Top PhD Scholarships In The USA For Indian Students: The Ultimate Guide

The United States of America is one of the prime locations with world-class universities like Harvard University, Cornell University, Stanford University, University of Minnesota and many more. If you are an Indian student looking to study abroad in a reputed institute but holding back due to finances, here’s some good news for you. Now, you can avail yourself of various PhD Scholarships In the USA and take a step towards achieving your goals.

Getting a doctorate from a reputed university can boost your career, but the dream of pursuing higher education in the USA often gets shattered due to financial problems. This is why so many national and international bodies are trying to make sure the talent of international students does not go to waste just because of a lack of funds by providing a monthly stipend.

Popular Externally Funded PhD Scholarships in the USA for Indian Students

1. Aga Khan Foundation International Scholarships

Aga Khan Foundation grants scholarships yearly to graduate students from developing countries to study abroad. The scholarship was established by His Highness the Aga Khan.

Eligibility Criteria

1. The student must be 30 years or less and a citizen of an eligible country.
2. Financial assistance is provided according to the needs of the students.
3. You should also have an excellent academic record. 
4. Candidates with relevant experience are preferred. 
5. Students must demonstrate that they have applied to multiple sources of funding.
6. Students must be admitted to reputed postgraduate institutions.
7. The committee also focuses on the applicant’s extracurricular activities, goals, and achievements.

Application Timeline

January 2024

Award Conditions

1. The scholarships are awarded as 50% grants and 50% loans.
2. Scholarships are awarded for the first two years, after which students are expected to find funding.
3. The student’s head or the guardian is supposed to co-sign the agreement.
4. A five per cent per annum service charge is levied on the loan amount.
5. The repayment period of the loan is 5 years.
6. The award covers tuition fees and the student’s cost of living. It doesn’t cover any expenses by family members or the cost of international travel.

Additional Information

1. The committee gives priority to postgraduate students and then PhD students.
2. Applicants are encouraged to try to reduce the amount of scholarship. 
3. Local or distance learning programmes are also acceptable for ISP funding.
4. The scholarship funding need is awarded individually by the following factors: deducting from the eligible student expenses, the total of other grants, loans (if any), parental contribution and student employment income. 

2. Fulbright Foreign Student Program

The Fulbright Foreign Student Program is one of the most rewarding grants administered by the US department. It awards up to 4000 doctorate scholarships to international students who want to study in the USA. The Fullbright Foreign Student program operates in over 160 countries.

Application Timeline

Between February to October (In varies depending on the country)

Eligibility Criteria

1. Applicants can be graduates, artists, and professionals from any field (except medical).
2. The applicant must have an excellent academic record throughout.
3. Applicants should pass the GMAT or GRE examination.
4. You should attach a CV while applying. 
5. Also, the applicant must return to their home country for at least two years after completing the funding.
6. Applicants may apply to conduct postdoctoral research at US institutions.
7. Applicants are eligible for Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence Grants.
8. Applicants can apply for the Fulbright-Nehru Master’s Fellowship for Leadership Development, the Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral and Professional Research Fellowship, and the Fulbright-Nehru CII Fellowship for Leadership in Management.

Benefit 

1. The scholarship covers almost all expenses, including tuition fees, living expenses, and travel costs. 
2. Provides J-1 visa support.

3. Kala Singh Memorial Scholarship

The scholarship was established by ASHFoundation and Little, Brown, Inc. in collaboration with Dr Singh to honour Kala Singh’s contributions to advancing knowledge in communicative disorders and sciences.

Value	4,16,952
Application Deadline	Between May to June

_{*Note: The application deadline mentioned above is for the academic year 2023, which is subject to change in 2024. The value of the scholarship might change with the conversion rate as 1 dollar=83.39 INR}

Eligibility Criteria

1. Applicants must be graduate students.
2. Applicants must be students pursuing a program of study in the School of Speech, Language, and Hearing.
3. Applicants must be enrolled full-time to remain eligible for this scholarship.

Documents Required

1. This scholarship requires a letter of recommendation/reference. 
2. Applicants must submit letters of recommendation/references by the application deadline for their application to be complete and considered by the committee. 

Popular University-Funded PhD Scholarships in the USA for Indian Students

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The MIT scholarship is awarded solely based on the student’s financial needs and comes from the endowment, gifts from MIT alumni and friends, and MIT general funds. Generally, around 58% of undergraduate students receive scholarships annually.

Median Scholarship Value in 2022-2023

53,14,389

_{*Note:1 dollar=83.39 INR}

Eligibility criteria for Undergraduate

1. Applicants who apply for financial aid and fill out the CSS (College Board’s Scholarship Service) profile are eligible for a scholarship.

Benefits

1. The university provides low-income first-year students with a grant to help with the extra expenses that come with the transition to college.
2. The grand of 1,66,780 is divided equally between the fall and spring semesters, and the grand will be credited to the applicant’s account along with other financial aid once applicants have registered for the semester. 

Additional Information

1. Applicants awarded an MIT Scholarship should fill out an annual Student Information Review Form so the university can match the applicant with the right scholarship from a suitable donor. 
2. The grant is available exclusively for first-year students.

2. University of Chicago: Funding packages

The admissions rate for the PhD course is usually 10% to 20%, depending on the number of applications. It varies depending on the size of the application pool.

