Tag: graduate school

Advanced Asian Language Study Fellowships – Due Dec. 30, 2024

Heidi Greenwald / / Education, Fellowships, Study Abroad

The Blakemore Foundation is now accepting applications for full-time advanced language study at language programs in Asia during the 2025/2026 academic year. Fellowships provide full tuition and a stipend for living, travel and study expenses. Blakemore Freeman Fellowships are awarded to graduating seniors, college graduates, graduate students and young/mid-career professionals for advanced study of Chinese (in Taiwan), Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Khmer, Thai, or Vietnamese in Asia. Study of Chinese in Beijing is available as a Blakemore Fellowship. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the United States, have completed (at minimum) the third year of study of the Asian language, and are ready to advance to professional fluency. For art history students who have a well-demonstrated intent to study the pre-twentieth century history of Chinese or Korean art at the doctoral level, consider the Blakemore Kingfisher Art History Language Fellowships. Learn more, including how to apply, at https://www.blakemorefoundation.org/

Foreign Affairs Information Technology (FAIT) Fellowship – Apply by January 21, 2025

Heidi Greenwald / / Fellowships, Graduate School Funding, STEM

This two-year diversity fellowship program funded by the U.S. Department of State provides academic funding while preparing fellows to enter the Foreign Service as Diplomatic Technology Officers (DTOs). To be eligible to apply for the 2025 cohort, applicants must be a U.S. citizen, hold a minimum cumulative 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale, and be on a timeline to graduate with either a IT-related bachelor’s or master’s degree in spring 2027. They also must be enrolled full-time in an IT-related degree program during the two-year fellowship program. More information available on the FAIT website.

Fulbright and Watson Notes for Applicants

Lisa Gates / / Fellowships, Graduate School Funding, Postgraduate Opportunities, STEM, Teaching English Abroad

 It’s almost August (gasp!) and this is usually that time when I get a lot of questions from students and alumni wanting to apply for a Fulbright or Watson fellowship. It’s also a time of year when I am not always in the office so try to answer some frequently asked questions below. Read on–and read carefully! It is long.

How do I talk with Dean Gates? Check out go/appt for open appointments through Aug 13. You can also email me with good dates/times (M-F, 9am-5pm ET only). I will post appointment hours for Watson and Fulbright applicants (and UK nominees) the week of August 26 soon.  Appointment hours for Sept. will be posted later in August. Please note, I will be away from the office for parts of August.

I missed the preliminary deadline for Watson or Fulbright. Can I still apply? Yes, you can! The HARD deadlines coming up are Middlebury’s internal deadline: Thursday 9/5 at noon for Watson, Sunday 9/8 at 11:59pm for Fulbright. We also strongly encourage Fulbright applicants to complete the August 15 tasks in MiddApply with drafts of their essays–this will ensure you receive feedback before the internal deadline.

I’m just thinking about applying for a Watson or Fulbright right now. How do I get started? Review the information and directions at go/fulbright or go/watson and start the application processes in MiddApply. Some application types may be more or less feasible at this point in time, so it’s important you get some feedback.

Watson FAQs

I want to apply for the Watson and need to get access to the Watson online application. How do I do this? If you are not yet registered for the Watson online application, contact fellowships@middlebury.edu. Read the instructions at go/watson carefully regarding which application sections to complete for the internal deadline. We ask you to complete abbreviated essays and only some sections of the Watson application for the internal deadline. Again, instructions are available in your MiddApply (go/middapply) portal as you complete the Watson materials there.

Where do I find info about the Watson internal application process? Instructions for nomination materials and submission are online at go/watson . Please review the linked Google documents carefully–there’s a lot of useful info there and answers to common questions. You will need to complete the tasks in MiddApply (go/middapply) and selected sections of the Watson online application.

Is the Watson Internal Deadline (Thursday September 5, 2024 at noon) a hard deadline? Yes, it is. If you anticipate any difficulties with this, talk with us.

Fulbright FAQs

I’m an alum and interested in the Fulbright. Can I still apply through Middlebury? Yes! You will need to adhere to our internal deadline and interview with our campus committee via Zoom in September.

