The graduate school is currently planning a number of faculty led proposal review clinics for PhD students who will be submitting applications this year for external fellowships. Students will submit a proposal draft to the graduate school. The draft will be read by a small group of faculty. Each student will then meet individually with at least two faculty for about 30 minutes to discuss the draft.
More information is on the way, but please save the following dates:
by Adam Feinman
Sean Culver and Carrie McCarthy are graduate students in Chemistry working with Richard Brutchey, developing and optimizing systems for energy conversion and storage. They are both recipients of the NSF GRFP award, and took some time to talk with me about their experiences. Continue reading
by Adam Feinman
Becky Wilson is a graduate student in Chemical Engineering who applied for and was awarded the NSF GRFP fellowship in the 2013-2014 school year. Her graduate advisor is Mark Thompson. The two of them are working on developing more efficient and longer-lasting solar energy cells. We asked her about her experiences applying for fellowships and what she has gained from both the process and the fellowships themselves. Continue reading
It’s June, which means it’s time for a progress check on your application to external funding opportunities. Here’s what you need to know before beginning to write your project description.
Top 10 Fellowship and Scholarship Opportunities for International Students
American Association for University Women – International Fellowships
http://www.aauw.org/what-we-do/educational-funding-and-awards/international-fellowships/international-fellowships-application/
International Fellowships are awarded for full-time study or research in the United States to women who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Both graduate and postgraduate studies at accredited U.S. institutions are supported. Applicants must have earned the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree by September 30, 2013, and must have applied to their proposed institutions of study by the time of the application. Up to five fellowships are renewable for a second year. Recipients are selected for academic achievement and demonstrated commitment to women and girls. Recipients return to their home countries to become leaders in business, government, academia, community activism, the arts, and sciences.
Application due December 1st.
American Scandinavian Foundation
http://www.amscan.org/study_scandinavia_details.html
The American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF) offers fellowships (up to $23,000) and grants (up to $5,000) to individuals to pursue research, study or creative arts projects in one or more Scandinavian country for up to one year. The number of awards varies each year according to total funds available. Awards are made in all fields. Applicants must have a well-defined research, study or creative arts project that makes a stay in Scandinavia essential. Applicants must be United States citizens or permanent residents and have completed their undergraduate education by the start of their project in Scandinavia. Team projects are eligible, but each member must apply as an individual, submitting a separate, fully-documented application. First priority will be given to applicants who have not previously received an ASF award. Only in exceptional cases will a third award be considered
Application due November 1st.
Asian Development Bank (ADB) – Japan Scholarship Program
http://www.adb.org/site/careers/japan-scholarship-program/main
For citizens of ADB’s developing member countries to pursue postgraduate studies in economics, management, science and technology, and other development-related fields at participating academic institutions in the Asian and Pacific Region. The ADB-JSP provides full scholarships for one to two years.
Association for Women in Science Educational Foundation
http://www.bibsocamer.org/fellows.htm
Several fellowships available, all of which support bibliographical inquiry and research in the history of the book trades and in publishing history. Eligible topics may concentrate on books and documents in any field, but should focus on the book or manuscript (the physical object) as historical evidence.
Applications due December 15th.
National Academies Fellowships
http://www.nationalacademies.org/grantprograms/index.html
The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council offer several fellowships in science, engineering, and medicine. Information on eligibility guidelines and application deadlines is available on specific programs’ websites. The Fellowships Office (FO) of the National Academies administers predoctoral, postdoctoral, and senior fellowship awards on behalf of government and private/foundation sponsors; these fellowship awards play an important role in the career development of doctoral and postdoctoral researchers and scholars for the academic, federal, industrial and international workforce. Current opportunities can be found on the above listed website.
Deadlines vary.
Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship Program
http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/policyfellows/index.htm
This fellowship is designed to engage graduate science, engineering, medical, veterinary, business, and law students in the analysis that informs the creation of science and technology policy and to familiarize them with the interactions of science, technology and government.
Applications are due the fall before the session begins.
International Dissertation Field Research Fellowships
http://www.ssrc.org/fellowships/idrf-fellowship/
The Mellon International Dissertation Research Fellowship (IDRF) offers nine to twelve months of support to graduate students in the humanities and humanistic social sciences who are enrolled in PhD programs in the United States and conducting dissertation research on non-US topics. Eighty fellowships are awarded annually.
