Applying for an AAUW (American Association of University Women) American Fellowship

• $20,000 dissertation fellowship for American women (also: $30K post-doc, $6K summer publication grant, or $18-30K international student fellowship available)

• Dissertation fellowship requires submission of:

3 recommendations (incl. your dissertation committee chair)

transcripts from all graduate schools you’ve attended

institutional certification form (signed by dean or dept./grad chair)

~20-page application filled out online (includes essays)

$40 application fee (submitted online)

• Deadline: Nov. 15, 2009

The ~20-page online application

• Mostly fill-in-the-blanks (advisors, field, your vital stats, your work history, etc.)

• Short written sections: Describe your proposed project/dissertation in one paragraph

(argument, significance) Your teaching experience Your mentoring/counseling commitments to women during the

school year Your past scholarships, fellowships, & grants (w/amounts);

past honors & awards; publications (if any) Other background information (more on this later)

The Narrative Autobiography

• Your relevant autobiography (what led you to this point—a job, a singular experience, some interesting

anecdote)

• Your academic work (in brief) & how it is likely to help women and girls break through cultural and societal barriers (if relevant)

• How you have mentored other women and girls (students, members of community groups, etc.)

• Essay is ~1 to 1.5 pages long, single spaced

The Project Statement

• Describe your dissertation: its significance, its contributions to your field of study, the details of each chapter (a paragraph per chapter). Your diss proposal is a good model.

• Begin with a relevant example from your dissertation—a hook—before leaping into the details of the dissertation.

• Avoid technical jargon, because your audience is an educated but non-expert selection committee. Convince readers that your project is useful and interesting.

• Include the names of your committee & a timeline for finishing your diss at the end of the Project Statement, if they ask for it.

• Essay is ~3 pages long, single-spaced.

Other Background Information? (opportunity for a third essay—whoo-hoo!)

• Usually the last question on the application before the Narrative Autobiography

• About a paragraph long

• Your chance to squeeze in things that may help you to get the fellowship but which

didn’t fit naturally in your Narrative Autobiography or Project Statement had to get chopped out of the essays due to those pesky character limits

El Budget-o (how to spend $20,000)

• Acceptable: most living expenses, books and supplies, dissertation tuition, travel to conferences

• Unacceptable: research assistants, lab supplies & equipment, publication costs, tuition for additional classes, obligations/debt

• Budget should be ~$20,000, so you don’t appear too expensive to fund (say, $30,000) or as if you don't need it (say, $10,000)

• Since your employment during your AAUW year is limited to teaching for <10 hours a week, shortfalls can’t be made up through additional employment if budget is too high.

Best of luck…

• Award notifications April 15, 2010

• 10 Penn grad students have been named American Fellows in recent years (3 in 2004-2005; 4 in 2005-2006; 1 in 2007-2008; 2 in 2008-2009). Usually ~40 dissertation fellowships awarded per year, plus a few post-doctoral fellowships & publication grants)

• 5 Penn grad students (M.A. and Ph.D.) have been named International Fellows in recent years.

• Fellowship year July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011