Wrapping Your Head Around STEM Fellowship Applications: Where to Start and How to Succeed

UChicago GRAD’s Fellowships team assists graduate students and postdocs in finding and applying for fellowships, a critical skill that will be relevant in grant writing and publishing your research. While the process can seem overwhelming, there are ways to break it down to manageable segments that will maximize your time and effort. This three-session workshop will provide search tools and tips, guidance on how to structure a research proposal, an overview of personal statements, seeking letters of recommendation, CVs, budgets and other facets of the fellowship application process.

Dates & Times

Dates: Wednesday 7/20, Wednesday 7/27, Wednesday 8/3 | 2 – 3:30 PM
Location: In-Person Sessions (UChicago Campus)
Course Fee: $10

Session Descriptions

Before registering, consider which sessions best suit your needs. They will be interconnected, and provide a comprehensive overview of the processes and tools involved in applying for fellowships. We encourage you to attend all sessions but they can stand alone as well.

1. Searching for scholarships requires knowledge of the best places to search, understanding how to strategize your search and patience with the overload or paucity of information you may encounter. Persistence pays. We will take you through a search process and provide tips for how to get the most out of your search.
2. Fellowships for STEM students vary across the board, but one element is common to each one – a research statement. Whether you are given 2 pages or 5, you need to be prepared to decode the statement prompt, write for your audience and strategize for efficiency and maximum input. Faculty readers for national fellowships will be present to offer their insights.
3. After mastering the art of writing a research proposal, you will need to be prepared for a range of other tasks such as writing a personal statement, maximizing the effectiveness of your CV, creating a budget, generating statements on award-specific topics (such as broader impacts, diversity, etc.), and requesting letters of recommendation. This session will provide guidance on how to approach these aspects of applications as well as resources for support as you apply.

Instructor

Beth Powers Director of Fellowships and Writing, UChicagoGRAD
Beth Powers is the Director of Fellowships and Writing in UChicagoGRAD. She has over 20 years of nationally competitive fellowship advising and leadership experience. UChicagoGRAD promotes and provides application support to graduate students applying for a broad range of awards, including awards from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Fulbright Student award program, Ford Foundation fellowships and many others. She is a founding member of the National Association of Fellowships Advisors.
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