If you are an international student, one of the questions that you may have is: “Are there funding opportunities available for me?” The answer is a resounding yes! Although there are fewer options available, it is possible to secure external support as an international student. Some major funders that support international students are: SSRC International Dissertation […]
Considering Feedback from Multiple Sources: Advisors, GradFund, and More
So… you’ve visited GradFund with those shiny new application essays. We gave you a ton of feedback that you maybe weren’t quite expecting. You have to find a way to squeeze all of that into some arbitrary spaced laid out by a funder who just doesn’t seem to appreciate the fact that you have mountains […]
GradFund: Our Place in the Funding Universe and Other Rutgers Resources
Here at GradFund, we have the privilege of serving the Rutgers graduate student community in a variety of ways related to the pursuit of external grants and fellowships. Our primary mode of service lies in our individual meeting format where Rutgers graduate students meet with our team of Fellowship Advisors and Peer Mentors, a cohort […]
Eligibility vs. Competitiveness: Understanding the Difference and Why It Matters
Eligibility is one of the most important factors an applicant should look into as they are searching for funding options. After all, if they don’t fit within the criteria specified by the funder, applicants will be disqualified from the competition even if they submit the perfect application. But there is another very important application criterion […]
Finding Funding for International Research: A Beginner’s Guidepost
There are myriad awards, some of which are open to both domestic and international students, that allow an applicant to conduct up to a year of research abroad. At Rutgers, our students generally look into these opportunities to conduct a portion of or their entire dissertation research abroad. Like crafting any other application, applying for […]
Grant Writing: A Fundamental Tool for Building Your Scholarly Community
Doctoral students seeking grants and fellowships generally think about funds as the primary reason for applying for extramural awards. At GradFund, we often remind students that applying for grants and fellowships is not merely about acquiring financial support, but also about building an essential skillset that will be beneficial for a student throughout their career. […]
So You’ve Decided to Apply for Funding: Tips on Planning Your Next Step
As a fellowship advisor, one of the questions that I most frequently encounter at the end of my meetings with students is, “What do I do next?” By asking this question, students are right on point in identifying a crucial piece of knowledge in their interaction with the funding world: It is not just enough […]
Coping with Imposter Syndrome
As a graduate student, have you ever felt like you don’t belong? That you’re not actually that smart? That you got into your program by a fluke, and soon everyone will find out? That is called “imposter syndrome,” and many graduate students experience it. Imposter syndrome is particularly acute for students who are members of underrepresented […]
Expansion and Enrichment – Funders and Your Network
Photo by Dina Lydia on Unsplash One of the most important professional development activities in academia is networking – building professional relationships within and without one’s chosen field. This includes academic collaborations and institutional contacts for the purpose of research and administrative purposes. To the various funders of external grants and fellowships, these contacts and […]
Asserting Your Narratives – A Defense of Narcissus
We’ve discussed how the personal statements matter as much as the research statements for STEM applicants. But we haven’t really discuss what to include or how to approach your various narratives. From a content perspective, narratives are an exercise in self-reflection and projection. If you were looking into the proverbial pool at your own academic and professional […]