The US Capitol building in Washington DC viewed from the lawn.

United States Applications close on 15 November each year for fellowships in the following year — the round for 2027 fellowships closes 15 November 2026. Confirm the current cycle's dates and terms on zonta.org before submitting

Zonta International Amelia Earhart Fellowship

The Amelia Earhart Fellowship is one of the longest-running awards for women in aerospace research anywhere in the world, established by Zonta International in 1938 in memory of the aviator, herself a Zonta member. It is not tied to any one country. Up to 30 fellowships of USD 10,000 each — about LKR 3.2 million at 320 rupees to the dollar — are awarded annually to women of any nationality pursuing doctoral study in aerospace-applied sciences or aerospace-applied engineering, and the fellowship can be held at a university anywhere in the world. Past fellows have been based in the United States, Europe, Australia, Japan and elsewhere; we list it here under the United States because that is where most aerospace doctoral programmes and the largest concentration of past fellows sit, but a Sri Lankan applicant should read it as a portable award and pick the doctoral programme first. What makes it valuable is flexibility: the money may be used for tuition, research materials, books or living expenses, unlike the many awards restricted to fees. What makes it demanding is the timing of eligibility. You cannot apply as a prospective PhD student. At the point of application you must be registered in a full-time doctoral programme and have completed at least one year of it, or hold a master's degree in an aerospace-applied field. You must also not be due to graduate before April of the year after the award. Applications close on 15 November each year for the following year's fellowships. Zonta club members, individuals with direct Zonta membership, employees of Zonta International and the Zonta Foundation for Women, and their family members are excluded, and the current published terms state that previous Amelia Earhart Fellows may not apply to renew for a second year. For a Sri Lankan woman already in an aerospace-related doctorate, this is one of the few genuinely open, portable, well-known awards in the field.

Zonta International (tenable at any university worldwide)

External Organization-funded

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Value

USD 10,000 (LKR ~3.2M)

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Awards

Up to 30 a year, globally

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Where Held

Any university, any country

fact_check Eligibility Criteria

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Women of Any Nationality

This is a gender-restricted award for women, with no nationality or residency condition. Sri Lankan citizens are eligible on the same footing as applicants from anywhere else, whether studying at home or abroad.

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Aerospace-Applied Science or Engineering

Your research must be applied to aerospace engineering or the space sciences. That is broader than it first sounds — materials, propulsion, control systems, remote sensing, atmospheric and satellite work can all qualify — but a general engineering or physics doctorate with no aerospace application will not.

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Already a Year into the Doctorate

At the time of application you must be registered full-time in a PhD or doctoral programme and have completed at least one year of it, or hold a master's degree in an aerospace-applied field. This is not a scholarship for getting into a PhD — it supports one already under way.

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You Must Not Graduate Too Early

Applicants must not be due to complete their doctorate before April of the year following the award. If you are in your final months, you are outside the window — apply in an earlier year instead.

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Zonta-Connected Applicants Excluded

Zonta club members, direct members of Zonta International, employees of Zonta International and the Zonta Foundation for Women, and their family members cannot apply. The published terms also state that previous Amelia Earhart Fellows are not eligible to apply to renew for a second year.

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Unrestricted Use of Funds

The USD 10,000 may be spent on tuition, research materials, books or living expenses. That flexibility matters — many PhD awards will not touch living costs, and this one can bridge a funding gap that a tuition-only scholarship cannot.

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Secure a doctoral place in an aerospace-applied field first

Because eligibility requires a year of doctoral study or a master's in an aerospace-applied field, the sequence is: find and fund the PhD, then apply for this. For a Sri Lankan applicant that usually means a university studentship, a departmental assistantship or a national scheme as the primary funding, with the Earhart as a supplement.

Prepare evidence of aerospace application

Your research description must make the aerospace connection explicit and specific. A reviewer from outside your subfield should be able to see the link in the first paragraph — do not leave it implicit.

Apply online by 15 November

Zonta runs an online application requiring academic records, a research description, references and evidence of your enrolment status. The 15 November deadline is annual and firm, and applications must be complete to be considered.

Plan around the notification timeline

Fellows are announced in the following year, with funds released for that academic period. Do not build your immediate cash flow around it — treat it as a supplement that arrives after a decision cycle of several months.

Handle your own visa route separately

Zonta does not sponsor visas or place you at a university. Your immigration route — an F-1 in the United States, a Student route visa in the UK, a subclass 500 in Australia or a national permit in Europe — follows from your doctoral admission and its funding, and the fellowship letter simply strengthens your evidence of funds.

Why the Amelia Earhart Fellowship?

Zonta International is a global service organisation working on the status of women, and the Amelia Earhart Fellowship is its flagship academic programme — running since 1938 and awarded to well over a thousand women from more than seventy countries. Because it is portable and nationality-blind, it is one of the very few aerospace-specific awards a Sri Lankan woman can realistically win without a government nomination or a bilateral agreement. Fellows also join a recognisable international alumni network in a field where women remain heavily under-represented, which carries weight in later academic and industry applications well beyond the cash value.