USA Scholarships
Professional Development Scholarship Guides
Professional Development Programs
Guides for funded professional development, leadership, and executive programs that don't lead to a degree but build skills and networks. Each guide covers eligibility, benefits, and the full application process.
Forage Virtual Internship Program 2027 - 100% Free
The Forage virtual internship program is a catalogue of free online job simulations built by employers such as Citi, BCG, Bloomberg, Mastercard and AIG. Forage calls them 100% free, open access and self-paced, and the certificate at the end costs nothing either. There is no application form, no selection round, no deadline and no cohort. You register, pick a simulation, work through tasks that copy real work, compare your answers with the model answers the company recorded, and keep the certificate. What it is not is an internship in the legal sense: nobody pays you, nobody employs you, and no job is promised at the end.
Google Higher Ed Faculty AI Fellowship 2026 - No Stipend
The Google Higher Ed Faculty AI Fellowship is Google for Education's recognition programme for university faculty who already put AI to work in their teaching and research. Applications for the 2026 inaugural cohort are open, and there are two ways in: a personal nomination from a Google leader, or a self-application through the Google for Education application portal. Selected fellows join a global network, act as ambassadors for responsible AI on their campus, and work on one impact challenge they name themselves. Google publishes no stipend, no salary and no award amount for this fellowship, and its own FAQ says fellows must self-fund travel, accommodation, parking and any meals the programme does not cover at the in-person convening. The application asks for a short portfolio of innovation, a 90-second video, an impact challenge and a letter from your Dean or Program Chair.
Harvard Free Online Courses 2027 - Audit 129 Courses
Harvard free online courses are gathered on one page of Harvard's Professional and Lifelong Learning site, where the free filter currently returns 129 online courses priced at $0. They come from across the university, with 48 from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, 24 from the T.H. Chan School of Public Health and 22 from the engineering school, and they span 11 subject areas from Humanities to Data Science. There is no application, no committee and no closing date, because 125 of the 129 are open to start any day. The teaching is what costs nothing. On most of them a verified certificate is a paid extra, sampled between $149 and $299, and CS50 is the notable exception that hands out a free certificate of its own.
IBM Free Online Courses 2027 - IBM SkillsBuild
IBM free online courses 2027 run on IBM SkillsBuild, the education programme IBM funds itself. IBM describes it as 100% free learning, and that holds all the way through: over 1,000 courses in AI, cybersecurity, data analysis, cloud computing and workplace skills, in 22 languages, with IBM-branded digital credentials issued through Credly at no cost when you finish one. There is no application, no selection round and no deadline. High school learners aged 13 to 18 sign up through the high school programme, adult learners aged 18 and over through the adult route, and university students through the university route. You can sample seven courses as a guest before you register at all.
Google Cybersecurity Course 2027 - Certificate Guide
The Google Cybersecurity Course 2027 is the Google Cybersecurity Certificate, an eight-course professional programme built by Google security teams and taught on Coursera. It takes most people about six months at seven hours a week, assumes no degree and no prior experience, and ends with a shareable certificate plus preparation for the CompTIA Security+ exam. It is not free: Coursera charges $49 per month in the US and Canada after a 7-day free trial, so finishing inside six months costs most learners under $300. Financial aid is available on the page for anyone who cannot pay. Enrolment is open every day of the year with no application, no deadline and no selection round.
Hubert Humphrey Fellowship 2028-2029 - Fully Funded
The Hubert Humphrey Fellowship brings mid-career professionals from more than 100 eligible countries to the USA for a 10-month, non-degree year of graduate-level study, leadership training and a six-week professional affiliation. The US Department of State pays tuition and fees, a monthly maintenance allowance, a settling-in allowance, accident and sickness cover, a book allowance, a one-time computer subsidy, international airfare and a professional development allowance. You apply through the US Embassy or Binational Fulbright Commission in your own country, and each one sets its own deadline.
Anthropic Fellows Program 2027 - AI Safety Research
The Anthropic Fellows Program pays technical people to spend four months doing full-time empirical AI research with an Anthropic mentor, aiming at a public output such as a paper. Fellows receive a weekly stipend of 3,850 USD (2,310 GBP or 4,300 CAD), benefits that vary by country, and roughly 15,000 dollars a month of compute funding. Five workstreams run under the same programme: AI Safety, AI Security, ML Systems and Performance, Reinforcement Learning, and the Anthropic Institute covering economics and policy. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis for the next cohort, which Anthropic expects to start in January 2027. The hard gate is location: you must already hold work authorisation in the US, the UK or Canada and be in that country during the programme, because no visas are sponsored for fellows.
NIAF Scholarship 2027 - $2,500 to $12,000 Awards
The NIAF Scholarship is the National Italian American Foundation's annual award programme for Italian American students at US colleges and universities. Individual awards run from $2,500 to $12,000, and the Foundation says it has put over $10,000,000 into scholarships since it was founded. One application matches you to every fund you qualify for, from business and STEM awards to funds for music, law, Italian studies and students from particular states. You need an active NIAF membership, a 3.5 GPA, US citizenship or permanent resident status, and full-time enrollment for Fall 2027. The application reopens on 1 December 2026 and closes at 11:59 p.m. EST on 1 March 2027.
FAO Schwarz Fellowship 2027 - $105K-$115K Over 2 Years
The FAO Schwarz Fellowship is a paid two-year post-graduate role at a nonprofit host organisation in Boston, New York City or Philadelphia. Fellows starting in summer 2027 receive total compensation of roughly $115,000 in Boston and New York or $105,000 in Philadelphia, plus the same benefits as entry-level staff at their host. Applications for the 2027-2029 cycle open on 1 November 2026 and close at 9:00 PM ET on 1 February 2027. You must be a college senior graduating between November 2026 and summer 2027 from an accredited four-year institution, and you must already be able to work in the United States, because host organisations cannot sponsor work visas.
Weinstein JAMS Fellowship 2027 - Up to $20,000
The Weinstein JAMS International Fellowship sends dispute resolution professionals from outside the United States to spend one to four months in the USA, learning from American mediators, courts and universities before taking that knowledge home. The JAMS Foundation approves awards of up to $20,000 per fellow. Applicants may not be citizens of the United States. The 2027 cycle closes on 6 November 2026.
UMAPS Fellowship 2027 - African Faculty at Michigan
The UMAPS Fellowship (University of Michigan African Presidential Scholars) brings early-career faculty from African colleges and universities to Ann Arbor for a five-month research residency in 2027-2028. The African Studies Center funds the stay, including travel, housing and a stipend, pairs each scholar with a U-M faculty host, and takes applications until 15 October 2026.
Wilson Center Research Fellowship 2027 - $10,000/Month
The Wilson Center Research Fellowship 2027-2028 pays scholars, policy practitioners and journalists $10,000 a month for 12 months to research and write on a foreign policy challenge. You work remotely, with two paid trips to Washington, DC. Applicants of any nationality can apply through Interfolio by 11:59 pm ET on 30 September 2026.