Royden B. Davis Fellowship

Mayesha Awal, C’20, a 2019 Royden B. Davis Fellow, working in health education and community organizing in Botswana. Read Mayesha’s story.

“In any situation, one should always leave room for the unexpected and the unseen. In order to do this, we must employ the imagination…One gains through the imagination a freedom of action, and ability to be ready for fresh choices.”

Fr. Royden B. Davis, SJ / 1985 Commencement Address, Georgetown University
Black-and-white photo of Fr. Royden Davis, S.J.
Fr. Davis, dean of Georgetown College 1966-1989.

Fr. Davis, Dean of Georgetown College from 1966 to 1989, believed that all students should have equal opportunity to “employ imagination” through transformative educational experiences, those which encourage students to ask tough questions, discern meaning, and to serve others.  

Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences is pleased to offer summer fellowships in honor of Fr. Davis. Davis Fellowships provide between $1,000 and $5,000 in summer support, depending upon the length of the proposed research/experience, the project budget (including the existence of other sources of funding), and student financial need. Please note that the Davis awards may not be used to fund tuition for credit-bearing courses.

  • Davis Research Fellowships fund summer lab work, fieldwork, and independent inquiry under the guidance of a faculty mentor.
  • Davis Experiential Learning Fellowships fund service learning, community-based work, and unpaid internships which are meaningfully connected to a student’s academic interests.

Only continuing undergraduates in Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences are eligible to apply for summer support for undergraduate research or for meaningful experiential learning opportunities through the Davis Fellowship.

In order to apply for a 2023 Royden Davis Fellowship, please complete and submit the 2023 Davis Application. For students applying for a 2023 Davis Undergraduate Research Fellowship, please share the 2023 Faculty Mentor Form with your faculty mentor and please ask that she complete and submit the form prior to March 1, 2023 (the deadline for application for a 2023 Davis Fellowship).


Virtual Information Session

On Thursday, February 9th from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m., we will hold a Virtual Information Session featuring 2022 Davis Fellows. Please join us to learn more about the Davis Fellowship and to ask questions about the fellowship process: https://georgetown.zoom.us/j/96067915152


News Stories

Madeleine Gibbons Shapiro

Georgetown Student Works to End Stigma Against Disabilities in Kazakhstan

January 13th, 2020

This past summer, Madeleine Gibbons-Shapiro (C’21) conducted a social impact assessment of a café that employs intellectually disabled individuals in Kazakhstan. Because of her study, this impressive café can begin to work to expand its operation more widely across the country. …