Fellowships for Graduate Students
So much of the emphasis on scholarships is placed on the needs of undergraduates. And while that’s fair because the majority of students attending college are undergraduates, there still needs to be some mention of the resources available for graduate students.
What Are Graduate Fellowships?
Graduate fellowships are a form of scholarship that allows graduate students to further pursue their field of study in a much more hands on manner. They are available to both Master’s and Doctoral students. A fellowship will often pay for a student to leave their current job, at least temporarily, in order to study and research on a full-time basis. This is especially applicable to students pursuing degrees in the sciences, as they require hands on learning the most. Graduate fellowships can also be considered tuition awards, meaning that they award your full tuition for the duration of your graduate studies.
The end result of the fellowship is typically a journal article, report, conference or some sort of meeting on the findings you have discovered during your studies. Graduate fellowships allow students to take their learning to a depth that classroom learning simply would not allow.
Where Can I Find Graduate Fellowships?
Graduate fellowships are offered by schools, organizations and companies. You can most readily find them using services like FastWeb or College Board, which provide listings of scholarships and fellowships for students and can match you to appropriate awards based on information you enter about yourself. Many schools also have their own databases devoted to helping their students locate graduate fellowships to help them pursue their studies. For instance, if you visit http://www.grad.nd.edu/gfd/, you will find a database for graduate fellowships available to students at Notre Dame. Or you can visit here http://www.gradschool.cornell.edu/?p=132 to locate graduate fellowships for Cornell University.
Be sure you search for “graduate fellowships” plus the name of your school or your field of study in order to find fellowships that suit your specific needs and qualifications. You can also try the local library and search for books on graduate fellowships. You’ll more than likely find listings of fellowships based on your field of study. Once you find some you’re interested in, call them up and check and see if they are still in existence. If so, get ready to apply.
Are There Any Unique Requirements for Graduate Fellowships
Besides being a graduate student, the requirements for graduate fellowships are very similar to those for undergraduate scholarships. You have to maintain a certain GPA, a certain level of enrollment and stay enrolled in a certain program for the duration of the fellowship in order to continue receiving funds. However, oftentimes in order to qualify, your college of choice must be conducting research in a certain area or you need to be focusing your studies in a certain area. If you change the direction of your studies, you may no longer qualify for the fellowship. Also, just a note to keep in mind, that those attending pre-med or pre-law school are usually not eligible for graduate fellowships.
So you see, graduate fellowships are not all that different from scholarships, but the awards are typically bigger and the requirements are a bit stickier when it comes to the specifics of what you plan to study. You should always keep the awarders of the fellowship up to date in regards to your research. You will more than likely be expected to submit progress reports on a semi-regular basis to ensure you are progressing well with your studies and that you are upholding the terms of the fellowship.
It may sound tough, but if you can maintain the level of work required for a fellowship and you can get through all of graduate school on a full-tuition fellowship, the hard work will be more than worth it. No debt and no worries after you get your degree is more than enough to convince you.