Greetings from the Office of External Fellowships (OEF)! We hope that your fall semester is going well so far!
We are inspired by the students and young people who are driving forces for change across Chicagoland, the US, and the world. If you too want to drive change and/or are thinking about learning and exploring beyond UIC and Chicago, you should consider how fellowship opportunities like these might be a good fit to help you do that.
OEF is here to guide you all the way through the process, so please reach out! And please contact us for advice sooner rather than later, because we're here to help you put together the strongest application you possibly can.
Check out these opportunities:
1. The Churchill Scholarship
The Churchill Scholarship funds one year of graduate study at the University of Cambridge for students in STEM fields. Students may pursue research-only degrees or a combination of taught courses and research; click here to see eligible programs of study. To be eligible, you must be in your final year of undergraduate study during fall 2020, or have graduated with your bachelor's degree from UIC within the past 12 months; you must also be a US citizen.
Contact OEF as soon as possible to declare your interest in receiving UIC's nomination for the Churchill, because the campus deadline for complete and final materials is October 1. Interested candidates will need to hurry, because it takes time and effort to identify a prospective research mentor at Cambridge. See the Churchill website for more information, including access to the application.
2. The Goldwater Scholarship (STEM)
The Goldwater Scholarship application for 2021 is open now! The Goldwater Scholarship was created to honor the US's top young scientists and encourage outstanding sophomores and juniors to pursue research careers in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering. The award grants up to $7,500 annually for college tuition, fees, books, etc.
Competitive candidates will already have at least one significant research experience at the time of application and have a GPA that's strong enough to be admitted to doctoral programs in their scientific field. To be eligible, a student must: be a full-time matriculated sophomore or junior during the 2020-21 academic year; be majoring in a STEM field and intending to pursue a research career in a STEM field; and be a US citizen or permanent resident. Note: Their focus on a research career means that students planning to go into clinical medical practice are not eligible unless they are on the MD/Ph.D. track and will emphasize research over clinical practice.
To apply for the Goldwater, you must be nominated by UIC; it is not possible to apply directly. To gain access to the full application, students must first submit a pre-application on the Goldwater website, so anyone who is interested should submit the pre-application as soon as possible. UIC has a campus deadline of November 16 for the full, complete application - this includes all 3 required letters of recommendation. UIC's decisions on who we nominate (limited by Goldwater's rules) will be made based on the materials submitted for the campus deadline of Nov. 16. After our nominees are chosen, the Director of External Fellowships will work with them extensively to revise and polish their applications before the final nomination deadline of January 29, 2021.
Students typically work through several drafts with Dr. Germain, before and after the campus deadline. Start now! UIC's campus deadline is coming up sooner than you think, and the advice OEF provides will help you. A lot.
UIC has had three Goldwater Scholars in the last two years. Will it be you this year?
You can learn more about the Goldwater Scholarship and access the pre-application (and later the full application) at their website here: https://goldwater.scholarsapply.org/
3. The Truman Scholarship
The Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation provides up to $30,000 in funding to current juniors who plan to pursue a graduate degree and have a career in a public service field. The Truman Scholarship application for 2021 is open! And they are looking for students who are working to fix things that are broken in the world.
Competitive applicants will have a record of leadership and a commitment to public service. If you have participated extensively in two or more of the following activities:
- student government and/or other campus-based activities;
- community service;
- government internships, advocacy or interest groups, or nonpartisan political activities;
- partisan political organizations
then you may be a good Truman Scholarship candidate, particularly if you have taken leadership roles in those activities.
To apply for the Truman, you must be nominated by UIC; it is not possible to apply by yourself. UIC has a campus deadline of November 16. On that date, you must submit a complete application, including all 3 letters of recommendation. Strong applicants will then be interviewed by a faculty committee; decisions on who we nominate will be made based on the submitted materials plus the interview. After our nominees are selected, OEF will work with them extensively to revise and polish their applications before the national deadline of February 2, 2021.
Students typically work through several drafts with Dr. Germain, before and after the campus deadline. Start now! The campus deadline is coming up faster than you expect, and OEF will help you with important first steps to this application.
