USA Scholarships
September Scholarship Deadlines
September Scholarship Deadlines
Scholarships and fellowships with application deadlines in September. Plan ahead and make sure you have enough time to prepare your documents and application.
Harvard Academy Scholars Program 2027 - $80,000/yr
The Harvard Academy Scholars Program appoints five or six early-career social scientists a year to a two-year, in-residence postdoctoral fellowship at The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, on $80,000 a year plus $6,000 a year in research support. The 2027-2028 season is open and closes 18 September 2026 at 11:59 PM EDT, with finalists interviewed on 4 December 2026 and the appointment starting 1 August 2027. Over 500 people apply each year. The Academy wants scholars whose work pairs disciplinary strength in the social sciences with a command of the language and expertise of countries or regions outside the United States and Canada. Applications are open to all countries and citizenships, but anyone who already holds or has completed another postdoctoral fellowship is out.
Gates Scholarship 2027 - Full Ride for 300 Students
The Gates Scholarship picks 300 high school seniors a year and covers the full cost of attendance that other financial aid does not reach: tuition, fees, books, housing, food and personal expenses. It is a last-dollar award, so it fills the gap left after your other aid and your Student Aid Index rather than paying the whole bill from the start. Applications for the 2027 cohort opened on 15 July 2026 and close on 15 September 2026, with semifinalist review and finalist interviews running December to January, selection in March 2027 and awards distributed from April. One thing has changed that most articles still get wrong. The Gates Scholarship dropped its ethnicity requirement in 2025 and is now open to every Pell-eligible applicant who meets the other criteria: high school senior, US citizen, national or permanent resident, and a minimum cumulative weighted GPA of 3.3.
UN Nippon Foundation Fellowship 2027 - Ocean Law
The United Nations-Nippon Foundation Fellowship on Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea gives mid-career government officials from developing states nine funded months split between two places. Phase one runs 24 March to 30 June 2027 at UN Headquarters in New York, working alongside the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea. Phase two runs 1 July to 17 December 2027 as a research placement at an academic institution. The award covers a monthly stipend from the day you leave home until the day you finish, round-trip economy flights between home, New York and your host institution, Cigna health insurance, and a $600 book allowance for the second phase. Applications close on 13 September 2026 and results are announced in mid-December. You need to be between 25 and 45, hold at least a first degree, and be nominated by an authority who signs your form.
Coca-Cola Scholars Program 2027 - $20,000 Award
The Coca-Cola Scholars Program is a $20,000 achievement-based scholarship for US high school seniors, and the open cycle is the 2027 application for students graduating during the 2026-2027 academic year. It closes at 5pm Eastern on Wednesday 30 September 2026. One hundred and fifty Coke Scholars are chosen each year, and the first phase asks for no essays, no transcript and no recommendations, which makes it one of the lowest-effort major scholarship applications in the country to start. Selection then narrows hard: about 1 per cent of applicants become Semifinalists in October, roughly 1,200 people, of whom 250 become Regional Finalists interviewed in late January or early February, and 150 are invited to Coke Scholars Weekend in Atlanta in April. You need a minimum B or 3.0 GPA and you must attend school in one of the 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico or a select Department of Defense school.
America's Future Development Fellowship 2026
The America's Future Development Fellowship 2026 is a six-week virtual seminar on nonprofit fundraising for the Fall 2026 cohort, run over Zoom on Monday evenings from 28 September to 9 November 2026. Applications close 7 September 2026 at 11:59 PM ET, with participants selected between 14 and 21 September. The curriculum covers the philosophy of private philanthropy alongside practical work on donor cultivation and stewardship, organisational development, major gifts, foundation relations and planned giving, led by a facilitator who runs a fundraising operation raising around $12 million a year. Two eligibility points decide most applications: you must reside in the United States, and America's Future selects for liberty-minded professionals committed to strengthening organisations in the liberty movement. No prior fundraising experience is needed, and attendance at all six sessions is mandatory.
AERC World Bank Visiting Scholars 2026 - Washington DC
The AERC World Bank Visiting Scholars Program 2026 places African economists at World Bank headquarters in Washington DC for a research residency of four to six months. Run jointly by the African Economic Research Consortium and the World Bank Africa Region Chief Economist's Office, it takes up to two scholars for the 2026/2027 cohort. Visiting scholars join the Office of the Chief Economist for Africa Region, revise a draft paper for the World Bank Working Paper Series and a ranking journal, present at least one seminar, and contribute to the Bank's Africa research programme. Eligibility is narrow: you must already be an AERC researcher, including from the AERC Collaborative PhD Programme, with an active AERC project at interim, post-field or final paper stage on a topic relevant to the World Bank Africa Region agenda. Expressions of interest close 6 September 2026 and late applications are not considered.
Yale Peace Fellowship 2027 - Fully Funded at Yale
The Yale Peace Fellowship 2027 is a fully funded programme from the International Leadership Center at Yale University for rising leaders in conflict prevention, peacebuilding and post-conflict reconciliation. Applications for the 2027 cohort are open now and close 9 September 2026 at 14:00 EDT. Fellows take a week-long seminar at Yale in New Haven from 12 to 16 April 2027, bi-weekly virtual sessions from March through June, and a closing convening at Rose Castle in the UK from 14 to 18 June 2027. Travel, lodging and meals for both in-person weeks are covered and there are no direct programme costs, though a $20 application fee applies. One catch decides most applications: applicants should be citizens of a country other than the United States, and Yale typically looks for at least five years of significant professional experience.