Congratulations to our 2008 National Fellowship Winners and Finalists!
Fulbright U.S. Student Program
Cristina Bain WS ’08, Full Grant, Vietnam
Stephanie Eggen WS ’08, English Teaching Assistantship, Malaysia
Chloe Hall, WS 07, Full Grant, Mongolia
Morris K. Udall Undergraduate Scholarship
Clancy Brown, WS '09, Scholar
Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship
Thomas Cahill, H '09, Scholar
Bailey Meeker, WS '09, Honorable Mention
First Years
It may seem that fellowships are too far in the future to be a priority. Yet, as a first year student, you have the most flexibility in shaping your future in ways that will bring you the most benefit and set you on the path to compete successfully for the most prestigious fellowship awards. Besides an outstanding academic record, fellowship recipients have developed a knowledge and curiosity about the world in which they live and have substantial records of leadership and community service.
Therefore, start reading the newspaper. Keep up-to-date with what is happening in the world. Involve yourself in activities and take a leadership role. Get to know your faculty and your advisers so that you make good decisions about courses along the way. Ask yourself which choices will build on your current strengths and draw together the different parts of your life into a cohesive structure. Aim for this cohesiveness right from the start and you can enjoy this satisfaction all the way through.
Sophomores
You are eligible for some fellowships this year and you need to start preparation of applications for other fellowships in your Junior year. Review the opportunities with Fellowships Coordinator Renee Nearpass, talk with a faculty member about your ideas and meet with a member of your career center staff.
This is the year to assume more leadership roles in extracurricular activities. Think of new ventures that the organizations you belong to could be doing and be the person to get them started.
Gather information and give thought to a foreign study experience for next year. Get faculty advice on which foreign study locations would be best for you.
Read the newspapers and other publications such as the Economist. Keep up on your current events. Form opinions about issues and share them.
Freshman and Sophomore Years: Selected National Fellowships Opportunities
David L. Boren/NSEP ( National Security Education Program) Undergraduate Scholarship
http://www.iie.org.nsep
DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst/German Academic Exchange Services)
http://www.daad.org
Department of Homeland Security Undergraduate Scholarship
http://www.orau.gov/dhsed/
Freeman- ASIA Award Program
http://www.iie.org/programs/freeman-asia/
Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship
http://www.iie.org/gilman
Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship
http://www.act.org/goldwater
Hispanic Scholarship Fund Institute
http://www.HSFI.ORG/
Humanity in Action Foundation Fellowship
http://www.humanityinaction.org/
The Institute for Humane Studies Fellowship
http://www.TheIHS.org
Institute for International Public Policy Fellowship
http://161.58.87.106/content/index.cfm
McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program
http://www.rochester.edu/College/McNair-Program/
New York Women in Communications, Inc. (NYWICI) Foundation Scholarship
http://www.nywici.org
Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program
http://www.woodrow.org/public-policy
Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarships
http://www.rotary.org/foundation/educational/amb_scho/index.html
Tylenol Scholarship Program
http://www.scholarship.tylenol.com
Morris K. Udall Scholarship
http://www.udall.gov
All-USA Today College Academic Team
http://www.allstars.usatoday.com
Juniors
This is the most important year. You are eligible for some fellowships now and you need to start preparation of applications for other fellowships your Senior year. Make an appointment to meet with the Fellowships Coordinator, faculty member or career center staff to start listing the fellowships that interest you.
If you are studying abroad this year, consult with the Fellowships Coordinator and your faculty mentors and maintain contact with them while you are away. As Fellowship deadlines are as early as October 1 of your senior year, it will be very important for you to get started now.
Some fellowships require the Graduate Record Exam, so get information on the GRE and consider how to prepare for it.
Recommendations, whether for fellowships or graduate school applications, are critical. You will need several letters of reference from faculty to accompany your applications. Engage faculty members in conversation regarding your plans and begin identifying those who will write letters of support for you. Some fellowships require as many as six letters.
