Fellowship vs RA

[axz]

I'm just starting my second year of a PhD program and looking into some fellowships like NDSEG. I understand one of the benefits of a fellowship is that you have a little more freedom to research what you want. However, I was in contact with my adviser the summer before I started, and basically hit the ground running on a project last year. So at this point I've already read a lot of articles on the subject, already have a year's worth of samples and data, and I have presentation of some of my preliminary results at a conference next month. Also, I like the project, so at this point I wouldn't really want to significantly change my project. Given that, and the fact that my RA covers full tuition, fees, and health insurance, is there any benefit to an external fellowship, other than higher pay, that I'm missing?

[eesj]

Your advisor would probably suggest you take the Fellowship since he/she does not need to pay for you out of his own funding. Fellowships like NDSEG are also prestigious awards and help with receiving future funding.

You can also continue working your current project if you receive the fellowship.

[Eigen]

Prestige and higher pay.

[lewin]

Also, I like the project, so at this point I wouldn't really want to significantly change my project.

Check with your advisor about social norms here, but (1) you could just submit whatever you're already working on and (2) most fellowships never follow up to see whether you actually conducted the research. It's not like a research grant--which is for a specific project--but rather an investment in you as a young researcher. So propose whatever gets you funded, and try to work on something that's still defensibly within that topic.

[guttata]

Check with your advisor about social norms here, but (1) you could just submit whatever you're already working on and (2) most fellowships never follow up to see whether you actually conducted the research. It's not like a research grant--which is for a specific project--but rather an investment in you as a young researcher. So propose whatever gets you funded, and try to work on something that's still defensibly within that topic.

The basic idea is right, but I'm not comfortable with how you worded it. The idea of the GRFP is that they "Fund the researcher, not the research." You're trying to show that you can think critically and that your career will be a good scientific investment. So it's less "oh, they never follow up" and more you've impressed them and they are satisfied you'll produce.

[lewin]

Yeah, sorry I worded that poorly. Spot on.

With my fellowship (from the Canadian government) I do a yearly report but I get the impression that unless I go really far afield from their funding mandate they don't care. For example, I have a social sciences grant but report that I am analyzing genes in a bio lab. That said, I don't know anything about the American fellowships.

Edited September 18, 2012 by lewin00