Fellowships & Funding...

[akanesuha87]

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Hello everyone,
I am in the process of applying to Clinical Psych programs and as I am filling out the applications I am finding statements about financial resources, specifically asking whether you have your own fellowships all lined up.

Questions like this:
"List other institutions and organizations to which you have applied for financial support" or "Indicate if you have applied for, or have received, other fellowship study..."

How important is it for you to be applying to fellowships before grad school? Where do you look for funding other than the big ones (NSF & NIH)? How do you apply without knowing which program you will be attending in the Fall (if any), are awards simply contingent on your acceptance?

Also, if an application has a section for "Additional Information" and gives the opportunity for you to upload documents, what could I include?

Thank you for you help...and good luck to all of you guys who are applying this year too!

*da

 

[Ollie123]

Interesting, I didn't really come across that question. Are you an international student?

Though I think most people have their tuition mostly/entirely paid by the school, I think external funding is pretty rare save for the few on NIH/NSF fellowships, certain military folks, and certain minority programs. I wouldn't worry about it too much - even some folks I know at extremely well-known programs (e.g. Penn) didn't go in with external funding.

For additional information, I'd include a CV if you didn't put it anywhere else. Not sure what else they'd want, maybe a writing sample or reprints of articles you've authored?

 

[JockNerd]

I can only speak from my experience, but I was given a fellowship along with my offer. I didn't have to apply for anything; the department put me in for it. I know in Canada, students can apply for grad funding in their undergrad, and getting it depends on getting in. Not sure if NIH/NSF have similar programs.

 

[psychanon]

There's a difference between external fellowships and internal fellowships. It sounds like what JN got was an internal fellowship--the university offers a limited number of fellowships, and the department typically nominates accepted applicants whom they think might be competitive (usually based on GRE scores). The question was asking about external fellowships, which would be granted by an outside institution. This would include something like an NSF, which is something that you could apply for as an applicant that would cover your first 3 (or maybe 2?) years of graduate study. I'm not exactly sure how NSF's work (anyone have one here?), but in general it's reserved for basic research--- meaning applicants doing clinically oriented research are not eligible. I haven't heard of anything that NIH offers that applicants can apply for. There may be other awards available through other institutions, especially if you are a member of a minority group (Ford fellowships, etc. ).

But to answer your question, no, you're not expected to have applied for one of these. If you have applied or, better, received an external funding opportunity, you are in AWESOME shape, because that means that department would not have to fund you (in other words, you'd be a freebie student). But given that you may not be eligible for any of these awards, you will certainly not be penalized for not applying for them.

 

[akanesuha]

wow. thanks for your input and information.

nope. I am not an international student.

I know that fellowships/grants that are given as part of a financial package when you are admitted and I was under the impression that I didn't need to apply for anything else but I didn't want to miss something major if it was expected of me as an applicant. You guys have calmed my fears.

Also, I plan to send along a CV...that is what I thought about first!

all the best,
*da

 

[PhDshallsee]

It's interesting to see the different takes on this.

I spent the summer in a scholars program and an entire seminar was devoted to this topic. I was shocked at how many external fellowships exist other than NSF. They're not as rare as most people think.

 

[zeldazelda]

It's interesting to see the different takes on this.

I spent the summer in a scholars program and an entire seminar was devoted to this topic. I was shocked at how many external fellowships exist other than NSF. They're not as rare as most people think.

Can you enlighten us a little more? How does it typically work? Do you apply before or after getting into school? Where do you find the external fellowships? Are they typically research-only or do they exist for clinical training as well?

 

[joetro]

I think it's probably pretty rare to come in with external fellowships, but it is possible. You can apply to NSF as a senior in undergrad, and clinical students are eligible (you basically have to avoid talking about anything clinical at all). Your undergrad institution should have access to fellowship databases - check with the psychology department or career center.