Graduate Funding:

What it is, where to find it, how to get it

Zoe Ziliak Michel, Office of Graduate Studies September 14, 2011

UC San Diego

Today’s Scholars, Tomorrow’s Leaders

• Part of the Financial Support Unit in OGS• Help navigate application procedures• Act as a liaison between agency and student• Act as a second (or third, or fourth…or seventh)

pair of eyes for proposals -basic editing, grammatical errors, etc.

Who I am and what I do

Departmental funding• Some programs fund

their students• Applicants may receive

an offer from department; can be a combination of many elements.

Outside sources• In the form of fellowships

and grants from outside agencies

• Can include tuition, fees, stipend

Basics of graduate funding

• Opportunities to allow graduate students to pursue their own research interests with funding unencumbered by institutional obligation (such as TAships, RAships)

• Competitive awards given to outstanding scholars based on the merit of a research proposal, as well as other relevant academic criteria (such as letters of recommendation, transcripts, etc.)

• Recognition for the development of a thoroughly presented, uniquely designed, intriguing, faculty-supported research project

What are fellowships?

• Most fellowships have lead time of 12-18 months from application to award

• Current funding (11-12 academic year) was first advertised in spring 2010

• For academic year 11-12, most deadlines have passed

• Start applying now for 12-13

Fellowship Timeline

• Training Grants

• Research Fellowships

• Travel

• General Scholarship

Types of Fellowships

• Opportunities for first and second year graduate students to work with a faculty mentor, usually in a laboratory, to develop skills for future research.

• May contain a travel element

Fellowship Type: Training

• The most common type of fellowship; usually intended for Ph.D. or other terminal degree candidates

• Support original research which may lead to a dissertation or other long-range project

• May include small stipends for travel, books, and supplies• Examples: -Pacific Rim Research Grants -NIH, NSF, NASA, Smithsonian Fellowships, etc.

Fellowship Type: Research

• Very specialized awards which allow graduate students to pursue a semester or more abroad

• Often combined with another type of grant (i.e. research, training, or dissertation fellowships)

• Extremely competitive, with deadlines well in advance of actual awarding of grant

• Examples: -All Fulbright grants (full grant, Fulbright-Hays dissertation

research) and German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

Fellowship Type: Travel

• Typically awarded on the basis of past accomplishments and academic record

• General purpose: open to almost all subjects• Highly selective, nationwide competitions• Examples: -Dolores Zohrab Liebmann -National Hispanic Scholarship Foundation -Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowships

Fellowship Type: General Scholarship Award

1. Community of Science (www.cos.com)

The Community of Science is the most comprehensive web database to locate fellowships and other research opportunities. UCSD is a member institution, so you do not need to be registered to utilize the funding opportunities database, but you do need to access it from an on-campus computer.

Where to Find Fellowships

2. Grants.gov (www.grants.gov)

Grants.gov is the federal government’s central database for all grant-making agencies. Contains valuable resources about how to apply to specific agencies, including the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation.

Where to find fellowships (cont.)

Where to find fellowships (cont.)3. UCLA’s Graduate & Postdoctoral Extramural

Support (GRAPES) database http://www.gdnet.ucla.edu/grpinst.htm

4. OGS’s Graduate Funding Blog

Updated frequently with funding opportunities, application advice, and administrative how-to guides. http://ucsdgraduatefunding.wordpress.com/

5. Your favorite professor or faculty mentor and your graduate coordinator

Where to find fellowships (cont.)

Where to find fellowships (cont.)

UCSD Graduate Fellowship AdvisorAfter your GRAPES and Grants.gov searches,

make an appointment with Zoe Ziliak Michel to discuss options and strategies, or to have your proposal edited at gradadvisor@ucsd.edu

Major National and UC Awards

Fulbright U.S. Student Program ----------------------------------------------------------------

The IIE Fulbright U.S. Student Program equips American leaders with the skills they need to thrive in an increasingly global environment by

providing funding for open academic year of study or research abroad. Grantees undertake self-designed programs in disciplines ranging

from social sciences, business, communications and performing arts to physical sciences, engineering and education. The U.S. Student

Program awarded approximately 6,000 grants in 2010 and currently operates in over 155 countries worldwide.

Basic Eligibility RequirementBe a U.S. citizen & have a Bachelor’s Degree

*Please note that OGS administers this award for UC San Diego.*

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The ED Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) Fellowship Program provides opportunities for graduate

students to engage in full-time dissertation research abroad for 6 to 12 months in modern foreign languages and area studies.

Basic Eligibility Requirements

Be a graduate student and a U.S. citizen, national or permanent resident of the U.S.

Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship Program (Dept. of Ed.)

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Among the most competitive and generous fellowships in the sciences. Evidence of exceptional creativity, broad understanding of physical principles, and outstanding

potential for innovative research is expected. For students in the applied physical sciences.

Basic Eligibility RequirementsU.S. citizens and permanent residents

Hertz Foundation Fellowships

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The SSRC sponsors fellowship and grant programs on a wide range of topics, and across many different career stages. Most support goes to pre-dissertation, dissertation, and postdoctoral fellowships, offered through annual competitions. Some programs support summer institutes and advanced research grants. Although most programs target the social sciences, many are also open to applicants from the humanities, the natural sciences, and relevant professional and practitioner communities.

Social Science Research Council (SSRC)

---------------------------------------------------------------------The National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships seek

to ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science, mathematics, and engineering in the United States and to reinforce its diversity. These fellowships offer recognition and three years of support for advanced study to graduate students in the mathematical, physical, biological, engineering, and behavioral and social sciences, including the history of science and the philosophy of science, and to research-based PhD degrees in science education.

Basic Eligibility RequirementsBe a student in the early stages of graduate study in science, mathematics, or

engineering and a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident of the U.S.

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (National Science Foundation)

------------------------------------------------------------------Ruth L. Kirchstein Individual Predoctoral Fellowships (F31s

and F32s) support training opportunities within one of several institutes within NIH. Applicants must have a

sponsor, a sponsoring institution, and the time to pursue the research 40 hours each week. Graduate students apply individually and are awarded individually. Additional grants available to support minority candidates and/or candidates

pursuing a dual Ph.D./MD (F30).

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Awarded in a national competition administered by the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies on behalf of the Ford Foundation. The awards will be made to individuals who, in the judgment of the review panels, have demonstrated superior academic achievement, are committed to a career in teaching and research at the college or university level, show promise of future achievement as scholars and teachers, and are well prepared to use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students.

Basic Eligibility RequirementsU.S. citizens who are enrolled or planning to enroll in an eligible research-

based program and who are committed to teaching and research and the college or university level.

Ford Foundation Predoctoral Diversity Fellowships

University of California Grant-Making Programs http://ucop.edu/research/

UC Breast Cancer Research Program Pacific Rim Research Program UC Institute for Research in the Arts UCIRA UC-MEXUS Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program University-wide AIDS Research Program UC Humanities Research Institute

• Statement of purpose• Two or three recommendation letters from faculty

members or mentors• Resume or CV (curriculum vitae)• Official transcripts (both grad and undergrad)• Budget• (After you’ve received the fellowship) Update on

progress/interim report

Basic Fellowship Components

Agencies: Deadlines:Fulbright IIE September 12 & October 17DoE DDRA Late October or early NovemberFord NovemberDAAD Early to mid-November (Oct. 21 for UCSD)Pacific Rim Early JanuaryNIH April, August, December

Deadlines snapshot

A note about deadlinesSome funding agencies require that you apply through your institution, which likely means that we (UCSD/OGS) have an internal deadline that may be much earlier than the national competition deadline. When in doubt, you can always check with me.

1. Start researching fellowships. Contact program officers, mentors, and professors.

2. Summer and early fall – compose fellowship applications, seek out graduate school resources, send in applications.

3. Winter – keep in contact with recommenders and fellowship programs

What to do now

What to do now (cont.)4. Next spring – keep track of fellowship dollars received

and report to graduate school.

5. Start the process all over again. Graduate funding doesn’t end until you’ve left graduate school.

6. Keep an eye on your email and the funding blog (for funding announcements that may pop up throughout the year).

Tips for success-Be concise and be clear. Don’t make the reviewer search for the “who, what, when, where, how and why.”

-Formatting may seem like something you can get around – it’s not.

-Keep in mind that you’re writing a persuasive piece, you have to make the reader feel like they NEED to fund you.

Tips for success-For travel grants: demonstrate evidence as to why your project needs to be carried out in the country you are proposing. There is a definite difference between NEED and WANT. The use of vague, general or broad terms in the proposal should be avoided.

Tips for success-Start early

-Cast your net wide!

Tools for successDissertation writing:http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/DissPropWorkshop/

Grant writing tips:HHMI"Making the Right Moves" Chapter 9: Getting FundedScienceCareers.org Grant Doctor articlesNIH Grant Writing Tip SheetsProposal Writing Websites collected by University of Wisconsin-Madison

A quick note about plagiarism

Questions?Zoe Ziliak Michel

Fellowship AdvisorOffice of Graduate Studies

413 Student Services Center, Fourth Floor(858) 822-2938

gradadvisor@ucsd.edu