External awards are prestigious and a valuable acknowledgement of intellectual pursuit and promise. The Graduate School provides incentives to encourage students to compete for funding from institutions, foundations, and governmental agencies, as detailed below.

Competing for external funding is part of the professional development of doctoral candidates, in particular. The application process alone is beneficial: Writing a fellowship proposal can clarify your thinking about your research and improve your ability to communicate its essence and potential impact. The competition also can expose you to valuable feedback. Receiving a competitive external fellowship is an honor that stays with you throughout your career and can improve your professional prospects.

A series of videos provides guidance on how to compete for and win external awards.

Also highlighted here are resources to identify promising sources of external funding. The Graduate School external funding database provides an introduction to such opportunities, and detailed information about the very distinguished U.S. Student Fulbright fellowship programs — which include internal and external rounds of competition — is provided. Links and additional information on the DAAD scholarship program is also available.

Information about a wider array of grants and fellowships is available through the Community of Science database. Directors of graduate study and other faculty mentors can help students to identify funding opportunities for specialized areas.

The University’s Office of Sponsored Projects is a “must” stop for those preparing proposals for external funding.

For tips and information on applying for external workshops, please also see a presentation by Associate Dean, John Tyler.