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World Fellowship

What on Earth is

“World Fellowship”?

The professional, dedicated, and successful International World Fellowship Com-
mittee has accomplished so much in its 76 years of existence—but DKG members
OFTEN do not realize the difference the Society has made in many women’s lives
through this committee’s work.

History
The World Fellowship Committee essentially began in 1946 when four German
women educators received funds for an 8-week study and visitation to Sweden
in 1948. In 1952, in an alliance with the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), DKG awarded exceptional help to Korean
women. Then between 1958 and 1960, the present program began to take shape as
DKG partnered with the Institute of International Education (IIE), a global not-
for-profit established in 1919 that “implements international education strategies
and program services” (iie.org). Specifically, IIE
agreed to provide dossiers from which the Society
could select recipients of fellowships to study in
the United States and Canada. IIE administers the
student portion of the Fulbright program, helping
students with obtaining grants to supplement
Fulbright awards; DKG is one entity that offers
such grants.
Finally, in 1972, World Fellowship became a
standing committee in the Society. Its purpose is
“to grant world fellowships in accordance with
the Constitution and International Standing Rules
when sufficient funds are available. The committee
also works to maintain contact with the World Fellowship recipients for the duration
of their studies when possible and encourage members to maintain contact with
recipients studying in their states” (World Fellowship flyer, available on dkg.org).

Process

The scholarship application process today is twofold. The United States’
process begins with the Fulbright Commission, which promotes binational
collaboration with other countries in program planning, decision-making, and
management of funds and is affiliated with IIE. The next step is that the IIE
sends selected applications to the Delta Kappa Gamma International Educators
Fund (DKGIEF), which is responsible for management of the Society’s World
Fellowship Fund. The application forms then move on to the International World
Fellowship Committee for evaluation and ranking. Members of the committee
begin to review 60 or more applications. Once they have reviewed, scored, and
reviewed a second time, they meet as a team and select the final recipients.

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