The Foundation Fellowship is the University of Georgia’s top academic scholarship and is available through the Morehead Honors College. The Foundation Fellowship provides generous academic funding, stipends for group and individual travel-study, and research and conference grants.
Founded in 1972 by UGA Foundation trustees, the Foundation Fellowship places students in a community of dedicated scholars. The stipend approximates the cost of attendance.
The Foundation Fellows Annual Report
Our annual report provides a yearly overview of our students’ activities and involvement.
View past years’ annual reports here.
The Foundation Fellowship includes:
- Post-first-year Maymester study abroad program at the University of Oxford
- Individual travel-study grants
- Group travel-study, held during the university’s spring break week
- Research and academic conference grants
- Dinner seminars with faculty and alumni
The Foundation Fellowship emphasizes community, sharing of resources and ideas, and lifelong friendships. Peer mentoring, dinner seminars, book discussions, cultural events, group travel, the Fellows Library in Moore Hall, and twice-a-year off-campus retreats promote a community of scholars who stimulate each other’s intellectual and personal development through the exchange of ideas and experiences.
From 2000-2020, Ramsey Honors Scholars were selected through the Foundation Fellows application process. In 2021, the Ramsey Honors Scholarship was merged with the Foundation Fellowship.
Ramsey Scholars and Foundation Fellows share the same community programming and participate in the same off-campus retreats; scholarships advising and professional development; alumni networking; and academic, social, and cultural events throughout the year.
Benefits
Financial benefits
- Annual stipend for in-state students: $15,050 plus the Zell Miller Scholarship (worth $10, 034 per year)
- Annual stipend for out-of-state students: $25,900 plus a Presidential waiver (worth $19,040 per year)
- Annual stipend for international students: $28,800 plus a Presidential waiver (worth $19,040 per year)
- Three fully funded spring travel-study programs (first through third years, valued at $13,500). In recent years, Fellows have traveled to Bali, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Greece, Japan, Morocco, South Korea, Thailand, Tanzania, and Vietnam
- One fully funded summer study abroad program to the University of Oxford immediately following the first year (valued at $9,000)
- Individual travel-study grants up to a cumulative total of $10,000 (related to students’ academic and professional goals; these can be combined with semester stipends for travel-study for semester or academic year)
- Research and academic conference grants up to a cumulative total of $2,000
Academic enrichment
Top faculty from departments across campus, Foundation Fellows alumni, industry leaders, and other experts lead activities for academic enrichment and networking throughout the year—including special seminars and book discussions.
Fellows are provided with funding to attend film festivals, theatrical and aerial dance performances, and art exhibits. Some activities take place on campus while others take place in professors’ homes, coffee shops, theatres, pottery studios, and museums.
Faculty mentoring
From the moment Fellows arrive on campus, they build meaningful relationships with professors across disciplines, contributing to their development as scholars, researchers, and global citizens. Fellows also participate in peer and alumni mentoring.
Internships
Internships give students hands-on experience and professional connections they can build on for years to come. As undergraduates, Fellows hold internship positions in for-profit, non-profit, academic, and governmental organizations throughout the U.S. and around the world. They gain valuable skills and test out possible career paths, often while earning credit toward graduation.
Research
As a major research institution, UGA encourages undergraduates to participate in research with faculty in all academic disciplines. From their first moments on campus, Foundation Fellows are introduced to top-tier faculty members who can direct them to people and projects that complement their interests. With funding from the Fellowship, many Fellows also pursue research opportunities off campus at institutions in the U.S. and abroad. These experiences bring classroom subjects to life, confer practical skills, and guide students toward the next steps in their academic and professional careers.
Travel
Fellows enjoy unique, immersive learning opportunities all over the world through individual travel-study grants, spring break group travel-study, and a study abroad Maymester after the first undergraduate year.
Group travel is a hallmark of the Fellows Program. First-year Fellows travel to New York and D.C. to interact with leaders in finance, public health, government, and the arts. As they advance in their academic careers, Fellows take part in fully funded international spring travel-study designed by senior faculty. In recent years, Fellows have traveled to Bali, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Greece, Japan, Morocco, South Korea, Tanzania, and Vietnam. First-Year Fellows enjoy a month-long Maymester sojourn to Oxford, England, to take classes at the University of Oxford. Courses include Biomedical Ethics, British Common Law, English Historiography in the Early-Modern Period, Environmental Economics, International Conflict, and Modernist Literature.
Pittard Foundation Fellows Library
The Pittard Foundation Fellows Library in Room 216 of Moore Hall provides Foundation Fellows with a comfortable space for study, reading, and quiet discussion. It contains an eclectic collection of fiction and non-fiction books, many of which have been recommended by senior faculty fellows and graduating seniors. There is a collection of reference works and travel guides as well as newspapers, magazines, and journals. Students may check out holdings and use the computers in the Library. The Pittard Foundation Fellows Library is named in appreciation of a generous gift from Pat and Dana Pittard of Atlanta.
Lisa Ann Coole Award
The Lisa Ann Coole Award was established in 1999 to honor the memory of an extraordinary young woman and to inspire Foundation Fellows to translate into their lives the compassion, joy, courage, and excellence that defined Lisa’s presence in the Fellowship, at UGA, and in her communities both in Georgia and in Illinois. The award is voted on by graduating Fellows and is given annually to one or two graduating Fellows.
Twice-a-year off-campus retreats
Retreats give our students additional opportunities to connect with and learn from their peers and Honors staff members and provide a platform for sharing information about upcoming travel, student experiences, and available opportunities.
Requirements
- Maintain a minimum 3.40 cumulative UGA undergraduate GPA
- Take a minimum of 12 hours of classes per semester (except summer)
- Remain in good standing in the Morehead Honors College
- Attend key Foundation Fellows events
- Submit reports on travel-study programs
- Graduate in four years
- Contribute to the campus and/or local community
- Value the Fellowship and the opportunities it affords
- Use opportunities wisely to advance academic and professional goals
- Exhibit the highest standards of personal behavior
- Live in Myers Hall, the Honors magnet housing, during the first year
- (Optional) Complete an Honors thesis or other capstone requirement for graduation with High or Highest Honors
