Alum Fellowships
Igniting your bold ideas
Mount Holyoke alums are known for being bold leaders and boundless learners. The Alum Fellowships program is designed to support you as you take on ambitious projects that embody the spirit of the College’s mission. We are looking for ventures that are entrepreneurial, creative and transformative — initiatives that cross boundaries and disciplines and show a willingness to take risks and explore new frontiers.
Are you prepared to tackle a complex challenge? Do you have an idea that could lead to a groundbreaking discovery? We want to hear about it. Our fellowships are an investment in alums (and graduating seniors) who are ready to make a tangible, positive impact, reflecting Mount Holyoke’s commitment to purposeful leadership in a culturally diverse world.
Fellowships for 2026: investing in your vision
Thanks to the generous support of our alum community, Mount Holyoke College and the Alum Association are proud to offer a limited number of highly selective fellowships to Mount Holyoke graduates and current seniors. These awards are designed to support bold academic, research and creative projects, as well as graduate study, that embody the spirit of purposeful leadership and boundless learning.
Exceptional proposals that are relevant to more than one fellowship may be considered for a combined award, to provide robust funding for your most ambitious projects.
The 1905 Fellowship: This award supports ambitious and groundbreaking work that dares to challenge existing conventions. It is open to all alums, regardless of their graduation year or field of study. Up to $40,000 will be distributed among one or more recipients, with a minimum of $10,000 per recipient.
Bardwell Memorial Fellowship: Designed for intellectually adventurous pursuits, this fellowship is for recent graduates (within five years of graduation) from any discipline who are ready to make their mark. Up to $37,500 will be distributed among one or more recipients, with a minimum of $12,500 per recipient.
Dr. Mary P. Dole Medical Fellowship: This fellowship provides critical funding for significant medical research. It is open to alums, with a preference for those who hold an MD degree. Up to $34,000 will be distributed between one or two recipients, with a minimum of $17,000 per recipient.
Frances Mary Hazen Fellowship: This fellowship is for a candidate pursuing an innovative project, with a preference for those in the field of classics. Up to $30,000 will be distributed between one or two recipients, with a minimum of $15,000 per recipient.
Hannum-Warner Travel Fellowship: This award supports global exploration and learning, funding travel and study, preferably in Asia. One recipient will be awarded $2,500.
Lyon’s Pride Fellowship: This fellowship empowers alums working on projects that advance LGBTQ+, gender or feminist studies. Awards vary based on available funds.
Mary E. Woolley Fellowship: Funded by the Alum Association, this fellowship is granted to an outstanding candidate whose work aligns with the Association’s strategic priorities to build belonging, enrich lives and broaden opportunities. It is open to all alums, regardless of graduation year or field. One recipient will be awarded $7,500.
Rachel Brown Fellowship: This award supports the first year of graduate study in the physical or biological sciences for those who majored in these fields. One recipient will be awarded $3,000.
Our criteria: what we’re looking for
Your application will be evaluated on the following criteria, which are directly linked to the Mount Holyoke College mission.
1. Purposeful leadership and community impact
Tell us how your project demonstrates purposeful leadership. We want to understand how your initiative brings people together to untangle a "gnarly problem" and who you’re bringing with you on the journey. Be sure to explain how your work will benefit a community.
2. Intellectual adventurousness and risk-taking
We seek proposals that are intellectually adventurous and show a willingness to take a creative risk. Your project doesn’t have to be a guaranteed success; its potential for learning and impact is what truly matters. We encourage you to describe the riskiest aspect of your project and your plan to mitigate that risk. We also welcome you to share a time when you failed and what you learned from it.
3. Creativity and intersectional thinking
Your project should be fueled by creativity and an intersectional approach. Show us how you are using insights from different fields of study or working across various communities to find new solutions. We’re interested in how your idea addresses a problem from multiple angles, creating a comprehensive and impactful outcome.
Ready to turn your bold idea into a reality? We can’t wait to see what you’ll propose.
To keep the inspiration flowing, fellowship recipients will be invited to share their funded pursuits with current MHC students, helping to turn and pull the next generation of leaders and learners.
Application process and timeline
October 15, 2025: Applications open. Review the available awards and determine which ones align with your goals.
- Essay prompt: In no more than 500 words, describe your goal. What do you aim to accomplish with this support? How are you equipped for this endeavor? This should not be a repeat of your résumé but rather a personal narrative that describes your motivations, preparation and desired future impact. Bear in mind the criteria outlined above when crafting your proposal.
- Short answer: What would the funds be used for? For example, tuition, textbooks or equipment.
- Résumé/CV: Submit a résumé or curriculum vitae (CV) of no more than two pages.
