$25M Gift Funds Fully Paid Grad Fellowship
Ten graduate students will receive a two-year, fully funded fellowship split between Columbia and Oxford.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Scholarships
The University of Missouri received a $25 million donation to its Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy from the Kinder Foundation. The gift funds the new Kinder Scholar program, a two-year, fully funded graduate fellowship for 10 students.
Why it matters
The gift raises the Kinder Institute's total Kinder Foundation funding to $86 million and gives graduate students a fully funded path to study Atlantic history and politics. For students weighing graduate school, it signals more funded opportunities on the Columbia campus.
The $25 million gift is part of $86 million in total Kinder Foundation funding to the Kinder Institute. The Kinder Scholar fellowship is two years and fully funded for 10 students, with half American and half British.
The players
University of Missouri
The flagship public university in Columbia, Missouri, which hosts the Kinder Institute and the Kinder Scholar fellowship.
Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy
A University of Missouri research institute that studies constitutional democracy and now runs the Kinder Scholar graduate fellowship.
Kinder Foundation
The private philanthropic foundation that has given the Kinder Institute $86 million in total, including this $25 million gift.
The details
The donation will be invested in the institute's three pillars: expanding global student opportunities, recruiting faculty from across the globe, and funding student scholarships and internships. The Kinder Scholar program splits each fellow's time, with one year at Mizzou in Columbia and one year at the Rothermere American Institute in Oxford. The program is centered on the study of Atlantic history and politics.
Timeline
The $25 million donation was announced November 3, 2026, in the Jesse Hall rotunda on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia.
Education Landscape
The gift extends a multi-year Kinder Foundation funding relationship with the Kinder Institute, which now totals $86 million. Fully funded graduate fellowships like the Kinder Scholar program are one way universities try to attract graduate students in a period of rising college costs and student debt.
If you are considering graduate study in Atlantic history or politics, ask the Kinder Institute or the University of Missouri graduate admissions office how Kinder Scholar fellows are selected and when applications open. The fellowship is fully funded for two years, so contact the admissions office early to confirm eligibility and timelines.
The takeaway
Fully funded graduate fellowships can reduce the cost of a graduate degree, so check whether programs you are considering offer funding. Ask the admissions or financial-aid office of any school you are weighing what support is available and what the application deadlines are.
Further reading
For more on how funded fellowships work, explore our Scholarships coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Maneater.
