At a basic level, nearly all merit-based graduate student award applications (from early graduate study to completion fellowships) include a set of common elements. If you have never written a proposal before, or are beginning a new draft, the suggestions below will help you get started in crafting these elements. Introduction– The introduction will take […]
Welcome to the GradFund Blog
Welcome to the GradFund Blog
Keys to the Castle? Strategic Use of Sample Proposals
On more than one occasion during my time as a GradFund Fellowship Advisor, I have met with students who seem to hold winning sample proposals from previous competitions to an almost mythical regard. By cracking the code, analyzing the formula, figuring out the secret of these documents, these believers expect that they can surely unlock […]
The Art of the Abstract
Applications for competitive fellowships and grants often require a research abstract, but condensing big research ideas into a short blurb can be a challenging task. How does one go about writing an effective abstract? Think of the abstract as a highly compressed version of your research proposal. It should follow a similar structure and formula […]
Gaining a Fresh Perspective on an Old Document
Are you so tired of your proposal that you’d rather do anything than read it again? Here are a few strategies for getting fresh perspective on an old document. Explain the proposal to someone – Ask a friend or colleague if you can talk them through your proposal. Often times saying the ideas out loud […]
Presenting Your Work to Multidisciplinary Audiences
Figuring out how to communicate your research to different audiences can be tough, as anyone who is managing multiple applications can tell you. It can be even tougher, though, to figure out how to do so in the same application. As you research your funder and their mission, it’s important to understand how the review […]
Feedback from Multiple Sources
Revision is the hardest part of the proposal writing process for some people. The prospect of learning how to manage feedback from multiple sources and combine them into a coherent next draft can be daunting. Figuring out how to weigh different types of feedback, and make sure your ego doesn’t get stung during the revision […]
Crafting the Research Question
A well-reviewed research proposal is typically built around one specific research question. Crafting this pivotal detail can be challenging, and we offer a number of suggestions to students at this formative stage in the proposal-writing process. A good question should be built directly upon a foundation of existing scholarship in your discipline, and should advance […]
Presenting Your Qualifications: Previous Research Statements
Previous research statements are a common element of applications for a wide range of awards, from early graduate study fellowships to dissertation research grants. Sometimes funders request a previous research statement as a separate document, while others ask for a previous research or preliminary results section within the structure of a larger research proposal. Whatever […]
Engaging with Program Officers
When we held the GradFund Fall Conference in September, one of the most popular panels featured program officers from a variety of foundations who shared advice and insights from the program officer’s perspective. The most agreed upon advice? Contact the program officer early, and contact them often. People seem reluctant to take this advice. They […]
Salesmanship: Appealing to Your Funder
A common mistake made by novice proposal writers is writing the research proposal for an external award application from their own perspective alone, or from the perspective of their thesis or dissertation advisor: I need money to do X, my advisor likes to hear me talk about Y, I think it’s interesting to consider Z. […]