Applications due November 5th.
Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Scholarships
http://www.jkcf.org/scholarships/graduate-scholarships/
The Foundation’s Dissertation Fellowship is for up to $25,000 for advanced doctoral students who are completing dissertations that inform the Foundation’s mission: advancing the education of exceptionally promising students who have financial need. To be eligible, candidates must demonstrate superior academic achievement, have successfully defended their dissertation proposals, and be enrolled full-time in a US graduate degree program.
Application deadline is February 4th.
Josephine de Karman Scholarships
http://www.dekarman.org/
$16,000 scholarship to support either the final year of study for juniors or for Ph.D. candidates with ABD status. DeKarman fellowships are open to students in any discipline, including international students, who are currently enrolled in a university or college located within the United States. Only candidates for the PhD who will defend their dissertation by June 2015 and undergraduates entering their senior year (will receive bachelors degree in June 2015) are eligible for consideration. Postdoctoral and masters degree students are not eligible for consideration. Special consideration will be given to applicants in the Humanities.
Application due January 31st.
Spencer Foundation Dissertation Fellowship
http://www.spencer.org/content.cfm/fellowship-awards
Candidates for the doctoral degree at a graduate school within the United States are eligible.
Looking for external funding opportunities?
External Fellowship Databases and Information Resources
USC Graduate School External Fellowship Resources page
http://www.usc.edu/schools/GraduateSchool/resources.html
USC Visual Studies Research Institute
http://dornsife.usc.edu/visual-studies/external-funding/
USC Office of Academic & International Fellowships
http://www.usc.edu/programs/ugprograms/aif/fellowships.htm
H-Net, resource for fellowships, jobs, conferences, and calls for papers
http://www.h-net.org/announce/group.cgi?type=Funding
USC Center for Excellence in Research, Federal Programs and Fellowships that Provide Support for Graduate Students
https://research.usc.edu/files/2011/05/Fed_Programs-Support-Grad_Stud-6_2012.pdf
Grinnell College, Resources for International Students
http://www.grinnell.edu/files/scholarships_for_international_students_2012.pdf
University of Illinois, Champagne-Urbana, Fellowship Database
https://www.grad.illinois.edu/fellowship/
UCLA Graduate & Postdoctoral Extramural Support (GRAPES) Database
http://www.gdnet.ucla.edu/grpinst.htm
Dissertation Fellowships Wiki
http://academicjobs.wikia.com/wiki/Dissertation_Fellowships_2014-2015
USC Graduate School Pinterest page
http://www.pinterest.com/uscgradschool/
Top 15 Funding Opportunities for Humanists
Follow #USCgetfunded on Twitter and Facebook for tools, resources, and strategies for securing external funding.
Fellowships: They’re For You!
By Adam Feinman
Every graduate program has different standards for how their students pay their way. However, everyone can benefit from investing the time in applying for fellowships. Be they large or small, unheard of or prestigious, acquiring fellowships demonstrates a person’s ability to convince others that they can do valuable research. This is particularly important in academia (where grant-awarding agencies often fund projects with societal impact), but all research fields need people who can communicate about their research.
No matter who you are, what your personal profile looks like, or how much research you have done to date, there are fellowships geared towards you. Many fellowships are designed towards advancing research done by minorities. Some fellowships are looking to encourage certain types of research, such as certain types of literary scholarship or particular medical disorders. Others are “patriotic” in nature, seeking to advance a national interest.
One of the most broadly available fellowships is the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program, abbreviated as NSF GRFP. (How scientists love their abbreviations!) The overall mission of the NSF is to fund scientific research that has societal benefit and broad impact. It is not, however, limited to the so-called “hard-sciences”. Any field that is scientific and non-clinical can apply for this fellowship. So if you’re working with human subjects, you might be out of luck for this one. If you’re studying animal models of human disease you’re also going to be ineligible. But some clinical psychology and bio/medical engineering projects are eligible, as are the humanities aspects of science (e.g., science education, history of science). This fellowship is usually due in November, and requires essays, a research plan, and letters of recommendation.
