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Faculty for the Future Fellowship 2027: Up to $50,000 a Year for Women in STEM Who Plan to Go Home and Teach

Faculty for the Future Fellowship 2027

Most large STEM scholarships reward the person who stays. The Faculty for the Future Fellowship, run by the Schlumberger Foundation, does the opposite. It funds women from low- and middle-income countries to complete a PhD or postdoctoral project at a strong university abroad, then expects them to return and build scientific capacity at home.

That design is why the award has lasted. Launched in 2004, the program passed 1,000 fellows in 2026. The 2026–2027 round alone awarded 163 grants, including 54 new fellows and 109 renewals. A recent impact survey found that most alumnae work in academia, teach well over 100,000 students, and supervise hundreds of graduate researchers. For a woman who already teaches, already mentors girls in science, and already knows which lab she wants to join, this is one of the few grants built around that exact profile.

Scholarship Summary

  • Host Country: Any country outside the applicant’s home country (host study is abroad; there is no single host country)
  • Host University: A well-ranked university or research institute abroad that the applicant finds, applies to, is admitted to, or is already enrolled in. There is no approved list.
  • Scholarship Category: PhD Scholarships
  • Eligible Country: Women who are citizens of low- and middle-income countries where women are underrepresented in STEM, with a focus on countries with a lower UN Human Development Index. Dual citizenship that includes a developed country makes an applicant ineligible.
  • Scholarship Benefits: Up to USD 50,000 per year for a PhD and up to USD 40,000 per year for postdoctoral research.
  • Scholarship Deadline: 7 November 2026

What the Faculty for the Future Fellowship Actually Is

Faculty for the Future is a flagship program of the Schlumberger Foundation, the nonprofit arm associated with SLB (formerly Schlumberger). It is not a university scholarship and not an employment scheme. Fellows are not required to work for SLB, and employees of Schlumberger and its affiliates are not the target of the award.

The grant is for advanced research only:

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  • A PhD in a STEM discipline, with grants based on real costs up to USD 50,000 per year.
  • Postdoctoral research in a STEM discipline, with grants based on real costs up to USD 40,000 per year.
  • Master’s degrees are not funded. Undergraduate study is not funded.

The Foundation is especially interested in fields where women remain scarce: physical sciences, engineering, computer science, and mathematics. Life sciences are not excluded, but applicants in the priority fields often have a clearer fit with the program’s stated aims.

Money is tied to eligible expenses rather than paid as a flat stipend. Typical costs include tuition and university fees, bench fees, accommodation, a living allowance, travel to the host country, visa charges, and conference expenses. A discretionary childcare grant can be added when conditions are met. Because the award follows actual costs, a fellow at a high-fee university and a fellow at a lower-fee university will not necessarily receive the same amount. Renewal depends on academic progress, supervisor recommendations, a self-evaluation, and evidence that the return-home plan is real.

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Who Can Apply, and Who Cannot Apply for Faculty for the Future Fellowship 2027

Eligibility is strict. Meeting most of the criteria is not enough. The Foundation says applications that miss the criteria are not retained.

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You can apply if you:

  • Are a woman and a citizen of a low- or middle-income country where women are underrepresented in STEM. The program focuses on countries with a lower UN Human Development Index.
  • Are preparing for a PhD or for postdoctoral research in STEM.
  • Are already enrolled, have been admitted, or have applied to a host university or research institute abroad. An application with no university application on file is not accepted.
  • Have an excellent academic record.
  • Have a proven record of teaching in your home country.
  • Can show leadership, community outreach, and a track record of encouraging girls and women into STEM.
  • Intend to return home to an academic or research post, to STEM entrepreneurship that tackles a local problem, or to public-sector work that uses science for policy.

You cannot apply if you hold dual citizenship and one of those citizenships is from a developed country. If a fellow later acquires citizenship of a developed country, the grant stops from that date.

Host country is flexible. There is no approved university list. You choose the institution, and it must sit outside your home country, be well ranked, and be recognized for strong research in your field. Sandwich or joint programs are allowed only if the final degree is awarded by the host university abroad, or jointly. A degree awarded only by the home university does not qualify.