Duration of the scholarship

Available for duration of the programme

Benefits

1. The scholarship covers Tuition Fees and applicant health insurance.
2. A stipend is also provided for research support and living expenses.
3. The on-campus and off-campus positions, such as internships, are also offered, which allows applicants to explore other career paths.
4. The university also offers prestigious fellowships which support language study, travel, or dissertation research.

Popular PhD fellowships in the USA for Indian Students

1. AAUW International Fellowships

AAUW (American Association of University Women) is specifically designed to allow female undergraduate students from over 140 nations to pursue a master’s or PhD degree in the USA.

Value	Doctoral: 20L               Postdoctoral: 41L
Application Deadline	1st August to 15th November annually

_{*Note: Postdoctoral means research that is done after doctoral degree is completed. Currency rate: 1 dollar=83.39 INR}

Eligibility Criteria 

1. The fellowship is provided to women who are not citizens of the USA and have attained a bachelor’s degree. 
2. The applicant should have an excellent academic record.
3. The applicant must be proficient in the English language.
4. The applicant should return to their home country after completing the degree. 
5. The candidate must enrol in a full-time programme to get the fellowship.
6. Unsuccessful applicants can reapply.
7. Applicant should have a citizenship other than USA citizenship.
8. The applicant should hold an academic degree equivalent to a USA bachelor’s degree by completing it within the application deadline. 
9. Applicants can apply for the fellowship for any year of their program but must be conducting a full year of study or research. 

Restrictions

1. Fellowships are not open to previous receipts of any AAUW national fellowship or grant. It doesn’t include branch or local awards or community action grants.
2. AAUW board of directors, committees, panels, task forces, and staff members, including current interns, are not eligible to apply for an AAUW fellowship.
3. Fellowship funds are not available for

• Purchase of equipment 
• Indirect cost
• Travel to or from a fellow’s home country or research location.
• Tuition for dependent’s education
• Research Assistant
• Previous debt, loans and expenditure
• Institutional costs.

Documents Required

1. Proof of highest degree: transcripts
2. Proof of current enrollment
3. Proof of English proficiency scores
4. A written statement verifying the applicant’s native language is English.

Additional Information

1. Stipends are made payable to fellows,not to institutions.
2. Fellows can spend 2 months traveling abroad for research related to the project plan with prior written approval of AAUW.
3. AAUW should be notified promptly of any change in the status of an application which results from the acceptance of another award. 
4. All fellowship recipients are required to sign a contract as an acceptance of the award.
5. The sole responsibility of securing visas and other documents rests with the fellow.

2. IBM PhD Fellowship Award Program

The IBM PhD Fellowship Award Program attracts doctoral talent from worldwide who want to study or intern in the USA. The scholarship aims to support PhD students with a deep interest in computer science, engineering, data analytics, technology, or material sciences.

Value

33L

The applicant must be a full-time PhD student, have completed two years, and should be facing a remaining 3 years of the course at the time of nomination. The candidate should also meet all the visa requirements and reside in any country other than US-embargoed countries.

Eligibility Criteria

1. Applicants cannot nominate themselves for the award and must be nominated by a doctoral faculty member.
2. Applicants must be enrolled full-time in a PhD program during the academic year of the award or forfeit the fellowship. 
3. Applicants should have two years remaining in their program at the time of nomination to apply for the fellowship to the last year of study.

Restrictions 

1. Applicants from US-embargoed countries or who have attended institutions in US-embargoed countries are not eligible for the program. 
2. Applicants receiving a comparable fellowship, internship, or support from another company or institution (except for academic scholarships) during the IBM PhD Fellowship funding period are ineligible for this award. 
3. Applicants transferring departments or schools will be ineligible for the award.

Selection Criteria

1. Applicant’s potential for research excellence. All awardees are assigned an IBM mentor for the duration of the award period, and applicants are encouraged to intern during the period of award. All student visas must align with the terms of the internship. 
2. The degree to which the applicant’s research aligns with IBM focus areas is also an important selection criterion. 
3. Selection will be based on the following factors:

•     Academic standing
•     Publications
•     Endorsements from faculty advisors and department heads.

3.East-West Center Graduate Degree Fellowship

EWC graduate degree fellowship is awarded to Graduate and PhD level students. The fellowship applies to India and other international countries.EWC graduate degree fellowship aims to participate in educational, cultural, residential community building, and leadership development programs while pursuing graduate study at UHM.
The duration of the award is 12 months but can be extended to 24 months

Duration of the Award

12 months but can be extended to 24 months

_{*Note: The extension of the award duration is based on the availability of funds, which are satisfactory and timely towards completion of the degree.}

Eligibility Criteria

1. Bachelor’s Degree and Grade Point Average
2. Citizenship of India
3. Applicant should have an Exchange Visitor (J-1) visa to be eligible for award. 

Benefit

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. Accommodation in an East-West Center residence hall, based on single occupancy.
3. A stipend is also provided to cover food and incidental expenses partially.
4. Allowance for books, materials and supplies is also provided.
5.  Lastly, Subsidy towards health insurance coverage is also provided to the applicant.

_{*All the awards mentioned above are subject to change.}

Wrapping Up

Various scholarships are available for students in the USA. There are different types of financial assistance that you can apply. So, now that you have all this information on PhD scholarships for Indian students, you don’t need to worry about the finances to pursue a doctoral degree in the United States of America.

You can avail yourself of a graduate scholarship and take a definitive step toward achieving your goals. If you need assistance applying for graduate scholarships, you can contact LeapScholar’s experts. 

Get ready! It’s time to reach great heights.

Frequently Asked Questions