Advice from the Archives Series Note: Occasionally, we dig into the archives to uncover a post we feel holds relevant and timely information worthy of a repost. If you are interested in learning more about research grants and fellowships to support your graduate study, be sure to visit the GradFund Database. Fellowships, Grants, and Scholarships: Which Award […]
Early Graduate
Early Graduate
“But I’m Just Starting Grad School”: Applying for Early Graduate Fellowships & Grants
Applying for external grants and fellowships is an integral part of your graduate career. From providing financial support for your education and research, to the prestige of earning recognition for your project, being awarded external funding can have a transformative impact on your graduate experience as well as your future career. Given these long-term benefits, […]
Funding in Engineering – Advice from a Fellowship Advisor
There is funding available at each stage of graduate study for students of engineering. The funding opportunities vary, as with any other field, based on personal information, field of study, and research site, amongst other criteria. Graduate Student Fellowships: Early Graduate There are several fellowships available to engineers as incoming graduate students and in the […]
Ambassador, Scholar, Fellow
Applicants for nationally competitive fellowships are often focused on the financial benefits of the award, and may overlook the funders’ larger purpose: To nurture a community of scholars devoted to advancing the program’s research goals. To develop that community, funders seek fellows who will engage with one another, and with former fellows, by networking and […]
Fellowships, Grants, and Scholarships: Which Award Fits My Graduate Program?
Merit-based awards for graduate students typically fall into one of three categories: Fellowships, grants, and scholarships. Each type of award supports graduate study in a different way, and each is tailored toward a specific type of graduate program. Knowing which type of award is a good fit for your program is an important first-step toward […]
Time to Plan: The Spring Semester
The funding calendar of external grants and fellowships to support graduate study has a distinct rhythm that we at GradFund know well: Small grants, scholarships, and pre-dissertation research grants have a concentration of deadlines during the early spring semester, but are broadly distributed throughout the academic year. Awards with large financial payoffs, such as early […]
The Power of Small Grants
Nearly every graduate student seeking funding for their dissertation research project starts out focused on finding one award that will pay for all their expenses at one fell swoop (and in one application season). However, there are many reasons to consider the power of small grants offered by professional societies, private companies, and foundations. From […]
Submitting an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Application
The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) is one of the most applied-to early graduate study fellowships for students in STEM fields. The 2012 deadlines are 8 pm E.S.T. Nov. 13 through Nov. 19, depending on field of study (for more information, see http://www.nsfgrfp.org). Unlike most NSF programs, students applying to the NSF GRF program must […]
Parlez-vous français? The Ins and Outs of Funding for Language Training
Graduate students who conduct research on non-English speaking countries need to achieve a degree of fluency in a foreign language that will support their research. Many graduate programs require competency in one or more foreign languages. Even if your program doesn’t require this training, a language competency evaluation is part of the application package for […]
Predissertation Research Grants as a Foundation for Successful Dissertation Research
In the last few weeks, our blog posts have focused on the early stages of graduate study, including early graduate study fellowships and general advice for planning award applications long-term. Today, to round out this picture of the first few years of a graduate student’s external, merit-based funding perspective, we’d like to discuss pre-dissertation research […]