Advising Students on Fellowships
How can a faculty mentor make a difference?A trusted mentor can have a true impact on refining a student's ideas in such a way that s/he will make a real success out of a fellowship experience. While students can make individual appointments with Fellowship Programs advisers to discuss their options, speak about their goals, and to get feedback on their fellowship proposals, the mentors who know them well are the ones best poised to offer advice based upon students' demonstrated interests, academic performance, etc. A word about fellowships for research or graduate schoolStudents applying for these opportunities will need guidance from someone with expertise in their field of study. Think back to when you were a budding anthropologist, historian, or chemist. What information do you wish someone had told you as you took your first independent steps into the field? What methodological and theoretical issues should the student consider? How should the student best approach making contacts in the field? What materials should the student read to prepare? Does the proposed idea require consideration by the Human Subjects Committee? |
What should students keep in mind when applying for fellowships?
We seek to underscore with students their need to engage thoughtfully in the fellowship process. The "How to Apply for Fellowships" section of this site emphasizes this point and might also prove helpful to you in your own advising of students who are interested in securing fellowship funding.
A few quick facts about the fellowships process at Yale:
- There are a large number of Yale-only fellowships to support summer (and sometimes term-time) activities. Many of these are administered by Fellowship Programs (part of CIPE), but there are other sources of funding to be found throughout the University. Students can explore most of these options by using the Student Grants Database.
- While many national competitions are administered completely outside the University, a fair number are run through Fellowship Programs. These include, but are not limited to, the Rhodes, Marshall, and Fulbright competitions. This process allows for required university nominations and endorsements.
- There are also Yale-only fellowships that support postgraduate activities. Students can use the Student Grants Database to explore these options as well.
- Fellowship Programs offers fellowship information sessions, proposal writing workshops, individual advising appointments, and other resources for students interested in securing fellowship funding.