What are the application requirements for the American Postdoctoral Research Leave Fellowship?

All applicants for the American Postdoctoral Research Leave Fellowship are required to submit the following with their application, in addition to narrative questions: 

• Letters of Recommendation: Applicants must provide two letters of recommendation from advisors, professors, colleagues, or others who are academically or professionally familiar with the applicant, their work, professional qualifications, and academic background. Recommenders are encouraged to evaluate the applicant in relation to the fellowship selection criteria and support this assessment with specific examples.
  •  Please provide a professional email address for recommenders, rather than a personal one.
  • It is the applicants' responsibility to remind their recommender of the application deadline in order for the application to be completed on time. An application will not be considered complete until the recommendations have been submitted. 
  • Applicants are encouraged to register their recommenders through your online application as early as possible in the application process. The application system will send each recommender a personalized link to submit the recommendation online. 
• Note: AAUW does not accept references from dossier services, such as Parchment or Interfolio, and standardized or form-letter recommendations are discouraged. 
• Proof of Degree: 
  • Students who have completed their terminal degree at the time of application
    • Copy of a Ph.D., D.Sc/Sc.D., Ed.D., D.B.A., D.Eng, M.F.A., S.J.D./J.S.D/J.D., M.D., D.P.H., D.M.D., D.V.M., D.S.W., or M.P>H degree OR official transcript showing conferral of degree and date of conferral
    • Applicants with an equivalent of one of the above terminal degrees (particularly if the transcript or degree certificate does not explicitly state it is a terminal degree) must provide an offiical explanation from the academic institution or governing body, or submit a credential evaluation report from services like WES, ECE, or any National Association of Credential Evaluation Services member that clarifies the equivalency of your qualification to a bachelor's degree. 
  • Students who are in the final year of their terminal degree program at the time of application
    • Copy of highest degree earned or official transcript showing conferral of highest degree and date of conferral
    • The documents provided must correspond to the program and institutions listed in the application and must include the applicant's full name, the institutions name, and the degree conferred. 
  • Applicants must submit translations for all degrees that were awarded in a language other than English. For the highest earned degree, a certified translation is required. 
• Transcript: 
  • Students who have completed their terminal degree at the time of application
    • Official transcript confirming conferral of a Ph.D., D.Sc/Sc.D., Ed.D., D.B.A., D.Eng, M.F.A., S.J.D./J.S.D/J.D., M.D., D.P.H., D.M.D., D.V.M., D.S.W., or M.P.H degree
  • Students who are in the final year of their terminal degree program at the time of application
    • Official transcript confirming conferral of highest degree received AND official current transcript
  • The transcripts provided must correspond to the programs and institutions listed in the application. 
  • Transcripts must include the applicant's full name, the institution's name, the degree conferred, the list of courses taken, and grades received. Transcript must also include the name of coursework or grades from transfer courses, if applicable. If transcripts reflect transfer courses without grades, a transcript from the institution where courses were taken is required. 
  • Applicants must submit translations for all degrees that were awarded in a language other than English. For the highest earned degree, a certified translation is required. 
  • Applicants who studied at an institution that does not provide a transcript, or a list of courses taken and grades received, or the degree did not require coursework, must provide an institutional letter affirming the same as well as the degree completion date. 
• Postdoctoral Host Institution Acknowledgement Form: This form can be found in AAUW's application portal and must be completed and signed by a facult mentor or project director.