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Fellowship for Students?

Graduate school and postgraduate training can cost tens of thousands of dollars. For some highly driven students, securing a fellowship could be one way to help pay for this type of advanced education. Here’s what prospective candidates need to know about applying for a fellowship, and how to determine if pursuing this type of academic funding is the right choice.

What is a Fellowship?

Fellowships are funded, short-term opportunities, that can last from a few weeks to a few years. They can be focused on professional, academic and/or personal development. Fellowships are sponsored by a specific association, organization, institution, or government which sets the eligibility requirements. These opportunities encompasses nationally competitive grants, scholarships, and other funding opportunities.

Fellowships are often designed to support various activities, including:

  • Research, either independent or as part of a larger project
  • Developing new community-based organizations
  • Training within a specific field
  • Opportunities to further explore a particular field of work
  • Graduate Study

There are several benefits to participating in a fellowship. Fellowships can provide opportunities for cultural immersion, expanding both professional and personal networks, experiential learning, and professional development – to name just a few. Even the process of applying is beneficial to students, helping them clarify goals and interests, articulate their values and plans for the future, improved presentation and interview skills, and much more.

What is a fellowship?

Experts say the conditions and benefits of an academic fellowship can vary widely depending on the discipline, but the simplest definition is a funding award given to subsidize the cost of education. In academic settings, when people say “fellowship,” they are generally referring to a monetary award given to a scholar to pay for his or her academic pursuits. A fellowship is typically a merit-based scholarship for advanced study of an academic subject.

How long is a fellowship?

The amount of time required to complete an academic fellowship varies depending on the type of fellowship and the rules of the granting institution. A fellowship will typically last at least a year and often longer; some yearlong fellowships can be renewed after the fellowship year is over if the fellow meets certain eligibility requirements, such as maintaining a strong GPA. It is possible for someone to combine several short fellowships to ensure that they have adequate funding for the duration of their academic program. A fellowship for a Ph.D. student may last for several years since earning a doctorate typically involves at least four years of study and one year of dissertation writing.

Why might someone want a fellowship?

Experts say obtaining a fellowship not only allows aspiring grad students, medical fellows and postdocs to gain the financial means necessary to achieve their academic goals, it also helps them bolster their professional reputation as scholars. Having a fellowship on a resume sets a candidate apart in the academic job market, according to experts, and pursuing a fellowship also allows people to develop new skills.

Trevor Bibler, an assistant professor of medicine with the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, says he completed a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical bioethics after earning his Ph.D. degree in religious studies, because he was interested in becoming a bioethicist who helps doctors navigate ethical dilemmas.

What are some key things to know about graduate student fellowships?

Justin Pierce, senior assistant director of graduate recruitment and marketing at Binghamton University—SUNY in New York, says fellowships for graduate students are simply one of many types of funding students may be eligible for.

“A fellowship is a funding award that has the benefit of having limited or no work requirements, which is what distinguishes it from, say, an assistantship where you would be receiving funds in exchange for work,” he says.

Experts say that a fellowship award often supplements the money that a student earns through work at his or her assistantship, which can involve teaching, lab research, an academic project or administrative tasks that are necessary for the functioning of a university. Sometimes, winning a fellowship negates the need for a student to take on the work obligations inherent in an assistantship, Crowley adds.

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