University of Hawaii Graduate Degree Fellowship, 2027-2028

Applications are now open for the University of Hawai‘i Graduate Degree Fellowship to study in the United States of America. The East-West Center Graduate Degree Fellowship is made initially for twelve months but may be renewed for an additional year, subject to funding availability and timely and satisfactory progress toward completion of the degree and fulfillment of East-West Center requirements. The total award length may be less than 24 months, depending on the academic status of the student at the time the award is given and the time necessary to complete degree requirements.

All graduate degree fellowship applicants are also considered for EWCA Alumni and Foundation scholarships. No separate application is needed for those. These awards are funded through privately endowed scholarships from the East-West Center Foundation and may supplement a graduate degree fellowship. EWC Alumni and Foundation Scholarships have been established to assist East-West Center students. The Center may be able to make available a limited amount of supplemental scholarship support to graduate degree fellowship finalists with financial needs on a case-by-case basis.

Recipients of these university scholarships are required to live in EWC housing and to participate in the EWC community. Subject to funding availability, funding for field study and conference presentations and travel grants are offered to degree fellows on a competitive basis during their study period.

Founded in 1907, the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) is the flagship campus of the state university system located in Mānoa Valley, close to the center of metropolitan Honolulu. It is a comprehensive research university offering bachelor’s degrees in 100 fields of study, master’s degrees in 87, and professional and doctoral degrees in 59 fields. It enrolls about 19,000 full-time students each semester, of whom more than 5,000 are graduate students. UHM and the EWC are separate organizations but maintain close institutional ties through programs like the Graduate Degree Fellowship.

Program Details

• Host Institution: University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa in the United States of America.
• Study field: Available graduate programs at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
• Duration: Initially twelve months, renewable for an additional year subject to funding and progress.
• Number of Awards: Not specified.
• Target group: Citizens or permanent residents of eligible countries.

University of Hawai‘i Graduate Degree Fellowship Benefits

Selected candidates will enjoy a fully funded scholarship that provides the following benefits:

1. Full-time graduate tuition and fees up to the equivalent of the general tuition charged for post-baccalaureate students at the University of Hawaii at Manoa toward master’s or doctoral studies;
2. Housing in an East-West Center residence hall, based on single occupancy. Fellows with no accompanying dependents below 18 years of age are required to reside in Center dormitories. Individuals with minor dependent children cannot be accommodated in on-campus facilities and must reside off-campus;
3. A stipend to partially cover food and incidental expenses;
4. An allowance for books, materials, and supplies; and
5. Subsidy toward health insurance coverage.

Eligible Countries

Individuals who are citizens or permanent residents of the countries listed below may apply for the East-West Center Graduate Degree Fellowship: United States, Pacific Region (American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Northern Marianas, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis & Futuna Islands)

Southeast Asia (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam), South Asia (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka), East Asia (China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Russia, and Taiwan).

University of Hawai‘i Graduate Degree Fellowship Eligibility

Before the start of the award, applicants for graduate programs must have obtained a 4-year bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from an accredited U.S. college or university or from a recognized institution of higher learning abroad. Generally, an applicant must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (4.0=A scale) or the equivalent in the last four semesters or six quarters of the undergraduate record and in all post-baccalaureate work.

How to Apply for the University of Hawai‘i Graduate Degree Fellowship

Those who wish to apply for this North America scholarship should click on the apply button below and follow instructions to submit their applications. Before submitting your application, you should check the following steps:

• Determine your eligibility and ensure you understand program requirements. You must be admitted to the University of Hawaii graduate degree program to be eligible for the Fellowship.
• If you are not yet enrolled in a graduate degree program, visit the University of Hawai‘i website and follow the instructions there to apply for your chosen field of graduate study. You must apply directly to the university by December 1 and provide proof of your application submission to EWC. Your application to the admissions office and academic program must be complete by January 10.
• If you are an international student who must provide proof of English proficiency to the University of Hawai‘i, make arrangements to take TOEFL or IELTS and have scores reported to the East-West Center. The Center requires a minimum TOEFL score of 79, a DUOLINGO score of 95, or a total band score of 6.5 for the IELTS (academic test). Currently-enrolled students need not submit a score report. Official score reports must be received by January 10.
• Identify three individuals to provide a letter of reference. Two individuals should comment on your academic and long-term objectives, while the third should comment on your involvement with community service projects, civic engagement, or extracurricular activities. The Letter of Reference form will be provided to your referee as a link when you complete your online application.

Application Documents

You must submit your fellowship application by the deadline and should have the following documents on hand to upload to your online application:

Uploaded by December 1:

1. Curriculum vitae or resume.
2. Application Acknowledgment (screenshot or PDF of the notification you receive from UH upon submitting your online admission application to the university) for applicants applying simultaneously to UH.
3. Passport biodata page (for international students only).

Received by January 10:

1. Official transcripts from each college or university you attended. Current UH students may submit photocopies of these documents issued by their academic program or the UH Records Office, along with a copy of their Campus Report by Semester.
2. An official IELTS, DUOLINGO, or TOEFL score must be reported by the testing service if you are not a currently enrolled University of Hawai‘i student and are required to provide proof of English proficiency.
3. Three letters of reference, two of which address your academic abilities and professional objectives and the third, which reflects on your involvement in any community service, civic engagement, or extracurricular activities.

Applying to the University of Hawai‘i

Yes, you must submit your admission application to the University of Hawai‘i by December 1 if you are not already registered in a graduate degree program at UH. You should expect to receive an “Application Acknowledgment” after successfully submitting your online admission application to the university. Please upload a copy of that acknowledgment page to your EWC online application to confirm that you have applied to the university.

Your application to the admissions office requires official transcripts and, for certain international students, proof of English proficiency. Please be sure to check the UH Office of Graduate Education website (https://manoa.hawaii.edu/graduate/) for complete details. You must complete your admission application by January 10.

Certain academic programs may also require the submission of a departmental application, which may include an application form, statement of objectives, letters of reference, GRE or GMAT test score report, and sample works. Please be sure to check with the academic program about these requirements. You must complete your departmental application by January 10. Failure to meet this requirement may result in your department not being able to provide EWC with a timely decision of admission and, subsequently, removal of your application from the pool of eligible scholarship applications.

English Proficiency Exemptions

The University of Hawai‘i requires proof of English proficiency in determining your readiness for graduate-level work. The University of Hawai‘i will grant an exception only if the following criteria are met: a) your academic program was in a country where English is the first language; b) you received a degree from that institution within the past five years. Please refrain from requesting EWC to grant an exemption, as the Center is not in a position to overrule a University of Hawai‘i requirement. The Center will abide by the UH Admissions Office’s decision if an exemption is allowed.

Notification of Results

Applicants will be contacted in early April concerning the Center’s decision on your application. The Center will email all applicants of the result. The Center will not disclose results over the telephone.

Other Scholarships Administered by the East-West Center

If you want to be considered for other scholarships administered by the East-West Center, you must submit a separate online application for each scholarship. However, you may mail in just one set of required documents (e.g., transcripts, degree certificates, and TOEFL/IELTS results). Indicate in the recipient mailing address all the names of the scholarships for which you are applying, for example, GDF, Obuchi, ADB-JSP, and Taiwan GDF. No separate application is needed for EWCA Alumni and Foundation scholarships; applicants for the Graduate Degree Fellowship will also be considered for those scholarships.

The deadline to submit applications is December 1, 2026, at 11:59 PM Hawai‘i Standard Time. For more details on the University of Hawai‘i Graduate Degree Fellowship, please visit the official page.