Read, read, read papers and articles on current affairs. When you reach the interview stage, you will be asked about current and past events in the world.
Junior Year: Selected National Fellowships Opportunities
David L. Boren/NSEP (National Security Education Program) Undergraduate Scholarship
http://www.iie.org/nsep
DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst/German Academic Exchange Service
http://www.daad.org
Freeman-ASIA Award Program
http://www.iie.org/programs/freeman-asia/
Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship
http://www.iee.org.gilman
Glamour's Top Ten College Women Competition
Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship
http://www.act.org/goldwater
Hispanic Scholarships Fund Institute
http://www.HSFI.ORG/
Humanity in Action Foundation Fellowship
http://www.humanityinaction.org/
The Institute for Humane Studies Fellowship
http://www.TheIHS.org
Josephine de Karman Fellowship
http://www.dekarman.org
McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program
http://www.rochester.edu/College/McNair-Program/
National Institutes of Health Undergraduate Scholarship Program
http://ugsp.info.nih.gov
New York Women in Communication, Inc. (NYWICI) Foundation Scholarship
http://www.nywici.org
Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Fellowship
http://www.ppiaprogram.org/about/
Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarships
http://www.rotary.org/foundation/educational/amb_scho/index.html
Harry S. Truman Scholarship
http://www.truman.gov
Tylenol Scholarship Program
http://www.scholarship.tylenol.com
Morris K. Udall Scholarship
http://www.udall.gov
UNCF-Merck Undergraduate Science Research Scholarship
http://www.uncf.org
All-USA Today College Academic Team
http://www.allstars.usatoday.com
Seniors
Is it too late if you have not already begun the process either junior year or over the summer? Probably—especially if the fellowship deadline is only four weeks away. However, if you are a person who always pulls things together at the last minute and are prepared to devote your full energies to your applications, you might pull it off. Be sure to get in and see the Fellowships Coordinator right away.
If you are applying for a fellowship that requires a GRE score and/or if you are applying to graduate school, take the exam by December.
Senior Year and Beyond: Nationally Selected Fellowships
David L. Boren/NSEP Graduate International Fellowship
http://www.aed.org/nsep
Carnegie Junior Fellows Program
http://www.ceip.org/files/about/about_junior.asp.
Winston Churchill Scholarship
http://thechurchillscholarships.com
Jack Kent Cook Graduate Scholarship
http://www.jackkentcookfoundation.org
Daad(Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst/German Academic Exchange Service)
http://www.daad.org
Department of Homeland Security Graduate Fellowships
http://www.orau.gov/dhsed/
Ford Foundation Pre-doctoral Fellowships for Minorities
http://www7.nationalacademies.org/fellowships/fordpredoc.html
Fulbright US Student Program
http://www.fulbrightonline.org
Gates Cambridge Scholarships
http://www.gates.scholarships.cam.ac.uk
Fannie and John Hertz Foundation graduate Fellowship
http://www.hertzfndn.org
Humanity in Action Foundation Fellowship
http://www.humanityinaction.org/
The Institute for Humane Studies Fellowship
http://www.TheIHS.org
The Institute for Humane Studies Film and Fiction Scholarships
http://www.TheIHS.org
Jacob K. Javits Fellowship
http://www.ed.gov/programs/iegpsjavits/index.html
James Madison Memorial Junior Fellowship
http://www.jamesmadison.com
Marshall Scholarship
http://www.marshallscholarship.org
Math for America Newton Fellowship Program
http://www.mathforamerica.org/
George J. Mitchell Scholarship
http://www.us-irelandalliance.org/scholarships.html
National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowships(NDSEG)
http://www.asee.org/ndseg
National Physical Science Consortium Graduate Fellowships in the Physical Sciences
http://www.npsc.org
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships
http://www.nsf.gov/dir/index.jsp?org=EHR
New York Women in Communication, Inc. (NYWICI) Foundation Scholarship
http://www.nywici.org
Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program
http://www.woodrow.org/public-policy
Rhodes Scholarship
http://www.rhodesscholar.org
Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarships
http://www.rotary.org/foundation/educational/amb_scho/index.html
Saint Andrew's Society of New York Graduate Scholarship
Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americas
http://www.pdsoros.org
Tylenol Scholarship Program
http://www.scholarship.tylenol.com
All-USA Today College Academic Team
http://www.allstars.usatoday.com
What is a fellowship?