Learn more about what makes a good Truman Scholar candidate here, and everything you need to know about this year's competition here.
4. The Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans
Each year, the Soros Fellowship supports 30 "New Americans," i.e. immigrants or the children of immigrants, who are pursuing or plan to pursue graduate or professional school in the United States. The 2021 application, which is for funding in the 2021-2022 academic year, is now open! Deadline October 29!
Students may apply at the same time they are applying to graduate/professional school, or as first-year graduate school students. The Fellowship provides up to a total of $90,000 over two years in stipend and tuition support.
Competitive candidates will:
- demonstrate creativity, originality, and initiative;
- show commitment to and capacity for sustained effort in pursuit of your accomplishments;
- demonstrate a commitment to the values expressed in the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
There is much helpful information, including eligibility requirements and access to the online application itself, on their website: https://www.pdsoros.org/apply
While UIC nomination is not required for the Soros, interested students are encouraged to seek advice and guidance from OEF due to the high level of competition involved. If you seek feedback on your essays, please do so by early October, well in advance of the Oct. 29 deadline.
5. The Critical Language Scholarship
The Critical Language Scholarship provides full funding for intensive overseas summer language institutes in 15 critical foreign languages. All costs are met, including travel, room, and board. The program includes intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences designed to promote rapid language gains.
Applications for Summer 2021 are open now! The deadline is November 17 at 7pm central time!
The CLS Program offers instruction in the following languages: Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Swahili, Turkish, and Urdu. (Some languages have beginner level coursework, and others expect some knowledge going in; see the website for more details.)
There is much helpful information, including eligibility requirements and access to the online application itself, on their website: https://clscholarship.org/
While UIC nomination is not required for the Critical Language Scholarship, interested undergraduate students are encouraged to seek advice and guidance from OEF, because we will help you make your application stronger. If you seek feedback on your essays, please do so well in advance of the deadline. (Graduate students may seek advice from the Fellowships Coordinator in the Graduate College.)
6. International Affairs and International Development: Multiple Opportunities
The Rangel International Affairs Graduate Fellowship application for 2021 is open, with a deadline on October 14. The Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship application is open too, and the Pickering deadline is October 21. Both of these fellowships are for young people interested in careers in international affairs. They each provide up to $84,000 in benefits over a two-year graduate program in international affairs; this includes two summer internships and professional development activities, all to prepare you for a career in the US Foreign Service. Both fellowships also encourage the application of members of minority groups historically underrepresented in the Foreign Service, women, and those with financial need.
OEF encourages UIC seniors and alumni who want to go into diplomacy and foreign affairs to apply to both of these wonderful opportunities -- and so do the programs themselves. They are similar in content and benefits, but they have distinct selection processes and will select different fellows. Why not double your chances of receiving this funding and professional support?
More info and application access here: Rangel Fellowship and here: Pickering Fellowship
Payne International Development Fellowship: This opportunity is similar to the two above, although this one prepares fellows for careers in USAID specifically. For seniors or alumni who are currently seeking admission to graduate school in fall 2021 in an area of study related to international development and international affairs, the Payne Fellowship provides up to $96,000 in benefits over a two-year program for tuition and other graduate school costs, plus two summer internships and professional development activities. The aim of the Payne Fellowship is to attract and prepare outstanding individuals for careers as USAID Foreign Service Officers. Deadline: November 1. More info at https://www.paynefellows.org/
And More to Come!
Check out these great opportunities opening up soon:
- James C. Gaither/Carnegie Junior Fellows: Provides a paid research fellowship at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC. Applications distributed through OEF in October; UIC nomination required, so contact OEF.
- DAAD-RISE: Provides a paid summer research internship in science and engineering in Germany. Opens Nov. 1, deadline Dec. 15.
- Udall Scholarship: Awards $7,000 to college sophomores and juniors for leadership, public service, and commitment to issues related to Native American nations or to the environment. Nomination required, so contact OEF.
Contact OEF for more information! https://oef.uic.edu/
