How to apply

We anticipate opening the 2025 Bonderman Fellowship application in November for both graduate students and graduating senior undergraduates. Please check back for updated guidelines and eligibility requirements when we launch the application in November.

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2024 Fellowship Components                     Eligibility                    Guidelines                    Award Criteria                    Info Sessions                    Application

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2024 FELLOWSHIP COMPONENTS

• Each Bonderman Fellow will receive $26,000.
• Fellows travel independently for eight months, exploring six to nine countries in a minimum of two and a maximum of three distinct world regions, spending approximately one month in each country.

See the Bonderman FAQ for more information on how COVID-19 impacts the Bonderman Fellowship.

ELIGIBILITY

In 2024, the Bonderman Fellowship will offer University of Washington graduate and professional students from the Seattle, Tacoma, and Bothell campuses an opportunity to engage in independent international travel. Applicants must:

• Be enrolled in a University of Washington graduate or professional degree program the quarter the application is due (Winter Quarter 2024). On leave status is not considered “enrolled”. Professional students include those in Law (JD), Medicine (MD), Dentistry (DDS), and Pharmacy (PharmD) degree programs.
• Be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
• Be in good academic, conduct and disciplinary standing during the quarter the application is due.
• If awarded, good academic, disciplinary and conduct standing is a prerequisite of receiving the fellowship.

Please note: Undergraduate students are not eligible to apply this year. Please see the FAQ section for more information on this decision.

GUIDELINES

Bonderman Fellowships enable students to undertake independent international travel to explore, be open to the unexpected, and come to know the world in new ways. An applicant need not have a travel theme or project but should demonstrate initiative, commitment, resilience, honesty, and self-knowledge. Travel plans should be personal and not about academic research.

This journey is intended to foster independence; therefore fellows may not:

• participate in a program or organization;
• engage in formal study at a university;
• conduct research or other academic projects; or
• engage in extended travel with an organized group while carrying out the obligations of the fellowship.

Additionally, these fellowships should introduce students to cultures, peoples, and areas of the world with which they are not familiar, therefore:

• travel to highly westernized/developed areas (including Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) is not competitive;
• preference is given to candidates without extensive international experience.
  • While the Bonderman Fellowship prioritizes students without extensive international experience, we understand that no situation is the same and many students will have some previous international experience due to their educational, professional, or personal experience(s). In the application, we ask about prior international experience to understand the breadth and type of your international experience. We are particularly interested in how the Bonderman Fellowship would be different than your previous experience(s). Please find more information about previous international experience here.

AWARD CRITERIA

A committee of past Bonderman Fellows, faculty, and staff review applications. Selected applicants will be invited for an interview in early April, with final awards announced mid-spring quarter.

We are searching for applicants who are curious, open, and creative. We seek those who demonstrate self-knowledge, interpersonal and cross-cultural skills and interests, and resilience and fortitude. We look for proposals that balance challenging the applicant in new ways with careful planning and thoughtful engagement with those challenges. Bonderman Fellowships enable students to undertake independent international travel to explore, be open to the unexpected, and come to know the world in new ways.  The Bonderman selection committee will evaluate applications based on the following questions:

• Does the applicant demonstrate self-knowledge, integrity, maturity, and commitment in their proposal?
• Does the applicant indicate a desire and ability to travel independently for eight months?
• Does the applicant show potential for thoughtful participation in the global community?
• Does the applicant describe goals for personal growth in their proposal?
• Is the itinerary feasible for the applicant?
• Does the applicant demonstrate interpersonal and cross-cultural skills and interests, and resilience and fortitude?
• Does the proposal balance challenging the applicant in new ways with careful planning and thoughtful engagement with those challenges?
• Does the applicant have previous international experience? If so, how will the Bonderman travel experience be different than their previous experience(s)?

INFORMATION SESSIONS

All 2024 Bonderman information and Q&A sessions will be held virtually. We highly recommend attending one of these information sessions, then reaching out to us if you have additional questions, prior to completing an application.

Information Session Details Here