Rotary Foundation Global Grant Scholarships support graduate students studying abroad in fields aligned with Rotary’s seven areas of focus. These include peace, disease prevention, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, education, local economic development, and environmental protection.
A local Rotary club or district sponsors the scholar and works through Rotary’s grant process. Applications are accepted and reviewed throughout the year, subject to local sponsor requirements and a special submission date for some academic start months.
Benefits & funding
- Scholarships can last from one to four years and may cover an entire graduate degree program.
- A global grant has a minimum total budget of US$30,000; the maximum World Fund award is US$400,000. Rotary does not publish one fixed award amount for each scholar.
- Funding can combine District Designated Funds, cash, directed gifts, and endowment earnings. The World Fund provides an 80% match for District Designated Fund contributions.
Eligibility
- The proposed study must be graduate-level, take place abroad, and align with at least one Rotary area of focus.
- Applicants seek application details and sponsorship from a local Rotary club or district; local eligibility requirements may differ.
- Rotary publishes no universal nationality, residency, gender, age, or work-experience restriction for scholars on the official overview pages.
- Sponsoring clubs and districts must be qualified to apply for a global grant.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
Education required
Bachelor · Master
Circlebreaker is a free database of global fellowships, scholarships and programs — every one decoded like this.
We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.
Application process
- 1Contact a local Rotary club for its scholarship rules, timing, and sponsorship process.
- 2Identify a graduate program abroad that clearly aligns with a Rotary area of focus.
- 3Work with the sponsoring club or district to prepare the scholarship and funding plan in Rotary’s online grant application.
- 4Club and district leaders authorize the application before it is submitted to The Rotary Foundation.
- 5Wait for Foundation approval before making grant-funded travel arrangements or incurring reimbursable costs.
Program timeline
Year-round
Applications are accepted and reviewed as received.
30 June
Sponsoring clubs and districts must submit applications for scholars beginning studies in August, September, or October.
At least 90 days before travel
Submit grant applications that include travel.
After approval
The scholar may arrange grant-funded travel and begin approved activities on the agreed schedule.