Graduate School & Fellowship Application Resources: Home

Michael Kiparsky was a previous National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellow in the Energy Resources Group (ERG) at the University of California at Berkley. In this brief article, Michael offers some advise on preparing your graduate fellowship application. He speaks about narrowing your research focus, rooting your research question in previous research, knowing your audience, and writing an application that supports you as a scientist. He also speaks to the importance of editing multiple drafts and learning from the application process itself.

Cynthia Verba outlines the process for applying for a graduate NSF grant. She geared her tips more toward the humanities and social sciences; however, her advice is very relevant to STEM graduate students. She also provides some helpful templates for writing and some sample essays.

Look at the Tips for Getting Started sections for other websites and resources on writing fellowship applications.

Philip Guo wrote this blog post in 2006. In it, Philip provides insight from past graduate student recipients of NSF, National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship (NDSEG), and The Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellowship (The Hertz). This resource was literally written by other graduate students to help you succeed.

The Institute for Broadening Participation (IBP) provides a quick two page handout packed with information on enhancing fellowship applications. It is tailored to the NSF GRFP.

Check out all the resources provide in the IBP Resource Toolbox. There is information on applying for graduate school and writing personal statements (e.g. statements of purpose). The following handouts are highlighted on this guide: "Writing strong essays & personal statements" and "Enhancing your fellowship application."

Ernesto Chávez, Miroslava Cháves-Gracia, and Luis Alvarez wrote this guide to preparing a successful fellowship or grant application specifically for students of color. This guide walks you through the process of preparing to apply for fellowships or grants from the initial stages of thinking about where to apply to the point of pressing the submit button. They also give advice on writing about your identities and lived experiences in personal statements. It is a short two page read with great information.

The IBP provides a short 3 page handout on crafting strong essays and personal statements. It has some great writing prompts and suggestions of campus resources to use during your writing process.

A quick read on things to consider when applying for a Ph.D program. Take a look. There are some tips about making your application stand out and your research statement shine.

This is a blog post by Dr. Liza Talusan. Dr. Talusan's work centers around empowering individuals to creating more inclusive organizations, environments, communities, and teams. Check out her post for some tips on navigating graduate school as a student of color.