International Fellowship Decision

[sishu7]

I cross-posted this on 'Decisions', so apologies to anyone seeing this twice.

 

I lurked on the Fulbright thread, but this is my first post--I am having a difficult time deciding between international fellowships, and I thought you all might have experience/knowledge/opinions that could help me out! These are my options:

 

Erasmus Mundus Crossways in Cultural Narratives (http://www.munduscro...ys.eu/index.asp). This is a two-year literature & culture Master's program split (in my case) between Italy, Spain, and France. It requires coursework and a thesis. My current MPhil is in European Literature and Culture, so it might be a bit redundant, qualifications-wise. It also has the most generous scholarship of my options--I would not need to supplement it at all out of pocket.

 

Fulbright in Germany. I'd be watching theatre and opera, interviewing people, and blogging about it, for one year. I'd be based in Munich, so I might need to supplement the stipend out of pocket, as it's not a ton.

 

DAAD in Germany. Same project as above. No financial details received yet.

 

The benefit of a two-year program is that I get a year of not thinking about what's next; the downside is it's another year of not actually starting a career.

 

Also worth considering is that I'm currently writing my Cambridge MPhil thesis and may be a bit burned out by the end, so perhaps a year of opera-going and more casual blogging would be nice. Of course, that year is more expensive than the Erasmus Mundus and doesn't earn me another degree.

 

There are reserve lists for all three awards, so whichever two I turn down will go to deserving applicants. Therefore, that's not really a consideration.

 

The general consensus based on other threads here seems to be that DAAD and Fulbright are fairly equal financially and that, all things considered, Fulbright is probably a better option. But I'd love opinions on the Germany vs. Erasmus Mundus question. I'd be happy to clarify anything that's unclear; just ask.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Neurona]

Make a pro and con list.  In the end, only you can decide!

[as72]

Not knowing anything about your first option I can really only comment from the perspective of someone who did a research Fulbright. I think some things to consider would be what kind of future career you're considering and the relative prestige of the Fulbright vs. the Erasmus program. Networking opportunities and benefits would be another thing to consider. Personally, (I'm in anthropology) the value of having had a year of independent, Fulbright funded research is far more than the value of another degree. I had opportunities to network with important people within my Fulbright country as well as being part of an extensive alumni network after finishing. Receiving funding for your own research concept goes a long way towards building the credibility you need if you want to have a career in academia and will need future grants for your work. Not to mention the invaluable experience of living and conducting research in my country of choice which really increased my fieldwork and language skills, which made me more competitive for other opportunities. Hope that adds something else to think about maybe. Best of luck.