Fellowship

President Obama Announces the Washington Fellowship says The WhiteHouse...
Announcement of the Principal Ambassador Fellowship says U.S. Dept of Education...What is Fellowship ?

In academic context, the term “fellow” is frequently used for a person who is an integral part for an elite group of learned people who are awarded the status also known as FELLOWSHIPS to work together as peers in the quest of knowledge, practice or research. Selection for fellowship means exclusion or cut back in the tuition fees, school fees and chances of earning stipend.

Traditionally FELLOWSHIP had been awarded for graduate and post graduate studies/ schools. However, an increasing trend has been observed for recent college graduates for arts, education and other such non profit fields.

• These opportunities can last from months to several years.
• Professional and specialized development of an individual.
• Fellowships are generally funded by either specific associations or organizations looking forward to enhance leadership.

These programs are designed to support a range of activities:

• Graduation or higher education in a specific field.
• Research work.
• Opportunity to explore new horizons in a particular field of work.

Benefits of fellowship:

• Expectation from the fellow is to take up huge responsibilities quickly which imparts significant work experience as well.
• It happens to be a feature of the fellowship program. Varied fellowship programs give vast experience to fellows; whereas the entry level professionals are with strained from these advantages.
• One of the attractive financial aids available to students; as they are not supposed to be paid back and are purely academic excellence based.

Eligibility for fellowships:

Eligibility requirements may vary with the program. Most programs look forward to:

• Personal integrity, motivation and self-direction.
• In-depth know-how of the field of expertise, an individual is working for.
• Leadership and potential leadership.

Training and Professional Development

Widely known for their commitment to the professional development of an individual, they often include rigorous trainings. Key fundamentals of this training include:

• Academic seminars to enhance frameworks and theory applications.
• Profound research and analytics for a particular field, activity, process or issue.
• In- depth curriculum related to skill developments such as Public Speaking, Media Relation, Leadership and Specialization tools.

Suggestions for fellowships:

• Write an original and compelling essay, designed for that particular fellowship. Lack of time should not create a situation where one single essay is been tweaked to fit requirements. Essay is just the right thing to do in order to portray the commitment with your strengths and qualities for that particular field.
• Request and Recommendation letters from professors or universities which are trusted sources will profoundly help you reflect your accomplishments as an aspiring student. Positive light overall and rave reviews from your professor might certainly help you attain that FELLOWSHIP.
• Instructions about eligibility criteria, Dos and DONTs are to be read thoroughly to see whether you meet each and every criterion required for that particular program.
• Generally fellowships are not need based and so student’s merits are considered by the selection committee. High GPA, usually three and above would help you maximize your chance to get the particular fellowship.
• Participating in a research project at the university creates a positive impression on members of the selection committee. Research experience backed up with GPA could work as a prominent factor basis which fellowships are awarded.
• Initiating a project of your own will boost up your educational experience and background, creating more credibility.
• Creating and designing a perfect application package while applying for any such program plays an equally important role. Thinking from the perspective of a selection committee member would also be of great help.
• Asking for a nomination from your university would help your application to be treated stand alone from other applicant. It would also add up to your confidence.

Compensation

Most of these programs do offer a stipend or a living allowance. However, it is not a considerable compensation as compared to full time job compensation and may be that is one of the reasons why low remuneration is often considered to be the biggest disadvantage of a fellowship. While the stipend ranges from $10,000 to $25,000 for a typical 9-12 month program, other incentives such as student loan repayment assistance, housing stipends and healthcare coverage are provided to the FELLOWS.

Schoolanduniversity.com’s experienced and dedicated personnel have derived these important points; which are of help to attain a prized fellowship to facilitate your academic career progress.