If you are thinking about putting together an application for a STEM Master’s or PhD program this Fall, you should not miss the opportunity to apply for large grants that will support your research and educational goals.
Many of my students at the UCLA Scholarship Resource Center have worked with me throughout their undergraduate degrees, and when senior year comes around, we start discussing graduate school. Regardless of their confidence about acceptance, I always urge my students to include as many funding-related applications as a part of their overall strategy for applying to graduate school. If these students aren’t awarded a grant in their first round of applications, then they will be even more prepared to put together stronger materials during their first semester of graduate school, which is a tough time to add new processes and responsibilities to an already intense workload.
Several non-university organizations offer opportunities to students who have yet to apply for graduate school to start applying for comprehensive funding packages. For example, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation (Hertz) are national and private research and funding entities that exist outside of any one United States university system. Both of these organizations offer students who have yet to be admitted to their desired programs a chance to compete for substantial funding that has the potential to cover 3-5 years of the total cost of attendance to graduate school.
Here’s a quick summary of the basic information for each of these awards:
The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation
The Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellowship
Deadlines
Application opens: August 2019
Application closes: October 2019
Award amount
- Full tuition equivalent for up to 5 years
- $34,000 per academic year stipend for the student
- Additional stipend if coordinated with other major fellowships, like NSF
- $5,000 annual dependent childcare stipend
Basic eligibility requirements for the 2019 application cycle
Candidates are:
- Either applying to a PhD program for Fall 2020, or will enroll in the first year of a program in Fall 2019
- American citizens or permanent residents
- Planning to attend one of the currently participating universities
- Willing to sign the Hertz Fellowship Moral Commitment to make their “skills available to the United States in times of national emergency”
Online application availability
Hertz applications are submitted electronically through the application system called Embark, which reopens in mid-August 2019 with applications for grants to be awarded during the 2020-21 academic year.
National Science Foundation
Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
Deadlines
Application opens: August 2019
Application closes: October 2019
Award amount
- 3 years of annual support, totaling $138,000
- $34,000 annual stipend for the student
- $12,000 annual educational allowance to the institution
Basic eligibility requirements for the 2019 application cycle
Candidates are:
- Either applying to a United States MA or PhD program for Fall 2020, or will be enrolled in the first or second year of a program in Fall 2019
Online application availability
Applications for NSF grants must be submitted electronically through the application system called Fastlane, which reopens in mid-July or early-August 2019 with applications for grants to be awarded during the 2020-21 academic year.
Tips for preparing your Hertz and NSF applications
Don’t simply copy your grad school application essays
It is important to remember that the materials you produce for grant applications to organizations like Hertz and NSF should not be carbon copies of those that you generate for graduate school admissions.
Though much of the information that you share in grant applications is identical to what you are required to include in your graduate school applications, the framing of that information may be radically different depending on your audience. This is because the overarching goals of research universities, which are to produce research, educate research professors or professionals, and generate critical dialogues within an expert community, are often subtly distinct from those of national or private organizations.
In order to address different audiences and organizational goals or missions, you do not have to change your project entirely, or superficially shape it to match- up perfectly with your audience. Rather, as you write the documents related to the grant application, you will want to place stronger emphasis on the aspects of both your project and your person that speak to the stated mission of the organization or the fellowship program itself.
This is where strong argumentation and persuasive writing techniques will contribute greatly to your ability to express the value of your work to non-expert audiences in your application materials, and to describe the greater impacts that your work can have on society.
Align your writing with the organization’s mission
Before you start writing, however, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the stated missions of these organizations and the individual programs to which you will apply.
Hertz’s mission
The Hertz foundation expresses an interest in supporting future innovators and leaders who will serve in industry, government, and academia. Given the desire for diverse career outcomes of Hertz fellows, the foundation offers unique financial support for the nation’s most remarkable students to pursue PhDs in applied physical and biological sciences, mathematics, and engineering. As shown by the detailed list of character traits displayed on the Hertz Foundation eligibility page, “remarkable students” are people who have certain ethical and moral values, can work in collaboration with others, display calm temperament and character, and bring intelligence and creativity to various aspects of their lives.
Hertz is looking for leaders who may or may not wish to stay in academia. If you have ever had an interest in policy, government, or legal regulation that surrounds the sciences, it would be wise to mention that interest in your application materials. Furthermore, given the variety of potential employers and audiences that may benefit from your applied research, it is extremely important for you to show the committee that you are capable of explaining the intricacy and value of your work to non-experts.
NSF’s mission
Though the NSF has a more university and research-oriented set of goals, it also requires that applicants be capable of explaining the value of their work to non-specialists. NSF clearly articulates its overarching mission as one that wishes to use science to advance human health, prosperity, and welfare, and to secure national defense. The stated purpose of the Graduate Research Fellows Program is to broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in these STEM fields, and to support promising individuals early on in their research careers.
In the presentation made available and updated by the NSF this year, the organization suggests that applicants clearly articulate the candidate’s potential to discover new knowledge, the impact of the proposed research on society, and what is usually the most difficult to articulate, the unique impact that the candidate will have on society as an individual person. The NSF also requests that applicants avoid jargon, communicate clearly for non-specialists, and make their individual contributions as clear as possible.
Throughout my past work with STEM students at UCLA, I have found that these last three requests are the most difficult for scientists to convey in research and personal statements. But being able to articulate your own impact, and clearly describe the value of your research to non-specialists is an art that is much more related to writing than it is to science.
Focus on your impact, in non-jargon terms
As you write materials for both Hertz and NSF, the main focus of your arguments should be to illuminate or emphasize the broad impacts of your work to a non-expert audience. Often, that means it is necessary to cut down significantly on the exact details or day-to-day of the scientific practice itself. My rule of thumb: only share the facts, details, and complexities that help you explain why the research matters in terms of broad social impacts.
You will also have to sit down and reflect about yourself as an individual. How do your experiences inside, and hopefully outside, or the lab reveal your capacity to lead? When I start to ask STEM students to talk about themselves, I have learned wonderful things. One student revealed himself to be an award-winning ballroom dancer, another was a dedicated community college tutor for women in STEM, and several have acted as advocates for transfer students to get hands-on research experiences on large campuses like UCLA. It is mind blowing to me that applicants forget to share these details, but it happens all the time.
Both NSF and Hertz clearly state that they wish to know about experiences, inside and outside of science, that clearly contribute to a future career that values leadership, character, vision, and clarity. While you work on these materials, I strongly suggest that you take a step back from the science and make time for you, the person, to shine through.
Do you need help measuring your impact, reflecting in your individual experience, and presenting it all in a clear and compelling fashion to the scholarship boards? Check out our Advising Services and work one-on-one with an expert advisor who will guide you on your quest to scholarship and graduate success.
Related Resources:
• 5 Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Grad School Statement of Purpose, a free guide
• How to Perform an Effective Scholarship Search
• The Ford Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellowship Application Essay Tips