basis?
Up to 30 awards are given to Fellows around the globe each year.
- How does the program support Zonta’s mission to empower women worldwide through service and advocacy?
The Amelia Earhart Fellowships focus on eliminating the gender bias that women face in pursuing doctoral degrees in research applied to aerospace engineering or space sciences. Women are beginning to demonstrate a progression from limited representation in aerospace engineering or space sciences to being leaders in the field.
During the first years of the program, the awards committee had trouble finding qualified applicants and worked as mentors with potential applicants to help them become qualified for the awards. Today, as evidenced by the increasing numbers of women in aerospace engineering or space sciences, the challenge is choosing the most promising women from among the many qualified applicants.
In addition, while professional and academic recommendations in this field were once written exclusively by males, many of today’s applicants receive recommendations from respected professors and professionals who are previous Amelia Earhart Fellows themselves.
- How are the Amelia Earhart Fellowships awarded?
The monetary awards are sent directly to the Fellows after they have returned the appropriate address, enrollment verification, and tax information forms. In addition, each Fellow receives a certificate and wings pin. These items are sent to the governor or region representative (or the governor/region representative’s designee) in the area where the Fellow is studying.
The district/region may invite the Fellow to attend a district conference (or some other high-profile Zonta event) to make a presentation. Other options include having the area director, district Amelia Earhart chair or club president present the items at a local event.
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