It might be hard to get prestigious fellowships like this (or the Hertz and NDSEG fellowships) without previous research experience, but the process of applying can help you refine your research proposal and the way you write about it. The NSF GRFP wants your essays to reflect the “Broader Impacts” (i.e., how it affects society) and “Intellectual Merit” (how it advances knowledge), and the former is very important in this fellowship. One of the great things about this process though is that if you don’t get the fellowship, the NSF will give you feedback on how you can shore up your application. In many cases, you can apply for it as a first-year grad student and still re-apply as a second-year student.
Follow the USC Graduate School and #USCgetfunded on Facebook and Twitter for continuing articles and advice on obtaining external fellowships. Get a head-start with this breakdown of the application timeline. Your path to external funding begins now!
Thank you to guest blogger Adam Feinman for synthesizing the wisdom presented at the 2014 Beyond the Ph.D. event last month.
From the Badges series…
Beyond the Ph.D.
By Adam Feinman
On Thursday, March 13, USC’s Postdoc Association held its annual event, “Beyond the Ph.D.”, designed to provide advice and perspective to Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows in all fields who all need to have a real job someday and may not be sure what to do. After all, graduate advisors tend to encourage remaining in academia, being that they love it. I live-tweeted as much as I could under the hashtag #BeyondThePhD. I went to panels for engineers, but I think the advice I heard was very generic.
I’ve been grappling for a long time with the question of what path to take when I graduate. I was hoping to find some clarity by attending this conference, and that was a total fail. Everybody selected to speak at events like this loves what they do and couldn’t imagine themselves being happy in a different area.
I’ll spend more time going into some of the advice and perspectives presented, but if there was one take-away from the conference I think everyone could benefit from, it was:
“Looking for jobs is like throwing a hand grenade; close is good enough!”
That’s right, folks. There is nothing wrong with pursuing your dreams, but there may come a point at which you will need to just get a job. But those who hold a Ph.D. have two things in common: intelligence, and a need to be creative. If your dream job is not available, you can rest assured that you can find a job in which you’ll be able to find happiness and satisfaction.
This was a piece of advice every panel echoed. The above statement came from the industry panel. The academic version of this advice was: “A Ph.D. is a license to think; it doesn’t lock you into a field.”
This tweet got a lot of attention, mostly positive. It seems to resonate. Of course, Twitter forces conciseness, so I got some misinterpretations too…
“Hi. I agree that a institutional grade it’s not a fence, but no one need a grade from anywhere to think.”
I’m willing to forgive here that this person didn’t speak English and that they didn’t have any context. The real point of the quote was the second half. A Ph.D. is merely a credential that shows you know how to initiate a research project, provide and analyze evidence, and draw conclusions. The field you end up working in will be a combination of your expertise, your research vision, and circumstance.
Other good advice:
“RT @USCCareerCenter: PhD transferable skills: probability & statistics, problem solving, & teaching –@EllenLevy at Beyond the PhD Conference”
There are two aspects to research: fundamental understandings and applications. You can make a quadrant out of these, and knowing which you fall in can help you know where to go and sell yourself.
You’re only as sellable as your ability to communicate.
Having a Ph.D. and getting into business is easier than being a businessperson trying to develop an expertise, so we have an advantage.
Success is less dependent on your credentials and more dependent on understanding how your field works.
These statements are really true for all fields. In my own words, I tell people that a degree has no inherent value, it’s only as valuable as what you want to do with it. If you want to just be more educated because that makes you a thinking and/or well-rounded person, that’s fine. If you’re thinking about graduate degrees, it’s true that a graduate degree looks good on your resumé, but it doesn’t buy you a job. You have to tailor your education to your job interests and you still have to show you are hirable.
From the industry/consulting panel (one of whom was the science advisor for Battlestar Galactica! And he said “So say we all!” squeeee!)
Join meet-up groups, great way to network
Current professors joined academia when it was growing, but growth in the job market has plateaued.
Robust results are more important than p-values
Have to be a good people person
My favorite piece of advice from this panel (aside from the above one):
“If you and your SO have different fields… work in Los Angeles! We have everything here!”
In addition to perspectives on academia, the professors had good interview advice:
How many jobs allow you to do whatever you want for seven years as long as you can raise funding for it?
Your research statement is who you are. you can emphasize elements of it depending on what you’re applying for, but you shouldn’t be making dramatic changes to it.
