Women In International Trade Scholarships

Our merit-based scholarships are awarded twice per year to support and encourage women studying all aspects of International Trade, including trade policy and negotiations, global business and supply chains, economic development, and more.

• Applicants must identify as female and be currently enrolled at an accredited U.S. university or college, either full-time or part-time.  Applicants must be an undergraduate Junior or Senior or a graduate student.  
• Awards ($3000) will be based on judged results of the quality of the submitted essay based on WIIT Trust criteria.  Decisions are made without regard to race, religion, age, national origin, or sexual orientation.

Scholarship winners will receive a $3000 financial scholarship, to be delivered directly to the student’s academic institution.   Winners will need to provide:

• Name of Academic Institution;        
• Point of contact at for the student’s academic institution for payment submissions (including phone and email);
• Address details for WIIT to remit payment (including phone and email); and
• Student ID number to identify payment
• Any additional details required by your school’s standard financial processing system for scholarships.

In addition to the $3000 financial scholarship to be used against academic costs, scholarship winners will receive:

• One full year of personal mentorship by a WIIT member.
• One full year of WIIT membership.
• Opportunity to work on a dedicated WIIT program based on the topic of the winning essay, which will provide the ability to work alongside knowledgeable professionals from the WIIT community in planning the discussion including a potential speaking role.            

Application Requirements

Essays must be on a relevant international trade topic and can either be a bespoke essay submission or an appropriately formatted academic paper from current classwork on a relevant or related topic.  

EVERY submission must include:

• Essay (see requirements below)
• Completed information sheet
• University Transcript confirming enrollment

Successful submissions should:

• Be based on a relevant topic as noted in proposed examples below;
• Include a thesis statement outlining the essay’s trade argument or topic;  
• Provide critical analysis, including a review of both sides of the issue, with a strong defense of the essay’s main thesis; and
• Meet standards of grammar and proper formatting and include endnotes or bibliography.

Each Essay Submission Must Be:

• Minimum 5 and maximum 10 numbered pages (exclusive of endnotes or bibliography);
• Typed, double-spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman font;
• Submitted as a Word document;
• Sanitized to removed of all personal references (name, name of university etc); and
• Submitted to info@wiittrust.org

Please note that using AI tools (including but without limitation, Copilot, ChatGPT, Google Gemnini) to generate or assist in generation of the content of the essay is strictly prohibited.

Application deadlines are April 1st and November 1st , and winners will be notified by May 15th and December 15th, respectively.

Application Details and Form available online. 

Essay Topic Options

The choice of a topic is up to the applicant and can be as broad or narrow as desired, provided that it has a direct and discernible tie to international trade.

Examples of broad categories include -

• Trade & Development how does any aspect of trade policy promote progress on  sustainable development goals or other environmental priorities?
• Trade & Empowerment how can any aspect of trade policy encourage greater gender diversity and in particular deliver practical gains for women’s economic empowerment?
• Trade and Investment Agreements select a current agreement and discuss trade impact on a specific industry and/or specific labor/workforce impact.
• U.S. Trade Policy analyze any current facet of U.S. trade policy and the potential impact (positive and/or negative) on the U.S. economy.
• Another country’s trade/commercial/economic policy -- analyze the impact (positive and/or negative) on U.S. competitiveness.