Year 1
The programme fee for your first year, and the registration fee.
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Scholarship · funded personally by our founder
Every year, two women and non-binary people from Dalit, Bahujan, Adivasi and minority communities get their IGNOU master’s degree paid in full: from admission to the last exam.
Applications are open until 15 December 2026 · for IGNOU’s January 2027 session
Read this page and write your letter in English or any of 22 Indian languages: choose yours from the language button at the top.
Because the world needs the social sciences now more than ever. History, sociology, politics, psychology and gender studies teach us to understand lives unlike our own, to ask why the world is the way it is, and to imagine a fairer one. In a time of so little empathy and so much destruction, these subjects are how we learn to care, to listen and to rebuild.
The programme fee for your first year, and the registration fee.
The programme fee for your second year, when you re-register.
The fee for each term-end exam and your project, for the first attempt.
A monthly check-in with our founder, reminders before every deadline, and help planning each exam term.
Every course book is free online on eGyanKosh, so there is nothing to buy. See the free course books
Women’s and Gender StudiesGender and Development StudiesSociologyPolitical ScienceHistoryAnthropologyEconomicsDevelopment StudiesPublic AdministrationPsychologySocial WorkRural DevelopmentEducation
This scholarship is for people who will finish what they start. Every scholar makes these promises:
The scholarship stops if a scholar misses two monthly check-ins in a row without telling us why, silently skips an exam term, does not re-register for the second year, or is dishonest.
The heart of your application is a letter of 500 to 1,000 words, in your own language. Please answer these six things:
No. You tell us your community yourself. Many people, including Dalit Christians and Muslims, cannot get a certificate, and they are welcome.
Yes. Write in English or any of the 22 Indian languages on this page. Our founder reads every letter, in a careful English translation alongside your own words.
No. Nothing is ever paid back. We pay IGNOU directly, at each stage.
The scholarship pays each exam fee once. If illness, caregiving or an emergency gets in the way, tell us: one exception is allowed.
We look for a sincere reason, a realistic plan, real need, and a connection to your community and feminist learning. Never your grammar or your English. Shortlisted applicants have a short phone or video call.
Only our founder. Your details are never shared or published.
Our founder, personally, from her own salary. That is why there are two places a year.
Know someone who should apply? Send them this page. And if you want to read the course books first, they are all free.