As a Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Harvard Griffin GSAS) student, you may be required or encouraged to find outside funding for projects and research. Harvard Griffin GSAS provides resources for graduate students seeking short- or long-term funding support for research, language study, graduate school generally, and dissertation writing.
Plan Ahead
Deadlines for fellowship competitions are usually in the academic year before the fellowship period. For example, if you’re looking for funding for the fall or spring, you will apply for fellowships the previous fall.
Finding Fellowships
The Fellowships & Writing Center provides guidance to students interested in applying for certain internal and external fellowship competitions. Harvard Griffin GSAS also maintains the CARAT database, which contains information about additional fellowship opportunities and should be your first stop. CARAT allows you to search for fellowship opportunities by keyword, citizenship requirement, length of opportunity, stage in graduate school, and more. Through CARAT, you can find links to application materials for many internal fellowships, including those listed on the Harvard Griffin GSAS website, and instructions on how to apply. You can also search external databases for opportunities:
- The University of Illinois Fellowship Finder
- The UCLA Search for Graduate and Postdoc Funding
- The University of Chicago Fellowships Database
- Online Guide to Scholarships & Resources for LGBTQIA+ College Students
Getting Help
In an individual consultation on your fellowship proposal, you will receive feedback and advice on how to articulate the significance of your fellowship project. If you would like a critique of your fellowship essay, please complete the FWC intake form and one of our writing specialists will read and return your essay with an offer to schedule an appointment with you to discuss the feedback.
If you have a question about fellowships, please sign up for an advising appointment with Jeannette Miller.
How do I apply for a fellowship?
Every fellowship has specific criteria and application instructions, but as a general rule, most competitions ask for:
- A fellowship proposal, explaining your research topic and what you plan to do if you are granted the fellowship
- Recommendation letters
- A budget of expenses you expect to incur, especially for fellowships requiring travel
- Transcripts
- A current CV, which includes a list of awards and fellowships you have won during your time as a graduate student, presentations, publications, and other relevant information.
Plan your application well in advance by seeking out recommenders early, making sure you obtain official transcripts well ahead of deadlines, and drafting your proposal early to get as much feedback on it as possible.