- Two references: You must supply the contact information for two references who can speak to your ability to be successful in this endeavor. References may be from academic and/or professional contexts and may not be family members or friends.
December 1, 2025: Application deadline — submit your application via a Google form available on October 15, 2025.
January to February 2026: A committee of MHC alums and faculty will review each application, assessing them against the criteria outlined above.
Early March 2026: Application decisions will begin to roll out; all applicants will be notified of their status by mid-March.
End of June/Early July 2026: Awards will be distributed.
June 15, 2027: A project summary report will be distributed.
FAQs
Any Mount Holyoke graduating senior or alum with a bachelor’s degree from Mount Holyoke may apply for a fellowship to support their independent research, creative project or graduate study.
The fellowship selection process is highly selective. While we aim to award one recipient per fellowship, the committee reserves the right not to offer an award if there are no applicants with strong enough proposals.
No. Your single application will be reviewed and considered for all offered alum fellowships for which you are eligible.
Yes. Please specify the purpose of your graduate work in your essay and how the funding will advance your study goals. See below for examples of former award recipients who used their fellowships for graduate work.
Yes. However, if you are not accepted to a graduate program, your award may be rescinded.
Transcripts are not required as part of the application.
Yes, but you must indicate any additional funding you receive or may receive on your application.
MHC Alum Fellowships may be used for travel, fees, accommodations and equipment related to independent projects, as well as tuition, fees, books and/or equipment for courses. For graduate study, recipients are typically required to declare their fellowship to the graduate institution where they are enrolled. Mount Holyoke cannot advise on taxes related to fellowships. Please refer to IRS guidelines. Mount Holyoke College, in its capacity as a Withholding Agent, may be required to withhold taxes for students and/or alums who are not (tax) residents of the United States.
Yes, but preference will be given to those who have not yet been awarded a fellowship.
Send questions via email. The Fellowships at Mount Holyoke page contains information on other fellowship support offered through Mount Holyoke College.
Previous alum fellowship recipients
Binderiya Byambasuren ’15: dissertation research studying intergenerational transmission of gender norm and gender role attitudes in the United States
Lorraine Cordeiro ’93: research project investigating the maternity care experiences of Goan women in Canada and the United States
Siobhan Anderson Mei ’11: open-source digital humanities project titled Rendering Revolution: Sartorial Approaches to Haitian History, which documents the significant role that fashion and clothing played in the production of identity during and after the Haitian Revolution
Shannon Stanton ’08: Master of Education degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, with a focus on addressing complex challenges in the field of education, including equity, through innovative practices and building interactive learning tools for students
Nadine Verna ’00: research project chronicling the impact of modern-day social movements on Black teen girls and identifying best practices for schools and communities to better support Black girls
Sarah Cavar ’20: Ph.D. in cultural studies, with a designated emphasis on science and technology studies, at the University of California, Davis
Hyo Rhi Kim ’15: multidisciplinary study on storytelling and indigenous knowledge in Korea
Topaz Mukulu ’18: two-year master’s degree in global human development, with a focus on Africa and technology, at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service
Jiuk Byun ’20: graduate degree in materials science and engineering or chemistry to develop bio-inspired methods to solve environmental problems using integrated tools of materials science, chemistry and physics.
Temitope Ojo ’10: dissertation project to develop and administer a survey that captures contextual factors that influence the feasibility of implementing evidence-based interventions for cardiovascular diseases in low- and middle-income countries
Isabel Cooperman ’21: Master of Arts in Classics from Tufts University
Hyo Rhi Kim ’15: multidisciplinary study on storytelling and indigenous knowledge in Korea
Corinne Morgan ’13: Doctorate in Education at University College London: two-year institution-focused study of an international foundation program within the United Kingdom to revise and implement updated support measures that align with student and faculty needs and best practices from the existing literature during the 2021–22 school year
Ann Schindler ’15: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) field placement and participation in two community-based participatory research projects: (1) a project with Betsy Bledsoe, Ph.D., who works with mothers in Robeson County, North Carolina, and (2) a project to engage children attending a summer camp for kids with hemiplegic cerebral palsy
Jing Gao ’13: a project to document and understand an aspect of the grammar of the Chinese Sign Language (CSL), identifying deaf consultants who are native users of CSL and collecting relevant language data from consultants who target the use of relative clauses
Anna Lee White ’15: doctoral dissertation at McGill University’s School of Religious Studies, studying the history of the Ramanandi community, one of the largest and most influential ascetic communities in India today
Arti Dhar ’10 and Krutika Ravishankar ’10: a project identifying the most effective methods for conserving forests in Gadchiroli, India
Claudia Mazur ’16: a proposal to quantify the impact of coastal acidification on sediment nutrient cycling