The practical implication is simple. Start the university application before you start the fellowship application. Admissions letters, supervisor agreements, and a realistic budget all feed the fellowship file.

Why This Fellowship is Different from a Standard PhD Scholarship

A conventional funded PhD pays you to finish a thesis. Faculty for the Future pays you to finish a thesis and then strengthen a faculty, a lab, or a science-based venture at home.

Selection reflects that. Reviewers look at academic performance and the quality of references, but they also score the host university, the relevance of the research to the home country, the commitment to return, evidence of teaching or outreach, and plans for STEM entrepreneurship or policy work. The process runs through four rounds. A brilliant paper with no home-country plan is a weak file. A solid research proposal tied to a real department, a named supervisor, and a credible return path is a strong one.

That is also why the alumnae numbers matter. Fellows are not only collecting degrees. Surveyed alumnae teach large student cohorts, supervise graduate work, and publish. The Foundation’s own impact reporting has put the share working in academia in the range of about 76 to 83 percent, depending on the survey year. The program is built to multiply scientists, not only to graduate them.

What a Competitive Application Contains

The online system is the only route. New and renewal applicants use fftf.slb.com. The Foundation recommends Firefox or Chrome. Reference letters are uploaded by referees, not emailed, and the referee deadline is 14 November 2026, one week after the applicant deadline.

A strong file usually includes:

  • A clear research proposal that states the problem, the method, and why the question matters in the home country.
  • Proof that you have applied to, been admitted to, or are enrolled at the host university, plus the name of a host supervisor.
  • Transcripts and a record that can survive comparison with other applicants from 90-plus countries.
  • Evidence of teaching: courses taught, students supervised, curriculum work, or a faculty appointment.
  • Evidence of outreach: school visits, mentoring programs, women-in-STEM clubs, public talks.
  • A return plan that gets more concrete the closer you are to graduation. Three years out, active links with a home university count. Closer to the end, collaboration and a named role matter more.
  • A budget based on real costs, plus disclosure of any other funding.
  • Referees who can speak to research ability and to your commitment to return, not only to grades.

Notification for this cycle is expected in early April 2027. Grants can be renewed through the end of the PhD or postdoc if progress and the reintegration plan hold up.

How to Use the Months Before the Deadline

The window is short. From 1 September to 7 November is about ten weeks, and reference letters need a further week. Treat the date as 7 November at noon Central Standard Time, not as the end of that calendar day in your own time zone.

A practical sequence:

  • Confirm nationality rules and the no-dual-citizenship rule on the official eligibility page before you invest time in the form.
  • Secure a host supervisor and submit the university application if you have not already.
  • Draft the research statement so a non-specialist reviewer can see the home-country link in the first page.
  • Brief referees early. Send them the criteria, not only your CV. Letters that ignore the return-home requirement waste a selection signal.
  • Collect outreach proof: letters from schools, photos are less useful than descriptions of what you taught and who attended.
  • Build a cost table from the host university’s fee schedule, typical rent, insurance, and one conference.
  • Use the official FAQ at the Foundation site for edge cases such as sandwich degrees and host-university rules.

Official pages to use, rather than third-party reposts:

Who Should Not Spend Time On This Application

This is a poor fit if you want a taught master’s, if you plan to settle permanently in the host country, if you have no teaching record, or if you have not yet contacted a university abroad. It is also a poor fit if your research has no plausible use in your home region. The grant is generous relative to many national schemes, but the selection logic is narrow on purpose.

If you do match the profile, the case for applying is straightforward. Very few private funders will cover tuition, living costs, travel, and sometimes childcare for a woman scientist who has already decided to go back and teach. Faculty for the Future has been doing that since 2004, and the 7 November 2026 deadline is the gate for the next cohort.

Applications for the 2027–2028 cycle are open from 1 September 2026 to 7 November 2026 through the official portal at fftf.slb.com. The Foundation’s applications page is at schlumbergerfoundation.com/applications.

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