Archive for fellowship – Page 10

Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans

We were recently notified of a wonderful fellowship opportunity.  Please read below for details on the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship program.  The deadline is November 1st so act quickly if you qualify.

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The Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships are for up to two years of graduate study in ANY FIELD at any university in the United States.   They provide cash support of $25,000 per year plus up to $20,000 in tuition support per year (a total of as much as $90,000 over the two years!).

THE DEADLINE for applications is November 1, 2010.

ELIGIBILITY:

New Americans:   if born abroad, an applicant must have a green card or be a naturalized citizen.

If born in the US, the applicant’s parents both must have been born abroad and have become naturalized US citizens (the absent parent of an applicant raised by a single parent need not meet the naturalization requirement).

Age:

An applicant must be 30 or under (i.e. not 31 or older) as of November 1, 2010.

Academic status:

An applicant must have a bachelor’s degree or at least be in his/her final year of undergraduate study.

If already in graduate study, an applicant should be in the first or second year of a degree program for which she/he is seeking support.

Prior graduate training is not a barrier to eligibility.  Individuals who are not currently in a graduate program are welcome and encouraged to apply.

SELECTION CRITERIA:

We seek individuals who have demonstrated unusual creativity, originality and initiative in one or more aspects of their lives who have demonstrated a commitment to and capacity for sustained accomplishment whose graduate plans or program give promise of enhancing their future creativity and accomplishment who seem likely to sustain their past record of creativity and accomplishment.

We try very hard to create a “level playing field” for applicants, irrespective of the challenges and opportunities they may have experienced as New Americans.   We take into account their age, their level of academic preparation, and their experience.

The program website, http://www.pdsoros.org contains detailed information about the application process.   It also provides background sketches of current fellows and alumni who are pursuing careers in a wide range of fields.

Truly creative and accomplished young people should not be discouraged from applying just because they do not come from elite schools, or do not have stellar grades or test scores, or don’t want to study medicine or law.   We WELCOME AND ENCOURAGE applicants from a wide range of backgrounds with a wide range of career goals.

Nor should truly creative and accomplished young people be discouraged from applying just because they are already reasonably assured of adequate support to complete their graduate study.  A number of wonderful fellows have found that the sense of community that develops among New Americans, the great opportunities associated with the Fall Conferences of Fellows, the regional get-togethers, participation in selecting subsequent classes of fellows, and the prestige of the award turn out to be of greater importance and value than its cash value.

Top 10 Tips for Communicating With Us No. 8: Familiarize yourself with expenses, and search for fellowships ASAP

Updated: March 2016

This is the eighth entry in our “Top 10″ list for you to consider when communicating with our office and applying.

Number 8 – Familiarize yourself with expenses, and search for fellowships ASAP

Yes, there is no doubt about it, graduate school is expensive.  We will do as much as we can to educate you on financial options, but by far the number one thing you can do is to be diligent in searching for fellowships and grants.  Do not wait to search until you have applied, you should start the search long before applying.  Each applicant should follow what I call the “rule of 2.”  

Basically my assertion is that applicants should spend twice as much time applying for fellowships as time spent working on admission application.  If it takes you 10 hours to prepare your admission application, you would be well served to spend 20 hours looking for fellowships.  A great resource to use in order to get started is our external fellowship database.

Most of the information you need concerning the cost to attend is available on our financial aid website, such as cost of attendancetypes of aidscholarship information, and information specifically for international students.  Please do note that SIPA scholarships come from one general pool – there is no difference in the fellowship award process at SIPA for domestic and international students – all students are equally considered no matter the country of origin.

Fellowship Opportunity for College Sophomores

SIPA is proud to partner with several organizations that provide scholarship funding to individuals interested in international and Public Affairs and one such organization is the Institute for International Public Policy Fellowship Program (IIPP).

Individuals apply in their sophomore year of college and participate in academic and professional programs to help prepare for graduate school.  Funding is also included and SIPA agrees to match funding provided by IIPP.  If you are a college sophomore or know someone who is, please pass along this great opportunity.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Application Opened September 16th for UNCF Special Programs Corporation’s Institute for International Public Policy Fellowship Program

Background
: The UNCF Special Programs Corporation’s Institute for International Public Policy (IIPP) Fellowship Program is now entering its 17th year. The Institute seeks to enhance U.S. national security and global competitiveness by promoting excellence, international service, and awareness among a representative cross-section of the American citizenry. The IIPP also seeks to broaden access to international education and training opportunities for underrepresented minority college students.

The IIPP Fellowship Program provides students from underrepresented minority groups with education and training experiences critical to entry and advancement in international affairs careers. Ours is a comprehensive program of summer policy institutes, study abroad, intensive language training, internships, graduate study, and student services that include mentoring and career development. Additionally, the Institute provides students with the education and training necessary to successfully enter, advance, and provide leadership in international affairs careers.

