Grants & Fellowships

What is a fellowship?

Fellowships, scholarships, and grants provide money and other forms of support for study, research, special employment experiences, and special projects. Some funding programs support only certain subject areas, or schools, or geographic areas. Sponsors may also stipulate such eligibility criteria as ethnicity, age, or gender. Consult the Graduate Fellowships Office website. Route 47 and published materials in the CDO are also excellent starting places.

How do I research and apply for fellowships?

Start Early - Fellowships are highly competitive. Talent and accomplishments are necessary ingredients for success, but the effort devoted to completing a first-rate fellowship application often makes the difference for success. It is not too early to begin familiarizing yourself with graduate fellowships in your first year. The first semester of the senior year, however, is probably too late to begin preparing for highly competitive fellowships like the Rhodes or Downing.

Note Overlapping Opportunities - Many students apply for more than one fellowship, and use essentially the same personal statement and research proposal for each one. Once you have put the work into getting your personal goals and educational/research objectives on paper, make sure that you apply to all the programs that are a match for your interests.

Consult The Experts - Be sure to let the advisors know of your interest in the fellowship, and direct specific questions to them. Of course, your academic advisor and professors can also be sources of advice and ideas.

Keep looking - There are many fellowships which are of interest to more specialized audiences. For example, language study in different countries, study at specific institutions. Information on other fellowships is made available by individual departments at Pomona, as well as by graduate institutions to which you may be applying. The CDO resource library also has books and hundreds of file listings in many categories. Please search Section 40 of the Career Access Resource Library to further explore fellowship listings and information.