[Plsgs] FW: July 2101 GradFunding & Postdoc Opportunities

[Georgina Lambert]

From: Grad & Postdoc Funding Opportunities
[mailto:GRADFUNDING at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of Georgia Ehlers
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2012 4:34 PM
To: GRADFUNDING at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
Subject: July 2101 GradFunding & Postdoc Opportunities

 

July 2012 GradFunding Newsletter

 

This GradFunding newsletter includes the following:

1.      Advice: Four Steps to Great Letters of Recommendation

2.      Current funding opportunities

 

Four Steps to Great Letters of Recommendation

 

Letters of recommendation can be the determining factor in fellowship
competitions. Because a good letter of recommendation is so much work to
write, you want to do everything you can to make the process easy for your
professors. Below you will find tips for getting as supportive letters as
possible. 

 

1. Plan ahead: 

At some point in your career, you will need letters of recommendation from
at least three professors. Even if you are just beginning your graduate
student career, do your best to cultivate good relationships with at least
three professors. 

 

2. Organize:

Try to think about writing the letter from your professor's perspective and
prepare a folder of documents that will help make the process easier. The
folder should include:

*	A summary of the fellowship including the purpose of the fellowship
and the criteria by which the competition will be judged.
*	A copy of your vita and drafts of the essays you will submit as part
of the application.
*	A summary of what you would like emphasized in the letter. You might
want to include descriptions of volunteer activities, summaries of what you
did in their classes, and reminders of other significant interactions.
Include details - one letter of recommendation that stood out in a
competition I judged described a Christmas party skit (which was relevant to
the competition). 
*	Copies of papers or projects that you did in their classes. 
*	Any forms or links to websites that the professor might need. If the
form is online or electronic, be sure to have the correct email address for
the professor. Also, give the professor contact information for the help
desk. (A recent national competition had numerous issues with their website
the week before the deadline.) 

 

3. Ask:

*	Do not ask a professor to write a letter of recommendation over
email or while passing in the hall. Make an appointment to meet in person
during their office hours.
*	Describe the fellowship and ask them if they are able and willing to
write a strong letter of recommendation for your application. 
*	Show them the folder of information and ask if there is anything
else that you could provide to make the process easier.
*	Request that the letter be on institutional letterhead if not
submitted on an electronic form. Remind the professor to describe his or her
academic position and academic affiliation, and his or her relationship to
you.
*	Acknowledge that letters of recommendation are time consuming and
thank them for their willingness to write one for you.

 

4. Follow-up 

*	You should have asked your writers at least a month (if not two) in
advance of the deadline. Do not breathe down their necks, but give them
reasonable reminders of the deadline - for example an email a week before
the deadline you set could be helpful.
*	Thank them! Go all out. Go to the bookstore and spend four dollars
on a nice card. Writing letters of recommendation is part of a professor's
job, but writing a good letter of recommendation is a big favor to you as a
graduate student.

 

 

Current Funding Opportunities 

 


Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellowships
<http://www.damonrunyon.org/for_scientists/more/fellowship_award_overview> 


The Foundation encourages all theoretical and experimental research relevant
to the study of cancer and the search for cancer causes, mechanisms,
therapies and prevention. Candidates must apply for the fellowship under the
guidance of a Sponsor-a scientist (tenured, tenure-track or equivalent
position) capable of providing mentorship to the Fellow.  In addition to
aiding in the planning, execution and supervision of the proposed research,
the Sponsor's role is to foster the development of the Fellow's overall
knowledge, technical and analytical skills, and capacity for scientific
inquiry.  The Sponsor is also expected to assist the Fellow in attaining
his/her career goals. 

