USEF Fellowships

Get paid to do the work you are already doing.

The Wasila Fellowship is six months inside USEF's welfare work: sitting with families, working out what they actually need, and carrying a case through to the end. You keep studying. We train you properly first, and the fellowship pays toward your education.

Apply for the fellowship
$1,000 on completing the six months, and $2,000 if you continue as a Senior Fellow.

What you actually get out of it

Real casework, not shadowing

You handle cases. You talk to families, gather what is needed, and see decisions through. This is the part most people never get to do until years into a career.

A week of proper training

Before you start, everyone goes through a week-long training together. You are not handed a caseload and wished luck.

It pays toward your education

The award goes to your tuition, fees and study costs, straight to your own account when you finish.

It continues if you want it to

Finish well and you can be invited back as a Senior Fellow: another six months, and $2,000.

What it asks of you

Plainly, so nobody is surprised later.

  1. 250 hours of service over six months. That is roughly ten hours a week. Hours you have already given this calendar year can count toward it.
  2. You stay in education throughout, either enrolled or on a defined pathway. The award exists to support that.
  3. No full-time private-sector job while you hold the fellowship, because there would not be enough of your week left for the hours or your studies.
  4. The training week is mandatory, and you sign the fellowship agreement during it.

Before you apply

The fellowship is for people who have already been volunteering with USEF, so we know your work and you know ours. You need at least 50 hours of volunteering behind you, and a letter of recommendation from a USEF staff member, ideally whoever supervises you.

Not there yet? That is completely fine, and it is not a no. Start volunteering with USEF and apply when you have the hours.

Apply