IBEF Monastic Fellowship — Fellowship

The International Buddhist Education Foundation established this fellowship for Buddhist monastic students who need financial aid while studying Religious Studies or Buddhist Chaplaincy at University of the West. Awards are available for Fall and Spring semesters.

Funding is credited to the recipient’s UWest account for tuition, registration fees and related expenses. Recipients also have a service obligation at UWest or Hsi Lai Temple, although the currently linked documents disagree on the required hours.

Benefits & funding

PhD and DBMin students receive $3,000 per semester; MA, MDiv and MABSC students receive $2,000 per semester under the linked policy.
The award is paid into the recipient’s UWest registration account; any balance may be requested by petition near the end of the semester.
The February 2026 form also lists a separate $2,500 tuition-only fellowship option for full-time applicants who explain the additional need.
The 2026 checklist says continuing recipients complete 50 service hours per semester, while the linked 2023 policy says 150; applicants should confirm the current total with UWest.

Eligibility

Applicants must be Buddhist monastics and new or current UWest students in Religious Studies or Buddhist Chaplaincy who recognize Humanistic Buddhism and are not receiving another full scholarship.
Both term and cumulative GPA must be at least 3.0.
Graduate applicants normally enroll full-time in at least 9 units; specified final-semester and qualifying-exam cases may petition while enrolled in at least 3 units.
PhD and monastic DBMin candidates doing doctoral research qualify only before their proposal and related research approvals are complete; those with all approvals are directed to the IBEF Graduate Student Research Grant.
Non-degree students are ineligible, and prior IBEF support is capped at four semesters for MA and MABSC students and six for MDiv and doctoral students.
No nationality or residence restriction is stated; the current form includes U.S. citizens or permanent residents, F-1 students, R-1 students and an other-status option.

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Education required
Master · PhD

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Application process

1
Download the current application checklist and the required forms from UWest’s Financial Aid Forms page.
2
First-time and newly admitted applicants assemble the application form, an official transcript, two recommendation letters, the three-part IBEF essay and a monastic verification letter.
3
Renewal applicants use the renewal form and include an advisor and department-chair recommendation, the annual monastic verification letter and evidence of completed service hours.
4
Submit by May 1 for Fall funding or November 15 for Spring funding; the 2026 checklist requires one sealed envelope sent to the IBEF Scholarship/Fellowship Program at UWest and says not to fax or email it.
5
Confirm the delivery channel with UWest before sending because the final page of the same 2026 file also prints an email-submission instruction.

Program timeline

Next recurring application deadline, for Spring funding.
Nov 15, 2026
Following recurring application deadline, for Fall funding.
May 1, 2027
Program start and end dates
Not published.