Money begets money

Dr. Anna KarlsGraduate Coordinator

Dept. MicrobiologyUGA

When to apply

• Now!• Before, during, and after graduate and

post-doctoral work

Graduate Fellowships

Early: NSF GRF, NDSEG Fellowships

After admitted to candidacy: ASM, NIH, NOAA

Completion: Graduate School Dissertation Completion Awards, NSF Dissertation Improvement Awards

Sources of Information on Fellowships

• Government:– www.science.gov/internships/graduate.html

• UGA OVPR:– www.ovpr.uga.edu/researchnewsletter/student_p

ostdoc/• Other Graduate Schools or Research

Offices:– www.gdnet.ucla.edu/asis/grapes/search.asp

Talk with the Graduate School• At UGA we are very lucky to have tuition

waivers associated with Graduate, Teaching and Research Assistantships

• BUT, the waiver is loss when you get a fellowship

• So, talk with the graduate school when you apply for a fellowship. Some fellowships pay full tuition, some do not; so ask about your options if full tuition does not come from the fellowship

Grants-in-aid anddissertation improvement awards

Post-doctoral Fellowships

• Look for your post-doc at least 6 months before completing your PhD

• Begin writing fellowship proposals before starting your post-doc

• Even if your advisor has money for you, apply for independent fellowships

Preparing Your Application

• The reviewers have very little time with each application (for NSF Graduate Research Fellowships the reviewer has less than 30 minutes to read the whole folder, including the recommendation letters, give it a score and write comments) so make yours stand out for its excellent organization and clarity.

• READ the application instructions carefully• Click on all the links and follow any tips, such

as examples of Broader Impacts for NSF proposals

• References: ask early, provide the instructions, give updated drafts of proposal (ask for comments) and CV

• If need Transcript or GRE scores, request these EARLY

• Make your CV work for you- highlight sections and put most important information early (publications, presentations, awards)

• Start a draft of your specific aims and then talk with cohorts and faculty.

• Revise draft based on input and start to write the details of the approaches, explaining the “why do it” and “what you will learn” for each approach. Highlight the hypothesis.

• Briefly address Potential Problems and Alternative Approaches after each aim.

• Have at multiple peers and your advisor read it for comments.

• Check for misspelling or grammatical errors. NEVER submit a proposal will easily corrected errors.

Reviews and Revision

• Rejection is a part of life. Deal with it.• Thank the reviewers for insightful

comments and address all of the criticisms AND the affirmations.

• Resubmit if you are eligible! • Have colleagues look at the comments

and your revision to make sure you really addressed everything.