Scholarships for Ukrainian Students at US Universities

Government-funded exchange programs

The Fulbright Foreign Student Program funds a small number of Ukrainian graduate students and researchers for full study in the US each year. Awards typically cover tuition, a living stipend, and health insurance. The US Department of State runs the program in Ukraine through a Fulbright program office, and the application cycle opens roughly a year before study starts. Check current deadlines on the Fulbright Foreign Student Program site .

Global UGRAD, funded by the US Department of State and run by World Learning, places undergraduate students from Ukraine at a US campus for one academic year, fully funded and without a tuition bill. It does not lead to a degree, but many participants use the coursework, recommendation letters, and campus experience to apply for a full degree program afterward. The Community College Initiative works the same way for two-year technical and professional fields.

University need-based aid

A short list of US universities, including Harvard, Princeton, Yale, MIT, and Amherst, admit international applicants without regard to ability to pay and commit to covering full demonstrated financial need for every student they accept. This aid is not specific to Ukraine. It applies to any qualified international admit, and for a Ukrainian applicant with strong grades and test scores it is the largest source of full-cost funding on this list.

Many more schools that are not need-blind still offer partial need-based or merit aid to international students. Award sizes and eligibility rules change every admissions cycle, so read each university's international financial aid page directly rather than relying on older summaries.

Private and diaspora funding

Ukrainian American community organizations and foundations run scholarship funds aimed at Ukrainian students, often tied to a field such as business, engineering, or the arts. Amounts, eligibility, and application windows differ by organization and by year. Search current opportunities through your target university's financial aid office and through the Institute of International Education , which tracks funding for students affected by the war with Russia.

Since the full-scale invasion began in 2022, several US universities and outside organizations added emergency support for Ukrainian students whose study was interrupted, including fee waivers and short-term grants. Some of these programs have since wound down as the emergency phase passed. Confirm what is still active directly with each school rather than relying on 2022 or 2023 news coverage.

Comparing your options

Questions to ask before you accept an award

Read the terms of any scholarship before you sign anything. Ask whether the award renews automatically each year or requires a new application, what GPA or course load you must keep to stay eligible, and whether the funding covers your full official cost of attendance or only part of it.

Ask what happens if you change your major or transfer schools, since some awards are tied to a specific program or university and do not transfer with you. If a scholarship comes from a private donor rather than your school or the US government, ask for the organization's nonprofit registration before you share personal financial documents.

Confirm every scholarship is real before you apply

Scholarship scams target international students with fake application fees or requests for bank details. A legitimate US scholarship, whether government-funded or run by a university, never asks you to pay to apply or to submit your bank login. Verify any offer through the organization's own official website, not a link sent by email or social media, before you send documents or money.

Timing your applications

Apply for admission and funding at the same time, not one after the other. University need-based aid applications are due alongside your admission application, often through the CSS Profile in addition to the school's own form. Fulbright and Global UGRAD run on the US government's own annual calendar and select candidates before you have a university offer, so you interview and get selected first, then choose a school later in the process.

Set a personal deadline six months before any application closes. This gives you time to request transcripts from your Ukrainian school, get them evaluated, and collect strong recommendation letters from teachers or professors who need lead time to write them.

How to find and apply

• Start with EducationUSA , the US Department of State advising network, which keeps a current list of funding open to Ukrainian applicants and offers free advising sessions.

• Apply to US government exchange programs a full year ahead of your intended start date, since Fulbright and Global UGRAD run early annual cycles.

• Email the international financial aid office at every school on your list and ask directly what aid past Ukrainian admits received.

• Never pay a private company for a scholarship list or a guaranteed placement. Government and university scholarships never charge a fee to be considered.

Budget for costs no scholarship covers

Most scholarships, Fulbright included, do not pay for every expense. Set aside money for the SEVIS I-901 fee, the visa application fee, a health insurance gap before your school plan starts, and your flight. Confirm current fee amounts on Study in the States and travel.state.gov before you apply, since both change without notice.