M.A. Tuition

Please visit the GSAS website for a complete breakdown of tuition and fees. Costs for the M.A. in Global Thought can be found under “All Other Master’s Programs.” Students must register for one Residence Unit each semester, for a total of 2 Residence Units to complete the program.

M.A. Funding Opportunities

Most external graduate funding opportunities require students to submit their applications well before they intend to enroll (typically October to February of the preceding year), and before actual program application deadlines. Acceptance to a graduate program is not usually necessary to apply for external funding. Please plan to apply for funding as early as possible.

Financial Aid Offered by GSAS

Please visit the GSAS website for full information on financial aid opportunities.

Global Thought Partial Funding Fellowship

The Committee on Global Thought offers limited partial fellowships to select applicants. To be considered for a partial fellowship, you must first initiate a program application and plan to submit the partial fellowship application by the priority or general application deadline. Applicants who select Global Thought as their second-choice program in the GSAS application will receive a partial fellowship application only after their first-choice program has completed its review and rendered its decision; consult Introduction to GSAS Admissions for more information about applying to multiple programs. Fellowships are, as the name implies, partial; please also plan to apply for external funding to cover the cost of your studies and living expenses.

External Funding Opportunities

Fellowships • Travel Awards • Grants • Scholarships

Please find below a sampling of fellowships relating to the M.A. in Global Thought.  For a full list of resources including fellowship search databases, please visit the GSAS External Funding website.

American Association of University Women Career Development Grants provide funding to women who hold a bachelor’s degree and are preparing to advance or change careers or reenter the workforce. Primary consideration is given to women of color and women pursuing their first advanced degree or credentials in nontraditional fields. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents whose last degree was received four years previously. Funds are available for tuition, fees, books, supplies, local transportation, and dependent care.

American Association of University Women International Fellowships are awarded for full-time study or research in the United States to women who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Both graduate and postgraduate studies at accredited U.S. institutions are supported. Applicants must have earned the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree and must have applied to their proposed institutions of study by the time of the application. Recipients are selected for academic achievement and demonstrated commitment to women and girls. Recipients return to their home countries to become leaders in business, government, academia, community activism, the arts, and sciences.

American Councils for International Education believes in the fundamental role of education in fostering positive change for individuals, institutions, and societies. The organization has focused its expertise on academic exchange, professional training, distance learning, curriculum and test development, delivery of technical assistance, research, evaluation, and institution building. 

The Beinecke Scholarship Program seeks to encourage and enable highly motivated students to pursue opportunities available to them and to be courageous in the selection of a graduate course of study in the arts, humanities and social sciences. Each scholar receives $4,000 immediately prior to entering graduate school and an additional $30,000 while attending graduate school. There are no geographic restrictions on the use of the scholarship, and recipients are allowed to supplement the award with other scholarships, assistantships and research grants. Scholars are encouraged to begin graduated study as soon as possible following graduation from college, and must utilize all of the funding within five years of completion of undergraduate studies.

Boren Awards for International Travel provide funding for U.S. graduate students to study in world regions critical to U.S. interests, including Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East. In exchange for funding, recipients commit to working in the federal government for a minimum of one year. The applications are now available. These fellowships are open to graduate students of all U.S. universities. 

The Columbia University Scholarship for Displaced Students (CUSDS) supports displaced students from anywhere in the world. Applicants must be able to provide documentation of their displaced status, and students awarded funding will receive partial or full tuition, and potentially assistance with living expenses while pursuing a graduate degree at Columbia. Eligible students should apply at the same time that they submit their application for a Columbia graduate program.

The Davis-Putter Scholarship Fund aids people active in movements for social and economic justice. These need-based scholarships are awarded to students who are able to do academic work at the college or university level or are enrolled in a trade or technical program and who are active in the progressive movement. Recent grantees have been active in the struggle against racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of oppression; building the movement for economic justice; and creating peace through international anti-imperialist solidarity. Applicants must have participated in activities in the US, and there is a strong preference for applicants who plan on working in this country. The maximum grant available from the Davis-Putter Scholarship Fund is $15,000 per year (from July 1 through June 30).

Echoing Green Public Service Fellowships provides funding to conduct public service projects anywhere in the world. The support is available for up to two years.  

The Fulbright program, sponsored by the US government, provides grants for graduate students, scholars, and professionals, as well as teachers and administrators from the U.S. and other countries. 

Humboldt Research Fellowship Program promotes academic cooperation between scientists and scholars from Germany and abroad. The research fellowships and awards allow researchers to come to Germany to work on a project, they have chosen themselves, in cooperation with a German host and collaborative partner. 

Indspire offers scholarships and awards to Canadian First Nations, Inuit and Métis students for Post-Secondary Education. There is one application for all of Indspire’s bursaries, scholarships, and awards.

International Research and Exchange Board is an international nonprofit organization providing leadership and innovative programs to improve the quality of education, strengthen independent media and foster pluralistic civil society. 

The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans program honors the contributions of immigrants and children of immigrants to the United States. Each year, we invest in the graduate education of 30 New Americans—immigrants and children of immigrants—who are poised to make significant contributions to US society, culture or their academic field. Each Fellow receives up to $90,000 in financial support over two years, and they join a lifelong community of New American Fellows.

Donald M. Payne International Development Graduate Fellowship Program is intended for students in graduate school who are also interested in a career in the foreign service of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Payne Fellows work on the front lines of some of the most pressing global challenges including poverty, hunger, injustice, disease, environmental degradation, climate change, conflict and violent extremism and join USAID once they complete the program.

P.E.O. International promotes educational opportunities for women. The Sisterhood proudly sponsors no less than five international philanthropies, or projects, designed to assist women with their educational goals.  

The Thomas R Pickering Fellowship Program is funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars. The fellowship provides graduate students with financial support, mentoring and professional development to prepare them academically and professionally for a career with the U.S. Department of State. Women, members of minority groups historically underrepresented in the Foreign Service, and students with financial need are encouraged to apply.

Rotary International aims to enable members to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty. The division, in conjunction with Rotarians, Rotary clubs, and Rotary districts, provides its assistance through scholarship, fellowship, and grant processes. 

Woodrow Wilson Center Fellowships in Humanities and Social Sciences awards approximately 20-25 residential fellowships annually to individuals with outstanding project proposals in a broad range of the social sciences and humanities on national and/or international issues. Topics and scholarship should relate to key public policy challenges or provide the historical and/or cultural framework to illuminate policy issues of contemporary importance. 

Women in Defense Horizons Scholarship is intended for women interested in pursuing a career related to U.S. national security and defense. Open to college juniors and above, including those in graduate school, awards are based on academic achievement, participation in defense and national security activities, field of study, work experience, statements of objectives, recommendations and financial need.