P A U L F O G L E M A N

U N D E R G R A D U A T E S C H O L A R S O F F I C E

E L I Z A B E T H L A M B E R T

G R A D G R A N T S C E N T E R

A L E X S T R O N G

G R A D G R A N T S C E N T E R

Finding and Applying for Scholarships and Awards at

Indiana University

A little about us.....

Alex and Elizabeth – Grad Grants Center

IUB Herman B Wells LibraryEast Tower, Room 6511320 E. Tenth St.Bloomington, IN 47405-3907

812-855-5281

gradgrnt@indiana.edu

Paul – Undergraduate Scholars Office

Office: Hutton Honors College Room 216B

Bloomington, IN 47405

812-855-3948

pfoglema@indiana.edu

• Finding Awards

• Award Recipients from IU

• Application Components

Outline

Finding Awards (a little comic relief in Speed Bump by Dave Coverly)

The Career Reference section of the library has a number of extensive indexes.

Other Campus Locations and Offices

Office of Scholarships: http://scholarships.indiana.edu/

A great starting place for undergrads that lists a number of scholarship opportunities and provides resources for funding your education at IU.

Office of Overseas Study: http://overseas.iu.edu/apply/aid.shtml

Overseas Study awards over $225,000 in scholarships annually on the basis of financial need and academic merit.

Resources on the paged linked above include program specific scholarships; 21st Century Scholars; Internship Incentive grants and links to other campus funding for international awards such as the Hutton International Experiences Program (HIEP) and the Kelley School of Business Overseas Study Scholarships.

(Note – you do not have to be in the Hutton Honors College to apply for the HIEP award.)

Undergraduate Scholars Office: Website currently under construction. Excel list of awards currently available here: http://ucare.indiana.edu/list-competitive-awards/

University Graduate School: http://graduate.indiana.edu/admissions/financial-support/fellowships-awards/Provides a list of internally and externally funded awards for graduate students.

Grad Grants Center: http://www.indiana.edu/~gradgrnt/Good starting place for graduate students to receive guidance on applying for awards and grants.

Departmental Awards: Explore your department(s) for funding. Here is an example from the Biology Department: http://www.bio.indiana.edu/undergraduate/awards/index.shtml

Here is an example from the East Asian Studies Center: http://www.indiana.edu/~easc/funding/index.shtml

Online Databases

PIVOT : https://pivot.cos.com/register

Requires a valid IU username to register. Once you've created an account, click on "Funding" in the top left corner and then on the next screen click on "Advanced Search" to open up the fields to guide your search.

Grant Forward : https://www.grantforward.com/index

Similar to PIVOT and you can access from any computer with an IU username.

A third database is the Foundation Center Grants to Individuals but access to it is much more restrictive. You can access it at the West Information Commons in the Wells Library, at the SPEA/Business Library or in the Indiana Room at the Monroe County Public Library.

Foundation Center URL: http://foundationcenter.org/findfunders/fundingsources/gtio.html

Other Advice

Subscribe to department newsletters and listservs to see awards others have applied for and contact them for advice. See student news on pages 8 & 9 of this example from the Russian and East European Institute (REEI):

http://www.indiana.edu/~reeiweb/newsEvents/newsletters/2013/fall_2013_reeification.pdf

Talk to your professors. Visit them during office hours. Make appointments to discuss topics of interest and inquiry and how to

explore them beyond the reading lists and assignments.

Discuss proposing an independent readings course.

Talk to them about being an honors thesis advisor.

Read their bios and attend their lectures and events outside of class.

Colleagues at Penn State provide a extensive and well-organized list of resources:

https://sites.google.com/site/psuufo/resources

Recipients from IU

Timothy Hoffelder, Boren Undergraduate ScholarshipTanzania, 2012-13

Participated in Swahili Flagship program at IU.

Became interested in Swahili through a Kenyan friend met in high school. Was encouraged to pursue the language and go to Tanzania by IU professor.

Timothy’s advice for students interested in applying: “My advice to students considering studying and living in Zanzibar would be to have a completely open mind. Be willing to learn, and to learn from other peoples' perspectives. Not everyone thinks like you, and certainly, most people actually do not. Do not take offense at cultural differences, but give yourself the time to understand them, and learn from them. Also, use Swahili!”

Ellen Prusinski, Fulbright Graduate ScholarshipIndonesia, 2012-13

Graduate student in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis

In Central Java, Indonesia –researching educational processes surrounding international migration and how NGOs are attempting to fill the gaps.

In addition to research, she taught in a village preschool and volunteered at a farmers union.

Five IU Students Received Goldwater Scholarships for 2014

From IU News Release April 7, 2014

(http://news.iu.edu/releases/iu/2014/04/goldwater-scholars.shtml)

The scholarships are for one or two years and can be used to pay the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board to a

maximum of $7,500 per year.

•Radhika Agarwal, an IU Bloomington junior from Carmel, Ind., majoring in biochemistry and biology. Agarwal's career

goals include conducting research in bacterial antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation and teaching medical students.

•Devin M. Bready, an IUPUI junior from St. John, Ind., majoring in biochemistry. Bready plans to seek admission to a

combined M.D./Ph.D. program and pursue a career as a physician scientist at the interface of science and medicine.

•Christian Rochford Hayes, an IU Bloomington junior from Kokomo, Ind., majoring in astronomy and physics. Hayes'

career goals include conducting research in galactic astronomy and teaching at a university.

•Micah Allen Rapp, an IPFW junior from Fort Wayne, Ind., majoring in biology. After graduation, Rapp plans to pursue a

Ph.D. in biophysics and teach at the university level. He is IPFW's first Goldwater Scholar.

