How to Apply for a Fellowship
- Start early - you will need to apply at least 6-12 months in advance for most fellowships. It’s never too early to start looking.
- Do wide searches - apply for as many fellowships as you find. Don’t limit yourself to just one or two.
- Make sure you meet all eligibility criteria for the fellowship, check guidelines closely before filling out applications.
- Statement of purpose - show a draft of your statement to your committee members (including your cognate member) as well as peers in your department. Be sure it does not contain jargon that would not be understood by reviewers outside of your area of expertise or interest. Be sure to comment on the project’s originality, theory and process.
- Ask professors to keep copies of letters of recommendation (in case you ask them for more than one recommendation or they get lost in the mail). Give them a copy of your statement or project to remind them about what you are working on. Remind them of the deadline. Only ask professors who are familiar with you and your work, a one paragraph letter that states they taught you in a class is not helpful to any committee.
- Follow directions - keep to the limit and criteria that is set for the applications, statement of purpose and attachments.
- Meet all deadlines - be sure your application is in the office on the deadline. Most all offices need them “by” that date, not postmarked. Follow up with your recommenders to be sure they send in their letters. Make sure any extra materials (i.e., transcripts, language reports) arrive in the office. You may have put together the most outstanding application ever seen - but it won’t matter if it arrives too late to be considered.
- Follow directions - keep to the limit and criteria that is set for the applications, statement of purpose and attachments.
Be proactive on your investigations of funding sources for your academic career. Do not wait for someone to seek you out and hand you a fellowship or assistantship (in most cases, that will never happen!). Think creatively!
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