Middlebury Fellowships and Undergraduate Research
A font of information about undergraduate research, competitive fellowships, application processes and upcoming events and deadlines!
//Charlotte Massey ’19 and Fiona Sullivan ’19 will travel the world as members of the 51st cohort of Thomas J. Watson Fellows. Read more about their projects in the newsroom: http://www.middlebury.edu/newsroom/archive/2019-news/node/616499
Congratulations to Fiona and Charlotte!
//The Watson foundation is holding a fall webinar for prospective applicants on Wednesday, September 12th, 3pm ET. This webinar would be great for students interested in learning more about the Watson and those applying for nomination this year. You can sign up for the webinar here:
From foster care to opera; from Cambrian Explosion to human augmentation; from threatened big cat species to spoken word, the Watson Fellowship provides graduating seniors with a remarkable year to explore their deepest interests on a global scale. Fellows create original projects, execute them outside of the United States and embrace the ensuing journey. At our half century mark, today Watson Fellows comprise leaders in nearly every field, inspired by a ‘dream year’ that continues to shape the arc of their lives and those of others.
The Watson fellowship is open to all citizenship types. Students can only apply for nomination their senior/super-senior fall–and this year’s internal nomination deadline for Fall 2018 applications is Tuesday, Sept. 11. For more information, see go.middlebury.edu/watson or contact Watson Advisor Lisa Gates at fellowships@middlebury.edu.
//For those thinking about applying for a Fulbright or Watson Fellowship this fall, read on for reminders and answers to common questions. Dean Gates will be out of the office Aug 5-21. During this time, you can reach Colleen Norden at fellowships@middlebury.edu.
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Watson Applicant Notes
If you are not yet registered for the Watson online application, contact fellowships@middlebury.edu. Keep working on developing your project idea, making in-country contacts, and shaping your project plan. Dean Gates can provide feedback on essay drafts AFTER August 22. Please send drafts to fellowships@middlebury.edu.
Instructions for nomination materials and submission are online at go.middlebury.edu/watson. Deadline is Tuesday, Sept. 11 at noon. No applications will be accepted after this date.
Please review the following documents carefully:
Middlebury’s Watson Applicant Timeline and Checklist
Middlebury’s Watson Application Guidance
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Fulbright Applicant Notes
August 15 “Intend to Apply” Deadline
Send a copy of your Fulbright Embark application as a pdf along with a word doc with the Statement of Grant Purpose (SGP) and Personal Statement in an email to fellowships@middlebury.edu for Dean Gates to review. In the email, provide names of your intended recommenders, language evaluators (if relevant), and status of affiliation (if relevant). To generate the PDF of the Embark application, you can “print to PDF” or print and scan to make a copy of the application. Be sure to label each file with your last name.
We do not expect a polished application at this point. Recommendations, transcripts, affiliation letters, etc. are not needed at this time (but if you have an affiliation lined up, include a copy of that). Dean Gates will review your materials, send comments as needed, and you can continue working on your application. We will order transcripts (no charge) for those who have an active application in the Fulbright Embark online system only and send requested materials by August 15.
If you do not send in your materials by Aug 15, you can still apply! Be aware Dean Gates will 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 as soon as you determine that. See go.middlebury.edu/fulbright for complete application instructions, guidance documents and the Middlebury Fulbright Applicant Checklist.
September 12 at noon (Wed) This is a hard deadline!
No applications will be accepted after this date.
Submit your complete and polished Fulbright application in the Embark online system. All components of your application should be done at this point. Essays must be polished with no grammatical or spelling errors. Revisions after this date only happen when the campus committee review process notes issues that require your attention. If you have late recommendations or problems with an affiliation letter, please still submit your application by the deadline and be in touch with fellowships about the issue. Note: by submitting the application, you are sending it to the Fellowships office at this point, not to Fulbright. After your committee evaluation is added, we submit to Fulbright in October.
Please review the following documents carefully:
Middlebury’s Fulbright Applicant Timeline and Checklist
Fulbright Application Guidance
A few important notes:
Transcripts: Fulbright will accept unofficial transcripts as well as official ones at this stage. If you upload an unofficial transcript, make sure that it is concisely organized, in chronological order, and contains the necessary elements on an official transcript (courses, grades by semester, overall GPA, major, etc.). If you are a transfer student or have grades from other schools you would like represented, you will need to obtain a transcript from those previous institutions and upload.
Affiliation letters (study/research grants): The affiliation letter is from the institution/individual in the host country with whom you are proposing to work. It should be written in or translated to English, printed on official letterhead and signed by the author. If an English translation is provided, both the original letter and the translation should be uploaded. Letters should include the author’s position title, indicate the author’s willingness to work with you on the intended project, should speak to the feasibility and validity and merits of what is being proposed. The letter should also indicate any additional resources or contacts that the adviser can provide to support the work. Letters will vary, but the strongest letters will address these points noted.
Recommendations and language evaluations: It’s courteous to give at least three weeks notice for these. You can certainly schedule the language evaluation to take place when you return to campus, but the evaluation needs to be submitted by the Sept. 12 noon deadline. If you have the same person complete both a recommendation and language evaluation, please use two separate email addresses to register them. You want to choose recommenders who know you and are best suited to comment on your proposed research or ETA grant application.
Fulbright has a great Application Tips section on the website and make sure to follow any special instructions on the specific country page.
For alumni applicants: if you are not currently enrolled as a graduate student at another institution, you can choose to apply through Middlebury College or At-Large. If you apply through Middlebury, you must adhere to our internal deadline and will have a campus interview (via Skype or phone). The campus evaluation will be added to your application. You will also be counted as a Middlebury grantee, which we like!
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).
Fulbright online application: Start your online application through this section http://us.fulbrightonline.org/applicants .
//Join Barbara Ofosu-Somuah ’13 for a talk about her Fulbright and Watson Fellowships on Tuesday, March 20, 2018 at 4:30 pm in Axinn 229.
Barbara studied psychology, sociology and Italian at Middlebury. During her Watson year, she explored the role of hair in Black, Latina and multiracial cultures in several countries. For her Fulbright grant, she examined diversity and inclusion efforts in Italian schools.
See go.middlebury.edu/watson for fellowship details and links to profiles of additional current and past recipients.
Eligibility: Fulbright requires US citizenship and is open to seniors and young alumni; Watson is open to all citizenship types, but you can only apply your senior/super-senior fall.
If you’re considering applying to either of these in the fall, now is the time to think and to plan. Preliminary applications are due April 15 (but yes, you can still apply in the fall if you miss that date).
//The Watson application is now open and available. You need to be registered by the fellowships office in order to access the application. If we registered you, you will receive a link to the Watson application system to start your nomination application. You have also received an email confirmation from the fellowships office that you have been registered. If you can’t find the Watson link but you got the email from fellowships confirming registration, check your spam/junk folder. If you have difficulties with this or have not yet been registered but would like to apply for Watson nomination, contact fellowships@middlebury.edu. We will need your first and last name (as you would like it to appear on the application) and your middlebury email to register you in the Watson system. And make sure you carefully read Summer Notes for Watson Applicants on this blog before starting the application!