Fellowships – Fall 2020 : Biological Engineering Communication Lab

It’s that time of year again! Fellowship deadlines are fast approaching. Writing a fellowship is an important exercise for any scientist and winning a fellowship is important for any career. While fellowship applications take time, they provide a great opportunity to put your ideas on paper and help you to write about your work in a clear and concise manner.

There are many resources for finding fellowships, but they can be hard to navigate. Below, we provide a shortlist of some of the common fellowships that Biological Engineers will apply to. We also have a comprehensive list of postdoctoral fellowships. These resources do not cover the entire breadth of fellowships available to you. Reach out to your PI or the Comm Lab manager if you would like to talk about what options are available to you.

Once you identify fellowships, there are key steps to initiate before you even begin to write your application.

Read the eligibility criteria and application requirements closely and as early as possible.
Check to see if the funding page contains any guidance on writing the application or any examples of successful applications.
Talk to your advisor or PI about your interest in applying.
Find people who have applied and talk to them about their experience. Several Comm Lab Fellows have NSF or NDSEG fellowships. You can also look at the fellowship funding page to see if you recognize anyone who has received the award.
Think about who you will ask for a recommendation letter. Give them time to prepare. Check out our tips for asking for and writing letters of recommendation.

Once you start writing, be sure to make an appointment with a Communication Fellow for peer-to-peer feedback on your application. Use the CommKit and visit OGE for more resources.

Predoctoral Fellowships:

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (Oct 19/21, 2020)

Note that for this year, the NSF has decided to prioritize specific areas of research. The solicitation states that “Although NSF will continue to fund outstanding Graduate Research Fellowships in all areas of science and engineering supported by NSF, in FY2021, GRFP will emphasize three high priority research areas in alignment with NSF goals. These areas are Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Information Science, and Computationally Intensive Research. Applications are encouraged in all disciplines supported by NSF that incorporate these high priority research areas.”
Use the Comm Lab to craft your statement and get feedback. Use the Data Lab to brainstorm ways to incorporate computationally intensive research into your work. If this space is new to you, be sure to talk to many people about your idea so you can write about it in a robust and feasible manner.

National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship (~Dec 20, 2020)

The Hertz Foundation Fellowship (~Oct 23, 2020)

P.D. Soros Fellowship for New Americans (Oct 29, 2020)

American Association of University Women (AAUW) Fellowships (Nov 1-15, 2020)