The Office of International Education and Fellowship Programs (IEFP) offers information and advice to students and alumni/ae of Yale College seeking to identify and apply for fellowship opportunities. IEFP also coordinates faculty committees which select and nominate Yale candidates for a number of fellowships and competitive internships.

Literally thousands of fellowships are available. Unfortunately, there are not enough fellowships for all qualified candidates, and competition for most fellowships is keen. The application process is often complicated, and the selection process can be capricious. Because of the many unpredictable factors involved, not even the most qualified applicants can be certain of success. You can take a number of steps, however, to aid your search for appropriate fellowships and to make your applications as strong as possible.

Research will help you locate the fellowship or fellowships which offer the experience you want. Each funding source has its own style and purpose. In attempting to identify fellowship opportunities that might be of interest to you, it is usually more effective to determine your proposed project first and then locate fellowships that are designed to support such a project, rather than to choose a fellowship that appears attractive and then come up with a project that seems to match the fellowship. The more concrete you are about the experience you want through a fellowship, the easier your search for the right fellowship will be. IEFP has books, lists, and descriptions of individual fellowships and funding agencies to assist you in the preliminary stages of your research. You may also obtain useful information from links found here on the IEFP homepage.

Once you have located an appropriate fellowship, find out as much as you can about it. Come to information meetings for fellowships administered by IEFP. Learn about the purpose of the award, the goals of the granting organization, the criteria for selection, and the mechanics of the selection process. Try to talk with someone who has received the fellowship. Make certain you meet all of the fellowship's eligibility requirements. An understanding of the fellowship's philosophy and its specific usefulness to you will strengthen your application.

Don't underestimate the amount of time needed to complete your application. To make the best possible presentation of your case, plan ahead. Allow sufficient time to prepare your materials thoughtfully, and review them carefully. Make sure that you will have everything completed and submitted before the deadline. This includes items over which you may not have direct control, such as letters of recommendation and transcripts. Almost without exception, deadlines are final. Students who plan to apply for fellowships during their senior year often begin their research and planning in the spring of their junior year because many deadlines occur in early fall (e.g., Fulbright Grants and Marshall and Rhodes Scholarships).

Each fellowship has its own application form: some forms are straightforward; others are complicated and idiosyncratic. It is important to read the application carefully, to understand what information is requested, and to follow instructions. As a courtesy to those who annually read and evaluate numerous applications, typewritten answers are the most presentable. In addition to the form, fellowship applications commonly require letters of recommendation, transcripts, and a written proposal or essay. For assistance with the latter, consult the writing tutor in your residential college.

For assistance with writing fellowship essays, download the following document "Writing Fellowship Essays" (.pdf)

This page was last updated on October 29, 2004.