•Emma Winkler, a IU Bloomington junior from Bloomington, Ind., majoring in biochemistry and microbiology. Her goals

are to conduct research in human disease and apply the research to drug discovery and treatment development.

Thirteen IU Students Named Recipients of National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships for 2014

National Science Foundation (NSF): http://www.nsfgrfp.org/

NSF received over 14,000 applications for the 2014 competition, and made 2,000 fellowship award offers.

Fellows benefit from a three-year annual stipend of $32,000 along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees (paid to the institution), opportunities for international research and professional development, and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited U.S. institution of graduate education they choose.

Sheline, Leah Christine Indiana University Psychology - Developmental Temple University

Sell, Gabrielle Lauren Indiana University Life Sciences - Neurosciences JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

Schmidt, Olivia Grace Indiana University Life Sciences - Ecology

Reynolds, Austin Indiana University Social Sciences - Biological Anthropology University of Texas at Austin

Kvam, Peter Dana Indiana University Psychology - Computational Psychology Michigan State University

Kersey, Alyssa Jean Indiana University Psychology - Cognitive Neuroscience University of Rochester

Hawkins, Robert Indiana University Psychology - Computational Psychology Indiana University

Hallberg, Zachary Francis Indiana University Chemistry - Chemistry of Life Processes University of California-Berkeley

Gujral, Swathi Indiana University Psychology - Cognitive Neuroscience University of Pittsburgh

Gao, Yuchen Indiana University Life Sciences - Cell Biology University of California-San Francisco

Engelhardt, Laura Ellen Indiana University Psychology - Developmental University of Texas at Austin

Brown, Kyle Wayne Indiana University Chemistry - other (specify) - Nuclear Washington University

Brown, Clayton Laroy Indiana University Life Sciences - Biochemistry Stanford University School of Medicine

University Honors and Awards

Indiana University is well-represented in a number of nationally competitive award programs. The website of University Honors and Awards provides names of recipients and profiles:

http://www.iu.edu/~uha/student/index.shtml

Application Components

Statement of Purpose

Personal Statement

Reference Letters

Transcripts

Letter of Affiliation

Statement of Purpose

Generally required by funding organizations.

Usually restricted to a limited number of words or pages. It is important to be concise.

If you are having trouble getting started, start with the basics: Why me? – Draw a thread through your life experiences highlighting what you have

accomplished in the past that qualifies you for the award.

Why here? – Provide reasons why you should be given the award to go to the place (or stay at the place) where the award activity will be conducted.

Why now? – Describe what stage you are at in your life and professional and academic aspirations and how the award moves you toward those goals.

Statement of Purpose Continued

The Fulbright website provides a series of helpful prompts on their website with application tips. Though they are aimed at academic activities abroad, they address the core requirements of a good statement.

http://us.fulbrightonline.org/applicants/application-tips/academic

For those seeking English teaching opportunities abroad, see Fulbright’s prompts here:

http://us.fulbrightonline.org/applicants/application-tips/eta

Last but not least…..you award agencies provide guidance about what you are expected to address in your statement of purpose. Follow their guide.

Personal Statement

Differs from the statement of purpose in that you are expected to describe your personal motivations and inspirations for pursuing the line of inquiry or study you are in.

The University of Illinois’ Center for Writing Studies has published guidance and advice for students writing personal statements:

http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/tips/personalstatement/

We also recommend Joe Schall’s website “Writing Personal Statements Online”: https://www.e-education.psu.edu/writingpersonalstatementsonline/

References

After your statement of purpose and personal statement, the reference letters (aka recommendation letters) are arguably the next most weighted component. Good letters address your abilities to carry out your proposal in your host country; the relevance of your topic or activity to your field; and tie these to your academic and professional goals.

It is never too early to start developing relationships with professors, administrators and supervisors (see slide number 8 for more ideas about developing relationships with professors).

Give your references plenty of notice and offer to assist by providing information about you that you want the reference to highlight and about the award you are applying for.

Transcripts

Carry more weight in academically focused activities.

Take care of incompletes.

Address incompletes or other “blips” in your academic records. Don’t expect reviewers (especially academics) won’t look at your grades.

Additional Essays & Guidance

Timothy Burke is a professor in the Department of History at Swarthmore who wrote a blog entry about judging proposals and made notes for undergraduatesin his blog entry on January 5, 2010 titled Disposed to Propose:

https://blogs.swarthmore.edu/burke/blog/2010/01/05/disposed-to-propose/

Graduate students are advised to read “On the Art of Writing Proposals: Some Candid Suggestions for Applicants to Social Science Research Council Competitions” by Adam Przeworski and Frank Salomon:

http://www.ssrc.org/publications/view/7A9CB4F4-815F-DE11-BD80-001CC477EC70/

Last Bit of Preachy Advice

Expand your social network

Meg Jay’s book “The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter and how to make the most of them now”:

The "urban tribe," as Jay describes it, are your buddies, the friends you call when you want to grab frozen yogurt or play pick-up basketball after work. Yet when it comes to your career development, it's likely that a stranger will help you more than your best friend ever will.

Jay cites a famous social networking study conducted by Stanford professor Mark Granovetter, who found that "weak-tie acquaintances were often more important than strong-tie friends because weak ties give us access to social networks where we don’t otherwise belong." If you are spending most of your time with the same five friends, you are likely missing out on the new ideas and opportunities that stem from these weaker connections.”

Accessed from http://www.businessinsider.com/dr-meg-jay-the-defining-decade-2012-7?op=1

Be sure to print your name and email address on the appropriate sign in sheet. Our offices will be following up with you over the coming months as the award deadlines approach.

Thanks for coming!