Here you will find a remarkable, close-knit community of scholars, brought together not by their specific disciplines, but by their shared commitment to becoming academic leaders and enhancing diversity in academia and beyond. 

Established in 1991, the Chancellor’s Graduate Fellowship provides academic, professional, and personal support for academically excellent graduate students interested in enhancing diversity at Washington University and in the professoriate.

The fellowship cultivates a sense of community and service among our fellows, within Washington University, and in the St. Louis community. By leveraging relationships and resources, the Fellowship is uniquely positioned to foster networking and interdisciplinary collaborations among current fellows and alumni.

A Legacy of Leadership

The Chancellor’s Graduate Fellowship Program has supported over 150 graduate students since 1991. Our alumni have carried their leadership into prominent roles as professors, researchers, authors, artists, policymakers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, and civic leaders. The dedication from each of our fellows has been instrumental in making the Chancellor’s Graduate Fellowship one of the nation’s elite fellowships for graduate study.  

Our Alumni: A Community of Scholars

In celebration of the program’s rich alumni network, the Chancellor’s Graduate Fellowship in conjunction with the Office of the Provost has created the Chancellor’s Graduate Fellows Alumni Initiative or CGFAI. The immediate aim of the CGFAI is to bring our remarkable scholars back to Washington University to share their current work with our academic departments and schools. Our Alumni are also able to provide professional development advice to current Chancellor’s Fellows. The ultimate goal of the CGFAI is to realize the full potential of the Chancellor’s Graduate Fellowship Program as a mechanism for diversifying the faculty of the University.

Fall 2023 Admissions

As of Fall 2023, the Chancellor’s Graduate Fellowship will be merged with the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Fellowship for Women in Graduate Study, another distinguished university-wide fellowship program for outstanding scholars.  The inaugural cohort of the Ann W. and Spencer T. Olin-Chancellor’s Fellowship (OCF) will enter in Fall 2023.  Please click on the following link to learn more about the OCF program and its benefits. 

“With the Chancellor’s Fellowship, there is a level of immediate respect from day one. Through this respect, you see yourself as a leader. You show up as a performer and you are expected to both perform and to show leadership. You become a leader without knowing it.”

Baba Badji, Chancellor’s Fellow ’21

Our Vision

The Chancellor’s Graduate Fellowship Program seeks to be the preeminent program in the nation providing support for graduate diversity. 

Our Mission

The Chancellor’s Graduate Fellowship Program provides academic, professional, and personal support for academically excellent graduate students interested in enhancing diversity at Washington University and the professoriate. The CGFP cultivates a sense of community, professionalism, academic excellence, and service within Washington University and the St. Louis communities. The Fellowship fosters networking among current fellows and alumni to leverage relationships and share information and resources. 

Program Information

Financial Benefits

Incoming Chancellor’s Fellows of Fall 2022 receive up to a $38,000 annual stipend, full tuition remission, a $1,5000 educational allowance, and a $600 relocation award.

Chancellor’s Fellows have access to preferred housing (through Quadrangle Housing) adjacent to both the Danforth & Medical campuses at a cost that is below the market rate.

The Chancellor’s Graduate Fellowship has several annual events including the annual Arts & Letters Colloquium.

In addition to the financial benefits, Chancellor’s Fellows have access to professional development workshops, speaker events, networking opportunities, and social events throughout the academic year.  Further, current Fellows have access to a robust alumni network.

Eligibility

Students must have earned or been in the process of earning an undergraduate degree from a U.S. institution.

Students will be selected for the Chancellor’s Graduate Fellowship, who, in light of all pertinent academic qualifications, experiences, and attributes, would contribute to the diversity of graduate education at Washington University. Students should have a strong interest in becoming a college or university professor.

The University believes that student body diversity entails many dimensions, and is advanced on campus by having a broad variety of cultural, socioeconomic, gender, racial, ethnic, geographical, philosophical/religious, and other distinctive backgrounds and perspectives (e.g., first-generation college graduates, experience facing personal or financial hardship).

Eligible Programs

PhD and AM* programs in Arts & Sciences, including the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, PhD programs in Business, PhD programs in Engineering, PhD in Movement Science, RAPS, and Speech and Hearing Sciences, PhD in Nursing Science, PhD in Public Health Sciences, PhD in Social Work, JD* law school teaching fellowship only, Master of Architecture, Master of Fine Arts in Dance, Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts, Master of Fine Arts in Writing, and Master of Fine Arts in Illustration and Visual Culture

*Stipend amounts for AM programs may differ.  Please contact the program for additional information.

Meet our Fellows


Inquiries about compliance should be addressed to:
Vice Chancellor for Human Resources
Washington University
Campus Box 1184
One Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO 63130

Specific information may be obtained from the departmental or administrative unit to which the student intends to apply.

Washington University encourages and gives full consideration to all applicants for admission, financial aid, and mentorship. The University does not discriminate in access to, or treatment of mentees in, its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, veteran status, disability or genetic information.