What is the August 15 “Intent to Apply” deadline, what do I do, and what happens if I miss it? This deadline tells us who is planning to apply in this cycle. You can still apply for the Fulbright if you miss it, and you can decide in September that you don’t want to proceed–just tell us. This deadline gives us a sense of the number of Fulbright applicants we will interview and most importantly, TIME to send you feedback on your drafts before the internal deadline.  For the August 15 deadline, complete the tasks in your MiddApply (go/middapply) portal. This gives us the materials we need to review! Note: Drafts are fine at this point! Make sure you review the guidance at go/fulbright (see Fulbright Guidance Google doc) before sending to us, however. Make sure you are including the information required for the Statement of Grant Purpose in your draft. Recommendations, transcripts, affiliation letters, etc. are not needed at this time (but if you have an affiliation lined up, include a copy of that). We will review your materials, send comments as needed, and you can continue working on your application. We will provide official transcripts for those who complete the August 15 tasks in MiddApply.

If you do not complete your Aug 15 tasks in MiddApply, we may be less able to provide substantive comments on your essays depending on when you send in your materials to review. You will also need to order your own transcript. If you discontinue your application after this point, that is also fine, just let us know.

Is September 8 at 11:59pm (Sunday) a hard deadline for my Fulbright application? What if I’m missing some recommendations or a letter of affiliation? Yes, this is a hard deadline. You will need to lock your application for campus review by this deadline. If you have a letter (recommendation, affiliation) that is late in arriving, just be in touch with us. If you want to apply after this deadline, you may do so, but will not be able to participate in the campus review process and may not receive feedback. As always, if you have questions or issues, talk with us.

Are you expecting a complete and polished Fulbright application on Sept 8? Yes. But see note above about missing letters–it does happen. But everything in your control should be done and finalized at this point. Essays must be polished with no grammatical or spelling errors. You will be able to continue working on your materials after this date, however. You will often receive suggestions during your campus committee interview and may find things you want to tweak. 

Fulbright webinars and tutorials: are ongoing this summer. Check out http://us.fulbrightonline.org/about/videos-tutorials and http://us.fulbrightonline.org/applicants/information-sessions  (click on webinars to see schedule).

Monique Santoso ’21 Selected as Knight- Hennessy Scholar

Lisa Gates / / Fellowships, Graduate School Funding, Postgraduate Opportunities

Congratulations to Monique Santoso ’21 who was named a Knight Hennessy Scholar at Stanford University. Monique is one of 90 new scholars from 30 countries who will pursue degrees in 45 graduate programs at Stanford. She is pursuing a PhD in communication at Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences. Monique is the third Knight-Hennessy Scholar from Middlebury College.

Monique came to Middlebury from from Purwakarta, Indonesia as a Davis Scholar. She majored in environmental studies–conservation psychology with a minor in global health. Through her graduate work Monique aspires to use immersive technologies to foster empathy, sustainability-related decision-making, and civic engagement.

Knight-Hennessy Scholars is a multidisciplinary, multicultural graduate fellowship program spanning all seven schools at Stanford University. Scholars receive up to three years of financial support while engaging in experiences that prepare them to be visionary, courageous, and collaborative leaders who address complex challenges facing the world. Scholars are selected based on their demonstration of independence of thought, purposeful leadership, and a civic mindset. Read more at https://knight-hennessy.stanford.edu/news/knight-hennessy-scholars-announces-its-largest-cohort-yet-90-new-scholars . Contact fellowships@middlebury.edu with questions about applying to KHS.

NSF GRFP Winners and Honorable Mentions from Middlebury!

Lisa Gates / / Fellowships, Graduate School Funding, STEM

We are excited that Seven from Middlebury receive National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships and another six received honorable mention! Congratulations to all! The NSF GRFP supports master’s and doctoral studies in STEM and broaden participation of the full spectrum of diverse talents. The five-year fellowship provides three years of financial support inclusive of an annual stipend of $37,000. Learn more at https://www.nsfgrfp.org/ . Contact fellowships@middlebury.edu with questions.