Career Development Grants

$2,000–20,000

August 1, 2022
Application opens.

November 15, 2022, by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time
Deadline for online submission of application and supporting documents.

April 15, 2023
Notification of decisions emailed to applicants. AAUW is not able to honor requests for earlier notification.

July 1, 2023–June 30, 2024
Grant year

When a date falls on a weekend or holiday, the date will be observed on the following business day.

Career Development Grants are open to women, including people who identify as women, who:

• are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
• hold an earned (not honorary) bachelor’s degree.
• received their bachelor’s degree on or before June 30, 2015.
• do not hold an earned (not honorary) graduate or professional degree.
• plan to enroll or are enrolled in courses/activities that are required for professional employment or advancement.
• plan to enroll or are enrolled in one of the following program types:
  • Bachelor’s or associate degree program that is different from the field of study of the previously earned bachelor’s degree.
  • Master’s degree program.
  • Certification program.
  • Technical school.
• plan to enroll or are enrolled in one of the following fields of study:
  • Education.
  • Health and Medical Sciences.
  • Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).
  • Social Sciences.

All courses of study must occur at a regionally accredited two- or four-year college or university in the United States or at a technical school that is fully licensed and/or accredited by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants must reside within the United States during the grant period.

Distance or online learning programs will be funded only if they are conducted through an accredited institution appearing on the U.S. Department of Education’s list of approved online/distance learning programs. Final decisions about what constitutes distance learning under these grants will be made by AAUW.

Applicants are required to indicate their matriculation status within the application. While applicants are not required to already be enrolled or accepted into their preferred institution of study in order to apply, preference is given to those who are able to demonstrate strong commitment or intent in following the proposed plan of study. Awardees must be able to show proof of admission when submitting their acceptance materials.

Career Development Grant funding is not available for the programs below:

• Prerequisite coursework.
• Professional degree in law (JD), business (MBA) or medicine (MD, DO).
• Doctoral coursework or dissertations.

AAUW encourages applicants interested in funding for master’s or professional degrees to consider eligibility guidelines for Selected Professions Fellowships as well. Applicants can only apply for one AAUW award per year.

Career Development Grants are not open to previous recipients of any AAUW national fellowship or grant (not including branch or local awards or Community Action Grants). Members of the AAUW Board of Directors, committees, panels, task forces and staff, including current interns, are not eligible to apply for AAUW’s fellowships and grants. A person holding a current award is eligible for election or appointment to boards, committees, panels and task forces.

The panel meets once a year to review applications for funding. Awards are based on the criteria outlined here. The panel’s recommendations are subject to final approval by AAUW. Grants are awarded on a competitive basis according to funds available in a given fiscal year.

To ensure a fair review process, AAUW does not comment on the deliberations of the awards panels. AAUW does not provide evaluations of applications. No provisions exist for reconsideration of grant proposals. Applications and supporting documents become the sole property of AAUW and will not be returned or held for another year.

The following criteria apply to the selection of Career Development Grants:

• Demonstrated commitment to education and equity for women and girls.
• Reason for seeking higher education or technical training.
• Degree to which study plan is consistent with career objectives.
• Potential for success in chosen field.
• Documentation of opportunities in chosen field.
• Feasibility of study plans and proposed time schedule.
• Validity of proposed budget and budget narrative, including sufficient outside support.
  Quality of written proposal.
• Applicant is from an underrepresented racial/ethnic background.
• Applicant will be in an underrepresented area of the country and/or type of university other than a top-level research institution during the award year.
• Applicant is seeking credentials in a nontraditional field.
• Financial need.

Career Development Grant funds are available for:

• Educational expenses.
• Living expenses.
• Dependent child care.
• Travel to professional meetings, conferences, or seminars that does not exceed 10% of the grant total.

Except where expressly stated otherwise, Career Development Grants are not available for:

• Purchase of equipment.
• Indirect costs.
• Research assistants.
• Previous expenditures, deficits or repayment of loans.
• Publication costs.
• Institutional (overhead) costs.
• Tuition for dependent’s education

AAUW regards the acceptance of a grant as a contract requiring fulfillment of the following terms:

• Career Development Grants are one-time-only awards.
• Career Development Grants are direct financial assistance to the applicant and cannot be administered by an academic institution or organization at which the applicant is employed.
• Funding may not be used for activities that will benefit, supplement or aid academic institutions with which applicants are affiliated.
• Career Development Grants do not provide funding for partial year coursework, prerequisite coursework or coursework that begins before July 1, 2023, or ends after June 30, 2024. Grants may not be deferred.
• All Career Development Grant recipients are required to sign a contract as acceptance of the award. Retain these instructions, as they will become part of the grant contract if the applicant is awarded a grant.
• Grants are awarded in two equal payments at the beginning and the midpoint of the fiscal year (pending receipt of a satisfactory midyear progress report).
• Stipends are made payable to grantees, not to institutions.
• The determination of whether there is a tax obligation associated with the receipt of an AAUW award is the sole responsibility of the applicant. Specific questions regarding income tax matters should be addressed with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the applicant’s financial aid office or a personal tax adviser. AAUW cannot provide tax advice. AAUW is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) public charity founded for educational purposes.

Start the application process by clicking the Apply Now button below to access the application and create an account through our vendor site. Complete all required components in the following tabs.

• Start
• Background
• Proposal
• Recommendation & Review
  • Recommendation:
    • Your recommendation must be submitted by a college counselor or adviser, an instructor or a work supervisor who knows you well. AAUW does not accept references from dossier services, such as Parment or Interfolio.

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