Fellowship is a sum of money given to scholars so they can continue their studies. Some fellowships are for specified periods of time, but others are for life. Fellowships have been made since the Middle Ages.
Fellowships are usually given by universities, foundations, learned societies, corporations, and governments. Universities give fellowships for graduate work. Sometimes fellows teach classes. Foundations and learned societies give fellowships for graduate study and individual research in such areas as education, medicine, and international relations. Large foundation and learned society fellowship programs in the United States include those of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and the Social Science Research Council. Corporation fellowships often encourage research in fields of interest to the sponsoring corporation. The U.S. government conducts fellowship programs in the arts, humanities, and sciences through the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Science Foundation.
In the United States, fellowships are usually granted for one or two years. The amount of money given may vary from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. In the United Kingdom, the grants are often given for three to five years.
See also Foundation; Scholarship.