A fellowship is a monetary award offered by an institution, foundation or other organization to support academic work, research or specialized training in areas of particular interest to the granting organization. Eligibility guidelines and required qualifications for various fellowships are as varied as the many organizations that sponsor them. Generally, fellowships are granted to those with a high level of achievement in a given area, such as academic, athletic or artistic talent. Awards are also available for students who are interested in particular fields of study, who are members of under-represented groups, who live in certain areas of the country or who demonstrate financial need.
How is a fellowship different from a grant? From a scholarship?
All three of these types of awards provide funding to support academic study, community service projects or other endeavors. The term "fellowship" usually indicates a post-graduate study or professional training experience and is often highly specific in its requirements for awardees. "Scholarship" is a more general term referring to any award given in support of academic study. And the term "grant" most often denotes an award to support a specific project or community service activity. All are usually competitive.
How will I know if I qualify for a fellowship?
Every fellowship has basic guidelines for eligibility--a few examples: some are open only to U.S. citizens, some only to women, some only to minorities. The awarding institution can set any eligibility requirements it wishes; public institutions are expected to have broader eligibility expectations whereas private foundations can set more specific requirements.
What different types of fellowships are available?
There are two basic kinds of fellowships available to those who wish to pursue degrees beyond the baccalaureate level:
Tips on Applying
Research opportunities to find fellowships and scholarships appropriate for your circumstances. Carefully review the information available, and be sure that you meet the eligibility requirements for a given award, since most award programs are only open to certain categories of applicants. Some categories might be: eligibility by major, eligibility by class year, eligibility according to planned graduate degrees or career; geographic eligibility (for example: application open only to residents of certain states), etc.
Carefully determine exactly what a specific application requires. How many essays (what kind and of what length), and how many letters of recommendation are needed? Who needs to write your recommendations--faculty, peers, previous employers? Do you need to prepare a list of your extra-/co-curricular activities, honors, and awards, or submit a resume? Are there other application requirements?
Plan carefully to meet the application deadline. Does the sponsoring organization require that your application be in their office by the due date, or do they allow your application to be postmarked by the due date?
Think about whom you want to ask for recommendations. You'll want to choose those who know you well (preferably both in and out of class) and who will write letters which address your qualifications for a particular award knowledgeably and in depth. When requesting a letter from a potential recommender, ask "if they would be willing to write a letter" on your behalf (this allows you to gauge their reaction – if there is hesitation, they might not be the best person to ask), and make sure that their schedule will allow them to meet the application deadline.
Once you have determined who will write your letters, supply your recommenders with a packet containing information about yourself, including your academic and other interests (possibly include an unofficial transcript, a resume and a draft of your essay written for the fellowship application), and your specific goals regarding the fellowship or scholarship in question. If relevant, also provide the official recommendation form. Inform recommenders of the deadline for submitting a letter, and be in touch with them one to two weeks before the deadline to be sure that they've sent it.
If a transcript is required, go to the Registrar's Office to request that an official transcript be sent directly to the sponsoring organization.
Fill out any necessary application forms—you may need to use a typewriter, or cut and paste from word-processed pages, if the sponsoring organization provides only a paper form. Be sure that you can fit all of the required information into the space provided—you may need to practice a few times.
When sending off your application, use a checklist to be sure that you're including all necessary forms, essays or other materials in the envelope. Using an express mail service is highly recommended, so that you can track your envelope and ensure its arrival.
