Summer in South Asia Undergraduate Fellowships

Travel to India

The Summer in South Asia (SiSA) fellowship supports students who undertake independent, immersive, distinctive, and challenging projects in India for a minimum of four weeks. Each project is unique to each student, and every project entails a significantly new experience for that student.

University of Michigan students with at least one year of undergraduate education remaining are eligible to apply.

SiSA Fellows receive $4,500 to cover all costs associated with traveling to India, living there, and traveling after the internship or research period. The minimum required time in India is four weeks, but students have stayed up to four months. Undergraduate students from any academic discipline are eligible.

SiSA Fellows have focused on a wide variety of topics related to their academic degrees and/or areas of personal interest. Past SiSA Fellows have built solar panels with community members in a rural area, worked on a Bollywood movie set, and served in a rural healthcare NGO. Participating in this fellowship provides students with invaluable international experiences that are transformative and leave a lasting personal, academic, and professional impact on their lives.

This program was established in 2006 thanks to a generous gift from an anonymous donor. SiSA Fellowships have funded over 100 students.

Application Timeline

November 1, 2024: Application period starts

January 15, 2025: Applications must be complete

March 1, 2025: Awards announced

Eligibility

What sort of students are we looking for?

Eligibility requirements for the fellowship:

Open to all undergraduate students from all academic disciplines who will not graduate before August of 2026 (Students with less than a year of undergraduate study remaining are not eligible.)
The minimum required time in India is four weeks, but fellows have stayed up to four months
Joint projects by multiple fellows are not permitted
There is no GPA requirement, although GPA is considered during the application process
Applicants may have additional sources of funding

Funding Amount

Application Information

Applications may be updated until 11:59 pm, January 15, 2025.

The application requires students to complete the following:

Application must be completed by January 15, 2025
Your U-M transcript

CLICK HERE TO APPLY.

The SISA offers students the option to choose between pursuing an internship or conducting an independent project while in India.

Internship
The Summer in South Asia Fellowship is most commonly awarded to students who do an internship with an organization of their choice. Students typically choose their internship site based on academic and/or personal interests. The Center for South Asian Studies is available to assist you with the application process – providing guidance on internship sites, topics of interest, and some logistical arrangements.

Independent Project
Independent proposals for individual study projects are eligible for fellowship funds. Applicants who select this option will spend their time in India focused on their project

If selecting this option, students should have:

Knowledge of the topic they will be focusing on
At least one faculty member willing to serve as an informal advisor on the topic. This person can be based in the US or in India, and should have knowledge of South Asia.
Comfort with independent living in India
IRB approval is usually not required

Apply

Summer in South Asia Fellow Blog

2024 Summer in South Asia Fellow Blog

While in India, Summer in South Asia Fellows are expected to participate in a shared blog. This blog gives them an opportunity to keep family, friends at home, each other, and the CSAS staff up to date on their activities as they encounter some of the greatest challenges and most satisfying encounters of their lives.

Read the blogs of former Summer in South Asia Fellows:

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