Partnerships, Fellowships & Grants

DACOR Bacon House Foundation Fellowship

Each year the DACOR Bacon House Foundation offers graduate fellowships for study toward a Master’s Degree in international affairs. These are $10,000 tuition-only grants. Recipients must be U.S. citizens. The fellowships are for study at any accredited graduate school in the United States.

Learn more about the DACOR Bacon House Foundation Fellowship

Freeman Foundation Grant

GSS manages the Freeman Foundation Grant for internships in East or Southeast Asia. 

This grant awards up to $6,550 to a student completing an unpaid or low-paying internship in the following countries:

Eligibility Requirements

• You must have secured or started an internship in East Asia and/or Southeast Asia at an organization that offers substantial opportunities directly related to your degree and specialty.
• Your internship must require at least 20 hours per week for a minimum of 10 weeks.
• You must be a currently enrolled Elliott School graduate or undergraduate student and have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
• International students are eligible to apply, but the internship cannot be located in the U.S. or their country of origin.

Application Requirements

Your application must include the following items:

• Completed Fellowship Grant Application Sheet
• Current resume
• Interest Essay (500 words maximum)
• Completed Internship Employer/Mentor Form (with a wet signature)
• Faculty Support Form completed and signed by a GW faculty member (with a wet signature)
• Copy of most recent GW transcript (printable from the web; unofficial copies accepted)

Selection Process

Grant applications will be reviewed on the following criteria:

• Quality and relevance of proposed internship to current and/or future career plans
• An academic record at the Elliott School
• Quality of interest essay
• Quality and professionalism of the entire grant application

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the deadline for turning in an application?

• Fall 2023: July 24, 2023
• Spring 2024: November 28, 2023
• Summer 2024: March 15, 2024

What is required in the application?

1. Personal and internship information sections
2. Completed and signed Internship Employer/Mentor Form
3. Interest essay (500-word maximum)
4. Faculty Support Form completed and signed by a GW faculty member
5. Estimated Budget Sheet, including personal and alternative sources of funding
6. Current resume
7. Copy of most recent GW transcript (may be unofficial)

Do you have to have your internship before the application deadline? 
Yes. 

Does my internship have to be for a required time length?
Yes. Your internship must consist of at least 20 hours per week for a minimum of 10 weeks.

How do I find an internship? 
The Graduate Student Services (GSS) will work with you to secure an internship at an organization that offers substantial opportunities related to your program.

Do I need recommendations from the faculty? 
You only need (1) GWU faculty member to approve your application.

If I am a 2nd-year graduate student, am I still eligible to apply for the Freeman Foundation Grant?
Yes, if you are a continuing student, you are eligible.

Do I need to be an Asian Studies student to apply for the Freeman Foundation Grant? 
No. All Elliott School students can apply.

Do I need language skills?
No. However, some employers do request language proficiency.

Can I combine a Freeman with a language studies program?
Yes. As long as you meet the 20 hours per week and 10-week minimum duration requirements of your internship.

Can I do Freeman twice? 
Yes, as long as you are a currently enrolled Elliott School graduate student with a GPA ≥ 3.0

Can I go to my home country?
No. The goal of the Freeman Foundation Grant is to enable students to experience new cultures beyond their native land.  In the case of China: Chinese nationals cannot go to Taiwan, Hong Kong, or Macau.

What is the maximum award amount?
Up to $6,550. The award amount is determined by your proposed budget sheet.

Where is the proposed budget sheet?
It is a section within the online application.

When do I get the grant funding? 
Before you depart.

To apply, please go to go.gwu.edu/freeman. 

The deadline to apply for Summer 2024 funding is March 15, 2024.

If you have any questions, please e-mail [email protected].

GWU-Grameen Bank & Trust Partnership

The university works with two programs affiliated with the Grameen Bank & Trust. The Internship Program with the Yunus Centre at the Grameen Bank & Trust offers internship opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students interested in working on development projects with the Grameen Bank & Trust. The internship provides valuable hands-on experience in microfinance, poverty reduction, and international development in Bangladesh. The Global Business and Microfinance Internship in Nepal is an excellent opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to engage with top-tier institutions in the country.

GWU-USIP Mentorship Program

The GWU-USIP Mentorship Program is a partnership with the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) that was established in 2017. As part of this initiative, these students were paired with 1 mentor from USIP for the advancement of both their academic and professional goals. These students also had the opportunity to attend USIP events and take online courses on conflict resolution and peacebuilding through USIP’s Global Campus. As mentees in this program, the students had the chance to integrate into USIP’s daily workflow and gain a sense of what it truly means to operate in the field of conflict resolution. Students benefited from these relationships with their mentors, who coached them on which professional skills to develop, provided recommended resources and contacts for graduate research projects, and encouraged them in their internship and job hunts.