Deadline August 15, 2012

 

Dissertation Research Fellowships on Gender and Agriculture
<http://www.ifpri.org/blog/dissertation-research-fellowships-gender-and-agri
culture> 

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and its partners
are pleased to announce a call for applications for Ph.D. dissertation
research fellowships on the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI).
The first of its kind to directly capture women's empowerment and inclusion
levels in the agricultural sector, the purpose of the Index is to understand
why women in developing countries face persistent obstacles and economic
constraints to inclusion in the agriculture sector though they play a
critical role in agricultural growth. The threefold goal of the fellowship
is to strengthen understanding and evidence of the WEAI; expand
understanding of WEAI dynamics through complementary qualitative and
ethnographic work; and support promising researchers interested in gender
and agriculture. Research proposals supported under this call must be
focused entirely or mostly on one or more of 19 Feed the Future countries.
Applicants must be full-time Ph.D. students in the social sciences or
humanities and complete all Ph.D. requirements except dissertation by the
time the fellowship begins.

Deadline: July 31, 2012 

 

Educational Sciences Postdoctoral Research Training Program
<http://ies.ed.gov/funding/pdf/2013_84305B.pdf> 

The U.S. Department of Education established the Postdoctoral Research
Training Program in the Education Sciences (Postdoctoral Program) in 2005 to
increase the supply of scientists and researchers in education who are
prepared to conduct rigorous and relevant education research that advances
knowledge within the field and addresses issues important to education
leaders and practitioners. Institute is supporting research in ten research
topics: Cognition and Student Learning; Early Learning Programs and
Policies; Education Technology; Effective Teachers and Effective Teaching;
English Learners; Improving Education Systems: Policies, Organization,
Management, and Leadership; Mathematics and Science Education; Postsecondary
and Adult Education; Reading and Writing; or Social and Behavioral Context
for Academic Learning. The Institute is especially interested in training in
the research topics of Education Technology, English Learners, and
Postsecondary and Adult Education because these topics are less well served
by the current Institute-supported training programs. 

Deadline: September 2012

 

Environmental Chemistry Postdoctoral Program <http://www.dreyfus.org/> 

The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation seeks to further the development of
scientific leadership in the field of environmental chemistry with a
postdoctoral fellowship program. Applications most likely to be of interest
should describe innovative fundamental research in the chemical sciences or
engineering related to the environment. Examples include but are not limited
to the chemistry associated with: the climate, the atmosphere, aquatic or
marine settings, toxicology, soil or groundwater. Also of interest are
chemistry-related energy research (renewable sources, sequestration, etc.),
and new or green approaches to chemical synthesis and processing, with a
clearly stated relation to the environment.

Deadline: August 20

 


Fulbright Post-Doctoral Fellowships
<http://www.fulbright.org.il/index.php?id=1317/?www=science360> 


Program Overview


The United States-Israel Educational Foundation (USIEF) plans to award 8
grants to American post-doctoral scholars who are about to begin a program
of research at Israeli institutions of higher education which will commence
during the 2013/2014 academic year.  The total length of the proposed
program of work in Israel must be at least two academic years (20 months net
in Israel).  

Deadline: August 1, 2012

 

GE/NMF International Medical Scholars Program
<http://www.nmfonline.org/programs-GE.php> 
In partnership with GE's Developing Health Globally Program, National
Medical Fellowships (NMF) offers the GE Medical Scholars Program, an
international fellowship available to qualified rising 4th year minority
medical students.  Selected scholars will complete an all expense paid
externship in Africa, in either Ghana or Uganda. 

Deadline: October 1, 2012 

 

Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies
<http://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/academy/academy_scholars_program.html> 

The Academy Scholars Program offers 2-year research support for advanced
doctoral and post-doctoral scholars in the social sciences, history and law
working in non-Western areas of the world. These are open to scholars of all
nationalities. Those in possession of a Ph.D. longer than 3 years are
ineligible.

October 1, 2012

 

Jacqueline A. Ross Dissertation Award
<http://www.ets.org/toefl/grants/jacqueline_ross_dissertation_award> 

The purpose of the Jacqueline A. Ross Dissertation Award is to recognize
doctoral dissertation research that makes a significant and original
contribution to knowledge about second- or foreign-language tests and
testing and/or the use and development of such tests and testing. The annual
award consists of $2,500 USD and round-trip economy airfare, expenses, and
hotel accommodations for three nights at the Language Testing Research
Colloquium (LTRC), where the award is presented.