Use the cover letter of your application explain how you fit into the department and what you can add that they are lacking.
Unlike a degree, postdoctoral (PD) fellowships have inherent value. Don’t use a PD as a placeholder. Do a PD and/or choose where to do them based on the skill set you want to develop. Also, be aware of your field’s standards on PDs. (For example, if you’re an engineer, don’t do more than one!)
PD is a time when you have a lot of freedom to create and expand your CV without the tenure clock ticking. It also allows you to learn the in-and-outs of academic lab management without the responsibility. Going straight from grad school to faculty could be a rude awakening.
Apply to anything that moves; you don’t want your first interview to be at the place you really want to be at.
A person who doesn’t doubt their ability to be an academic is probably delusional. The key is to overcome that doubt and prove yourself. Over and over.
Make sure job talks are really well rehearsed. Rehearse it in front of people who can nail you on the fine points, but also in front of people not conversant in your field so you can know which points need to be explained more fully as you tell your story.
In the government careers panel:
AAAS and the National Academy of Sciences all have policy fellowships. (The former president of the Postdoc Assn. spoke on this panel, she is now an AAAS Fellow in DC.) Many government agencies have their own fellowships.
Academic societies (e.g., Society for Neuroscience, The Endocrine Society, etc.) have two groups of employees: policy and education/outreach. Policy workers are the people who advise Congress on any decisions relevant to their field. Education employees research relevant topics and educate practitioners (e.g., neuroscientists, endocrinologists, etc).
The title of the job does not define the job, you have to do your homework. The same title in different offices is a totally different job.
These jobs are a good mesh between writing, research, and people skills.
Nobody really answered my question about what to do with my life after graduate school. If anything, my current plan has been corroborated: apply hard for academic jobs, but be prepared to look elsewhere sooner than later. I enjoy the flexibility that academia affords; if I’m going to look elsewhere, I’m likely going to need to create a career path that will not merely be creative, but also flexible.
USC Doctoral Student Fuses Physics and English to Publish a Book of Poetry
By Lauren Evashenk
Many Ph.D. students find the dissertation writing process taxing enough to inspire a break after graduation, but Elizabeth Cantwell hasn’t broken her stride; she’s already on her way to turning hers into a book.
A USC Provost Fellow and Ph.D. candidate in the USC Dornsife English Literature & Creative Writing program, Cantwell will publish her first book of poetry, Nights I Let the Tiger Get You, with Black Lawrence Press in April 2014, just in time for Commencement.
Cantwell credits USC for helping to develop her talents and career. “This is a unique program. It’s not typical for a doctoral degree to combine the traditional study of literature with a creative component,” Cantwell said.
The unique style of scholarship that brought Cantwell to USC is also what sets her apart; the critical analysis portion of her coursework led her to find inspiration for her own writing in unexpected places.
“My dissertation focuses on Renaissance literature and the idea of ‘the infinite.’ The telescope and microscope were invented during the early modern period, and these groundbreaking developments enabled people to look both out and in, forcing them to actually deal with infinity’s implications.” Cantwell said.
Encouraged by the interdisciplinary links she found in Renaissance works, Cantwell began looking to the sciences for her own inspiration. She found the interdisciplinary work so compelling that the study of physics became a central piece of her dissertation; one of her dissertation committee members is even a faculty member in the USC Physics and Astronomy Department.
Though physics and poetry seem like an unlikely pair, Cantwell views poetry as a powerful tool for interdisciplinary learning. Inspired by her brother’s troubles in school, Cantwell taught high school after graduating from Yale University, and plans to return to teaching after completing her doctoral studies to inspire the next generation of thinkers and creators. She hopes that writing creatively about scientific topics will help students to better understand the subjects, enjoy learning, and feel accomplished for having completed a creative project.
Cantwell plans to continue her growing writing career after she returns to teaching. In addition to her forthcoming book, Cantwell recently won the Chapbook Contest with Grey Book Press, and the house will publish her short collection, Premonitions, this year. Cantwell was also a finalist for the 2012 Hudson Prize, and has published poems in a variety of journals, including PANK, The Los Angeles Review, Anti-, La Petite Zine, and the Indiana Review.
Read an excerpt of Nights I Let the Tiger Get You in Tinge Magazine.