University-wide internal fellowships--how much do they matter?

[mc356]

Hi everyone! Just hoping to get some insight on university-wide/internal fellowships and how much they matter...

So I'm deciding between 2 very similar UC schools, and one has given me an internal/university-wide fellowship which would give me a stipend to replace a TA salary and is a bit more money than a TA salary, and the other one hasn't but offers a full funding package anyhow. 

During visit day, I asked some faculty members at the school that hasn't offered me a fellowship in what ways having a fellowship matters, and they all more or less said that these internal fellowships really don't matter and don't mean anything on a CV or for other funding applications. But I feel like that's wrong? I think that while the money is maybe not a huge difference it's still big enough to matter a lot, and it is a good thing to have been nominated and awarded a competitive fellowship, right?! Like, I know these internal ones aren't of the same calibre as prestigious external fellowships but it must still count for something in the long run in addition to all the short term benefits... 

I don't know, maybe they're right but it feels wrong so just looking for some insight...

 

 

[pascal_barbots_wager]

It varies. At some schools, and for some internal fellowship, the process is competitive and only one or a few students get the fellowship. These fellowships usually have endowed names ("The Alice Bob Fellowship"), and getting one is a nice honor. At other schools everybody (or close to everybody) gets a fellowship, in which case getting one is nice but doesn't mean much. It's hard to tell which is which from the outside.

Edited April 7, 2017 by pascal_barbots_wager

[TakeruK]

These internal fellowships don't matter beyond your school. At my school, they don't even tell us the name, it's just money that come from a source meant for this. The reason they don't matter is because even if it's a University-wide competition, anyone evaluating your CV later on will not know what the competition was like. Also, at some places, these are more needs-based than merit-based (i.e. the best students don't get them because they already have other fellowships). So it is very difficult for an outside entity to judge the value of such a fellowship.

In addition, these fellowships are generally for the first couple of years and the next time you're seriously applying for something will be post-graduation jobs. What you did in the first couple of years of grad school won't matter as much as the honours and achievements you have closer to graduation. 

So, I would say that the fellowship only matters for its actual value. If it provides a better quality of life for you, then you should weigh that school more heavily. But it's not helpful for prestige or anything like that.

**There are some exceptions though: if it's a really big fellowship with a big fancy name and funds you for like 5-6 years and would be recognizable beyond your school, then sure that's great. 

[rising_star]

22 hours ago, TakeruK said:

In addition, these fellowships are generally for the first couple of years and the next time you're seriously applying for something will be post-graduation jobs. What you did in the first couple of years of grad school won't matter as much as the honours and achievements you have closer to graduation. 

This might be field-specific. In my field, I was applying for funding on a regular basis throughout my PhD to support my fieldwork and research in the summers and, ultimately, for an entire year. I also applied for writing fellowships which would allow me to have the time to write without having to work for someone as a TA or RA. So I wouldn't make the blanket statement that the next time people seriously apply for something is after the PhD. I couldn't have completed my research without external funding during the degree.

[ThousandsHardships]

6 minutes ago, rising_star said:

This might be field-specific. In my field, I was applying for funding on a regular basis throughout my PhD to support my fieldwork and research in the summers and, ultimately, for an entire year. I also applied for writing fellowships which would allow me to have the time to write without having to work for someone as a TA or RA. So I wouldn't make the blanket statement that the next time people seriously apply for something is after the PhD. I couldn't have completed my research without external funding during the degree.

Wow...to me, applying for external funding sounds way more tedious than working as a TA or RA.... 

Edited April 8, 2017 by ThousandsHardships

[rising_star]

3 minutes ago, ThousandsHardships said:

Wow...to me, applying for external funding sounds way more tedious than working as a TA or RA.... 

That's a matter of perspective I guess. Having the external funding meant getting to focus solely on my research and writing my dissertation, without the distraction of grading papers, preparing lectures, reading for class, etc. Applying for dissertation writing fellowships was also great practice for the academic job market because there are lots of similarities between the two applications.

[ThousandsHardships]

2 minutes ago, rising_star said:

That's a matter of perspective I guess. Having the external funding meant getting to focus solely on my research and writing my dissertation, without the distraction of grading papers, preparing lectures, reading for class, etc. Applying for dissertation writing fellowships was also great practice for the academic job market because there are lots of similarities between the two applications.

Yes I suppose. I understand that it's good practice for applying to academic jobs. Personally, I can't imagine giving up a teaching position for anything else. It keeps me grounded in times of distress, and I'm definitely a whole lot happier and more efficient with it in my life. I came out of a previous PhD program that I really did not enjoy, and it was partly my teaching that allowed to emerge with a master's degree instead of nothing.

[rising_star]

At some point, there are diminishing returns on teaching. YMMV, obviously. For me, the funding (which is to say that I earned significantly more on fellowship than I did as a TA/RA) was crucial because it allowed me the freedom needed to tie up loose ends for my research. I enjoy teaching (and work in a teaching-focused institution now) but I also knew that in order to write the best possible dissertation and publish it, I needed to not be teaching new preps while trying to finish up. What worked for me may not be what works for you. 

Anyway, to get back to the OP's question, depending on the field and what freedoms the internal fellowship gives you, they may be worth having and listing on your CV. Especially early in your career, it's helpful to show that you have some ability to get funded by others. More money and the chance to focus on getting your research up and running is crucial when you're starting a PhD program.

[TakeruK]

3 hours ago, rising_star said:

This might be field-specific. In my field, I was applying for funding on a regular basis throughout my PhD to support my fieldwork and research in the summers and, ultimately, for an entire year. I also applied for writing fellowships which would allow me to have the time to write without having to work for someone as a TA or RA. So I wouldn't make the blanket statement that the next time people seriously apply for something is after the PhD. I couldn't have completed my research without external funding during the degree.

That's a fair point. Sorry for the oversight! In my field, RA-ships are always for work towards your dissertation, so if you're in, then you will be funded to finish your degree (but having outside funding could help you have more freedom on what you do).