QUAD Fellowship: First-of-its-kind Program for Next Generation STEM Leaders

The leaders of the QUAD countries – USA, India, Australia, and Japan, met at the QUAD Leaders’ Summit, where they launched the QUAD Fellowship. It is a first-of-its-kind scholarship program that intends to strengthen ties among next-generation scientists and technologists from the four-member QUAD countries. 

The QUAD Fellowship program is said to sponsor 100 students every year from STEM masters and doctoral degrees at leading universities in the USA. Twenty-five students from each QUAD country would receive this fellowship covering graduate STEM courses in engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, computer and information sciences, behavioural sciences, geosciences, and biological sciences. Clinical healthcare degrees are excluded from this list. 

Under the fellowship program, each student would receive a stipend of $50,000 to fund their tuition fees, books, accommodation, research, and related academic expenses. There is also a provision of need-based funding of $25,000 to cover costs related to graduate-level studies. The application window for Quad Fellowship is open for the students, and this will remain open till June 30, 2022. The residential program will commence in August 2023, and fellows shall receive the funding from the beginning of the 2023-2024 academic year. The results for the first batch of the fellowship will be announced in October 2022. 

To avail of the fellowship, a candidate must fulfil certain conditions. The candidate must be 18 years of age and a citizen of any quad nation. Apart from this, the candidate needs to be enrolled in any of the bachelor’s programs in the STEM field and possess an outstanding academic record. The fellowship is also open to the candidates who are already a part of the Master’s or PhD program, provided they enrol in a qualified academic program during their time as a fellow.

The application process includes:

• A duly filled application form
• Background demographic information
• three letters of recommendation
• final interview

About Quad 

QUAD was established in 2007 with four member nations: the USA, India, Australia, and Japan. It is also known as Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD) and was formed with an intent to work for an open, prosperous, and free Indo-Pacific region. Since then, the representatives of the four-member nations have met periodically at the QUAD Leaders’ Summit and devise ways in which the ties between them can be reinforced. 

Post the QUAD Leaders’ Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a video message where he encouraged students to apply for the fellowship since it would open doors to many opportunities for future STEM leaders and innovators. In a message posted on his Twitter handle, Narendra Modi stated, “The QUAD fellowship program is a wonderful and unique initiative. This prestigious fellowship will offer our students great opportunities to pursue graduate and doctorate programs in science, technology, engineering, and maths. It will encourage academic excellence and promote people-to-people linkages between our countries.”