Fellowship Components:

  • Sophomore Summer Policy Institute
  • Junior Year Study Abroad
  • Junior Summer Policy Institute
  • Summer Language Institute
  • International Internship
  • Internationally Focused Advanced Degree Program
  • Wraparound Student Services (academic, study abroad, and career advising)

Eligibility Requirements – We welcome applications from undergraduate sophomores who:

  • Are enrolled full-time at an accredited, four–year baccalaureate-granting institution.
  • Are U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents (documentary support required).
  • Will remain enrolled at their undergraduate institution for two years following their acceptance to the Fellowship.
  • Have a minimum 3.2 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale).
  • Have a strong demonstrated interest in international affairs.
  • Are an underrepresented minority (African American, Hispanic/Latino American, Asian American, American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander).
  • Plan to seek admission to an internationally focused advanced degree program.

Students from underrepresented minority groups, especially those from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and Other Minority Serving Institutions (OMIs) are particularly encouraged to apply. Though not a requirement, applicants are strongly encouraged to complete at least one of the following courses before starting the IIPP Fellowship: international affairs, foreign policy, a foreign language, political science, sociology, macro/micro-economics, statistics and/or journalism.

Application Deadline: February 1, 2011

Website: www.uncfsp.org/iipp

Email us with comments or questions at [email protected]

Spring Admission Notes #3

The cost of attending SIPA is something that should be treated seriously by all applicants, but especially by those applying for spring admission.  The first reason is that SIPA does not have a spring fellowship budget.  Our first year fellowship budget is spent entirely on those starting in the fall.

All SIPA students qualify to apply for fellowship in the second year, however the application for second year fellowships at SIPA is due at the start of March each academic year.  SIPA fellowships for returning students are primarily based on academic performance and at the time the fellowship application is due, those that entered in the spring will not have any SIPA grades.  Thus those that started at the fall have a distinct advantage and spring applicants will not have the opportunity to apply for fellowship until the next academic year.

Due to the tight time time and nature of our fellowship process, spring applicants are strongly encouraged to have their finances in order in December.  Domestic applicants for spring admission should file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible (meaning now).  It can take four to six weeks to process the FAFSA and applying now will ensure that your data is in our system as soon as possible.

Both domestic and international applicants should become familiar with the cost of attendance and with loan options.  Loan information and cost of attendance figures for domestic applicants can be found here (the figures noted are for a full year of attendance so cut in half to get costs for just the spring semester).  The cost of attendance is the same for both domestic and international students, however loan options are different.  International applicants should click here for loan and financial aid information.

It is always wise to pursue outside funding opportunities and we have a database for this purpose.  You can access the database here.  The more time you put in, the more likely you are to earn funding that may not need to be repaid.

Spring Admission Notes #1

With the spring admission deadline only a month away I thought I would spend a few entries to elaborate a bit on the time line and details related to spring admission to our MIA and MPA programs.  I will offer my thoughts on compiling the best application possible in a different set of entries, these entries will be more about the  nuts and bolts of the process.  First off will be a few notes about the submission of documents and the time line.

The deadline to submit materials for spring admission is October 1st.  This means everything needs to be submitted on the application site or received in our office by October 1st at 11:59:59 P.M.  As a reminder, 100% of your application materials can be submitted online and this is our preference.  The reason is that this allows us to print your application all at one time without having to complete a matching process which can be time consuming.

Related to the deadline, applicants are directly responsible for submitting all of their information except for letters of recommendation.  Without fail, the biggest hindrance to completing an application on time each year is the on time submission of letters of recommendation.  Every year near the deadline we receive panicked emails from applicants informing us that for some reason a letter of recommendation will not be in by the deadline.

With this in mind, do everything in your power to ensure that letters of recommendation are submitted on time.  My advice is to ask the recommenders to submit the recommendation a minimum of one week prior to the actual deadline.  Thus it would be wise to reach out to these individuals and and ask them to submit the letters by September 24th.

We prefer that recommendation letters be submitted online because as I stated, we print the application all at one time.  If all of the letters are submitted online, they print with the rest of your application.  If the letters are mailed, we print your application and if the letters are not present, we have to then look to see if the letters were received by mail which takes additional time.

As a reminder, everything else can be self reported online by the application.  Applicants self report test scores on the application and upload all of the required documents.  We do not require that official test reports be received in our office by the admission deadline.  More details on what happens after the deadline passes in future entries.

"The most global public policy school, where an international community of students and faculty address world challenges."

—Merit E. Janow, Dean, SIPA, Professor of Practice, International and Economic Law and International Affairs

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