International Internship Grant (IIG)

The Elliott School strongly encourages students to integrate their studies with practical international internship experiences. To help with this goal, GSS offers a limited number of competitive grants for Elliott School graduate students participating in unpaid or low-pay international internships. Currently enrolled Elliott School graduate students may seek an International Internship Grant via the IIG online application. 

These grants are designed to help defray the costs of an international internship, not to fully fund the experience. Students are encouraged to research outside funding sources before submitting a grant proposal.

Guidelines

You must have secured an internship or have started an internship at an organization that offers substantial opportunities directly related to your degree program and specialty.

Your internship must require at least 30 hours per week for a  minimum of 10 weeks.

You must be a currently enrolled Elliott School graduate student and have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.

International students are eligible to apply, but the internship cannot be located in your home country or within the U.S.

The internship cannot be located in a country in which you have citizenship or foreign national status.

Application Requirements

Only completed applications will be accepted; we will not consider your application unless you carefully complete the application steps, which include:

• Application Summary
• Basic personal and internship information
• Current Resume
• Completed and signed Internship Employer/Mentor Form
• Faculty Support Form completed and signed by a GW faculty member
• Interest Essay (500 words maximum)
• Completed Personal Budget form including alternative sources of funding
• Copy of most recent GW transcript (printable from the web; unofficial copies are accepted)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the deadline for turning in an application? 

• Fall 2023: July 24, 2023
• Spring 2024: November 28, 2023
• Summer 2024: March 15, 2024

What is required in the application?

1. Personal and internship information sections
2. Completed and signed Internship Employer/Mentor Form
3. Interest essay (500-word maximum)
4. Faculty Support Form completed and signed by a GW faculty member
5. Estimated Budget Sheet, including personal and alternative sources of funding
6. Current resume
7. Copy of most recent GW transcript (may be unofficial)

Do you have to have your internship before the application deadline? 
Yes. 

Does my internship have to be for a required time length?
Yes. Your internship must consist of at least 30 hours per week for a minimum of 10 weeks.

How do I find an internship? 
The Graduate Student Services (GSS) will work with you to secure an internship at an organization that offers substantial opportunities related to your program.

What countries are covered by the International Internship Grant?
All countries where students are permitted to travel and are not covered by the Freeman Foundation Grant.

Do I need recommendations from the faculty? 
You only need (1) GWU faculty member to approve your application.

If I am a 2^nd-year student, am I still eligible to apply for the International Internship Grant?
Yes, if you are a continuing student, you are eligible.

Do I need to be an Elliott School graduate student to apply for International Internship Grant? 
Yes.

Do I need language skills?
No. However, some employers do request language proficiency.

Can I combine an internship with a study abroad program?
Yes. As long as you meet the 30 hours per week and 10-week minimum duration requirements of your internship.

Can I be awarded the International Internship Grant twice? 
Yes, as long as you are a currently enrolled Elliott School graduate student with a GPA ≥ 3.0

Can I go to my home country?
No. The goal of the International Internship Grant is to enable students to experience new cultures beyond their own native land. 

What is the maximum award amount?
Up to $3,000. The award amount is determined by your proposed budget sheet.

Where is the proposed budget sheet?
It is a section within the online application.

When do I get the grant funding? 
Before you depart.

To apply, please go to go.gwu.edu/iig.

The deadline to apply for Summer 2024 funding is March 15, 2024.

Please email [email protected] for more information. 

KAKEHASHI

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan promotes people-to-people exchange programs between Japan and the USA/Canada. More than 1,000 people are sent to or from Japan each year under the “KAKEHASHI” Project, which means a “bridge” between nations and cultures. Since 2018, the Elliott School of International Affairs has been lucky enough to be invited to participate in the KAKEHASHI Project, which involves an 8-day trip to Japan fully funded by the Government of Japan. Students have the opportunity to attend lectures and discussions with Japanese government employees and leaders in policy, research, and business. Students also participate in cultural site visits, events, workshops, and discussions with Japanese nationals, including a homestay with Japanese families. KAKEHASHI participants must be current Elliott School graduate students and U.S. citizens with a demonstrated interest in Japan and Japanese affairs.

Presidential Management Fellows (PMF)

The Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) program is a two-year, post-graduate leadership-development initiative open to graduate students and alumni. The application process begins in the fall of your final year of graduate school, at which time you will be notified whether you have been accepted and how to proceed. Every year, several Elliott School students are selected as PMF finalists.

GSS is available to assist semi-finalists and finalists throughout the process.

Please visit the PMF website for more information. 

Rosenthal Fellowship in International Relations

The Harold W. Rosenthal Fellowship in International Relations is a prestigious program that offers our nation’s most civic-minded students the opportunity to spend a summer working to solve some of our biggest national and global challenges.

Established in 1977 to honor Harold Rosenthal, a Senate staff member who was a victim of a terrorist attack while on official duty at age 29, this fellowship provides a select number of graduate-level students studying international affairs the opportunity to gain work experience in a congressional or executive branch office while participating in a series of professional development events.

Learn More about the Rosenthal Fellowship