Applying to External Fellowships, etc with PhD Application

[MrArl]

Hello all,

I thought I would throw this out to the group, because I haven't really found a good answer on my own. I've been talking to several friends who have recently (and successfully) completed PhD applications. While they all are in the social sciences (PoliSci, Econ) or hard sciences (Chemistry, Physics) rather than History, one of the recommendations they had was to make sure I apply for external fellowships simultaneously as I apply for PhD programs. Essentially, applying for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and at least one or two other awards, despite the very small chance of success (something less than 5% for NSF), is a necessary box to check to show your "seriousness" as an applicant.

As I noted, I haven't seen anything that indicates this is the case for History, but I thought I would ask. Should a "serious" History PhD applicant be simultaneously applying for fellowships? If so, any suggestions of which to pursue, or a place to find a list of them?

Thanks for your help, and please forgive my ignorance of the process!

[remenis]

I don't know that you have to be applying for outside fellowships - but it probably wouldn't hurt to apply to a few if you think you might qualify for one. Some, like the Liebmann Fellowships are for 3 years of funding for graduate study in a wide variety of fields in anywhere within the US - the catch is that you have to have demonstrated need of financial aid. It could be helpful to apply to these kinds of fellowships in case you're only accepted to programs with little funding, or to the types of programs which don't fund at all the first year.

Edited October 1, 2011 by remenis

[SecondBlackPrez]

Thanks for this thread. I didn't know about Liebmann until now. Do you know of any more fellowships?

[remenis]

the Javits Fellowships are another good one - for graduate study in the arts, humanities and social sciences in the US, and only for applicants who have not yet completed their first year of study.

[StrangeLight]

yes, there are some external fellowships you are eligible for as someone just entering a PhD program, like the liebmann and the javits. since everyone applying for them is usually (or always?) also about to enter a program, you actually have a fairly even shot of getting funded. there are other fellowships (national endowment for the humanities, mellon, lawler, social sciences research council) that are specifically for either dissertation research or dissertation writing years, so you obviously won't apply for those.

i'd suggest checking "the bank" forum on this site to see what fellowships are listed there (they usually get their own threads so we can all commiserate while we apply) to get a first sense of what to look for. you should also see whether you qualify for a fulbright.

[borderlands]

Just FYI the Jacob K. Javits fellowship was cut this year for 2012-2013 academic year. Ford Predoctoral Fellowship might be an option for some applicants. Also, even if the programs you are applying to offer full funding it is important that you apply for grants, fellowships etc. In the long run these help distinguish competitive applicants to other programs. Last thought, one might be able to negotiate or even (depending on the situation) combine fellowship funding along with program funding for a higher package.