September 1

 

Kauffman Foundation - 2012-13 Entrepreneurship Dissertation Fellowship
Grants
<http://www.kauffman.org/research-and-policy/kauffman-dissertation-fellowshi
p-program.aspx> 
Fifteen fellowship grants of $20,000 will be awarded to Ph.D., D.B.A., or
other doctoral students at U.S. institutions of higher education in support
of dissertations in the area of entrepreneurship.

Deadline: September 19, 2012

 

Mathilde Krim Fellowships in Basic Biomedical Research
<http://www.amfar.org/In_the_Lab/Research_Grants/> 

The Foundation for AIDS Research, is pleased to announce the availability of
support for Mathilde Krim Fellowships in Basic Biomedical Research. Krim
Fellowship applicants must have a research or clinical doctorate and no more
than four years of postdoctoral training at the time of applying, and are
expected to secure an independent research position within 2.5 years
following the start of fellowship funding.The Krim Fellowship applicant must
be mentored during the funding period by an experienced investigator who:
(a) is affiliated with the same nonprofit institution; (b) is qualified to
oversee the proposed research; (c) has successfully supervised postdoctoral
fellows; and (d) is at the associate professor level or higher.

Deadline: August 2

 

University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign, Illinois Program for Research in
the Humanities (IPRH) Andrew M. Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellowships, 2013-2015
The Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities (IPRH) at the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign seeks to hire two Andrew W. Mellon
Post-Doctoral Fellows in the Humanities for two-year appointments starting
in Fall 2013. Fellows spend the two-year term in residence at Illinois;
conduct research on the proposed project; and teach two courses per year in
the appropriate academic department. Fellows also participate in activities
related to their research at the IPRH, in the teaching department, and on
the Illinois campus. Each Post-Doctoral Fellow gives a public lecture on his
or her research. The search for Mellon Fellows is open to scholars in all
humanities disciplines, but they seek applicants whose work falls into one
of the following broad subject areas:

- Race and Diaspora Studies
- History of Science/Technology
- Empire and Colonial Studies
- Memory Studies
The fellowship carries a $45,000 annual stipend, a $2,000 research account,
and a comprehensive benefits package. To be eligible for consideration,
applicants must have received their Ph.D. between January 1, 2008 and August
31, 2012. Detailed eligibility requirements and application guidelines can
be found at http://www.iprh.illinois.edu.
The submission period opens September 1, 2012.

Deadline: October 29, 2012

 

Williamsburg Fellowships <http://research.history.org/Fellowships.cfm> 

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is pleased to invite applications for
short-term residential fellowships at the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library,
with its distinguished collection of primary and secondary sources relating
to eighteenth-century Williamsburg, the colonial Chesapeake, African
American studies, decorative arts and material culture through 1830,
archaeology, architectural history, digital history, and historic
preservation. An important component of the work of the Foundation's
Division of Research and Historical Interpretation, Rockefeller Library
fellowships primarily support research on topics related to British America,
the American Revolution, and the Early Republic. Competitions include the
Gilder Lehrman Short-Term Residential Fellowships, the Robert M. & Annetta
J. Coffelt and Robert M. Coffelt, Jr. Fellowship (focused on topics relating
to the American Revolution, Early Republic, or ideas and philosophies of
America's founding fathers), the Fellowship in African and African American
History and Culture, and the Fellowship in 3D Visualization.

Deadlines: November 1

 

Wilson Center <http://www.wilsoncenter.org/collection/grant-opportunities>
's European Studies Fellowships and Post-Docs

The Wilson's Center's European Studies program offers a variety of short and
long-term support opportunities for Ph.D. and post-doctoral research in the
fields of social sciences and humanities with a regional focus on Central
and Eastern Europe, including the Baltic States

Deadlines: vary

 

This newsletter is compiled by Shelley Hawthorne Smith under the direction
of Georgia Ehlers in the Graduate College Office of Fellowships and
Community Engagement.

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