Amelia Earhart Fellowship description
Globally, women make up around 25 percent of the workforce in the aerospace industry. In an effort to carry out its mission that women have access to all resources and are represented in decision-making positions on an equal basis with men, Zonta International offers the Amelia Earhart Fellowship.
The Amelia Earhart Fellowship was established in 1938 in honor of famed pilot and Zontian, Amelia Earhart. The US$10,000 Fellowship is awarded annually to up to 30 women pursuing Ph.D./doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering and space sciences. It may be used at any university or college offering accredited post-graduate courses and degrees in these fields.
Since the program’s inception in 1938, Zonta has awarded 1,734 Amelia Earhart Fellowships, totaling more than US$11.6 million, to 1,305 women from 77 countries.
Our Fellows have gone on to become astronauts, aerospace engineers, astronomers, professors, geologists, business owners, heads of companies, even Secretary of the US Air Force.
Eligibility
Women of any nationality pursuing a Ph.D./doctoral degree who demonstrate a superior academic record conducting research applied to aerospace engineering or space sciences are eligible. It is imperative that students be registered in a full-time Ph.D./doctoral program and have completed at least one year of that program or have received a master’s degree in an aerospace-applied field at the time the application is submitted. Applicants must not graduate from their Ph.D. or doctoral program before April 2025. Please note that post-doctoral research programs are not eligible for the Fellowship. Club members and individuals with direct membership with Zonta International and employees of Zonta International and Zonta Foundation for Women, and their family members (ancestors, descendants, adoptees, siblings, nieces or cousins, and those of their spouse or co-habiting partner), are not eligible to apply for the Fellowship. Note that previous Amelia Earhart Fellows are not eligible to apply to renew the Fellowship for a second year.
Application process
The Zonta International Amelia Earhart Fellowship Committee reviews the applications and recommends recipients to the Zonta International Board. All applicants are evaluated on the criteria stated in the requirements section of the application. All details of the evaluations are kept confidential; evaluations are not disclosed to applicants. All applicants will be notified of their status by the end of April.
Deadline
Applications for the 2024 Amelia Earhart Fellowships have closed. For more information, please visit the website in July 2024.
Funding
Amelia Earhart Fellowships are made possible by generous contributions to the Zonta Foundation for Women Amelia Earhart Fellowship Fund.
Fellows
2024 Amelia Earhart Fellows | PDF
2023 Amelia Earhart Fellows' Bios | PDF
Bayan Abusalameh, Jordan
Hamda Al-Ali, United Arab Emirates
Shion Andrew, United States
Johanna Bürger, Germany
Margaret Deahn, United States
Julia Di, United States
Manisha Dwa, Nepal
Hannah Hajdik, United States
Madelyn Hoying, United States
Mennatallah Hussein, Egypt
Véranika Latour, France
Andrea Lopez, Spain
Eden McEwen, United States
Stephanie Menten, United States
Samantha Moruzzi, United States
Barza Nisar, Pakistan
Nana Obayashi, Japan and United States
Elise Oezalp, Germany and France
Kanak Parmar, India
Luisa Piccolo Serafim, Brazil and Italy
Lynn Pickering, United States and Germany
Carmen Possnig, Austria
Erin Richardson, Canada
Keziban Saloglu, Turkey
Shruti Tandon, India
Hannah Tomio, United States
Ria Vijayan, India
Rebecca Wang, United States
Kierra Wilk, United States
Zoelle Wong, United States
Questions
If you have any questions, please email [email protected].