Prestigious External Scholarships
Each year, outstanding students from across the United States are awarded prestigious graduate scholarships and fellowships which allow them to pursue their interests in a variety of settings both domestically and abroad. These scholarship or fellowship programs provide a variety of academic and financial opportunities. All are highly competitive, and successful candidates will need to invest significant time and effort in their candidacies. Syracuse University has established committees to select candidates and to help prepare them for the rigors of competition in these programs. Academic achievement, intellectual acuity, clear goals, demonstrated interest in public affairs and social issues, high character, and confident self-presentation are all factors in determining who will receive these awards.
Plan to look for fellowships about a year and a half before you wish to receive funding. If you have decided that your goals include further study, and you have determined the field and degree you wish to pursue, it’s time to look for fellowships. If you plan to apply for fellowships for graduate school, start researching opportunities in your junior year.
This website is dedicated to help you begin to explore the many opportunities available to you for advanced studies.
You can find information regarding awards and scholarships applicable to your Syracuse University undergraduate degree at Financial Aid’s Scholarship Office on the 2nd floor of Archbold Gym or at http://financialaid.syr.edu/scholarships.htm
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Fellowship FAQs
Office of Financial Aid
Getting Started
Becoming a strong candidate
Which scholarships to apply for
How to apply
Recommendations and Letters of Reference
Essay Writing Tips
Office of Undergraduate Studies Fellowships Program (Home)
Pre-Application for Luce, JK Cooke, etc
Renée Crown University Honors Program
SU Scholarship Honorable Mentions, Finalists, and Winners
Scholarship Lists (Honors)
Scholarship Calendar |
Getting Started:
Becoming a Strong Candidate for Fellowships
Seek an undergraduate experience that maximizes your personal, intellectual and professional growth. You become a strong fellowship candidate by striving towards meaningful ends.
- Take courses that will enrich your academic career--don't just take any course that will fit into your schedule to satisfy requirements.
- Don't go for the easy grade at the expense of the challenging and enriching class.
- When enrolled in a large lecture class be doubly sure that you take advantage of the professor's office hours.
- Develop mentoring relationships with faculty, staff, and others. Get to know your advisor, department faculty, and college deans.
- Get involved in significant extra-curricular and service activities. Be an active participant in any organization - don't just join for a "line on the resume."
- Explore & develop your various interests and talents.
- Take advantage of faculty office hours to discuss academic and social concerns and interests (Yes, we said this already – that’s because it’s important!).
- Use your summers wisely--partake in research, internships, and community service projects.
- Apply for various fellowships/scholarshipsfrom your department, college, leadership center, or study abroad, as well as nationally competitive awards such as the Beinecke, Goldwater, Truman, Udall, etc. (sophomore year).
- Apply for (external) grants if you have an interesting research or community service project in mind.
- Study Abroad (a wonderful opportunity!) but don't fall victim to "out of sight, out of mind" syndrome; stay in touch with your professors and department. Use your time abroad wisely to develop your intellectual and/or career interests and get involved with your host community.
- Participate in seminars and attend departmental and public lectures.
- Find ways to present your own research or significant public service or internship experiences to others.
- Take charge of your education! Don't wait for others to come to you--it is up to you to make sure that you are not just another student face in the crowd.
- Network--Put your name on various electronic newsletters around campus--this is a great way to find out what's going on, learn about funding or unique educational opportunities, and meet faculty and others who share your interests.
Which Scholarship or Fellowship should you apply for?:
Every scholarship or fellowship is founded with a specific purpose in mind. Make sure that the goal and intent of the programs you are targeting match your interests, strengths, and plans. Verify that you meet the eligibility requirements, and that the award provides enough funding to meet your needs.
Fellowships can usually be grouped into one or more of the following categories:
- For study at a specified level (undergraduate, graduate, postdoctorate, etc.)
- For study in a given field or subject area
- For travel to a particular country or region
- For career preparation
- For specific projects within a given group or organization
You can start your search for prestigious, external scholarships and fellowships by visiting the Renee Crown University Honors Program website where you will find information concerning many scholarships as well as links to their individual websites. http://honors.syr.edu/Funding/Scholarships.htm
You should also conduct general searches on the web for opportunities that may be tailored to your particular talents and interests.
How to Apply:
Some scholarships and fellowships limit the number of applicants from each institution and require you to be nominated by your undergraduate institution.
To be considered for nomination for select scholarships, you must complete the pre-application form available at (link to application)
To obtain information and advice concerning all fellowships and scholarships contact
Judy O’Rourke - Office of Undergraduate Studies, 304 Steele Hall, 315-443-1368, jlorourk@syr.edu
or
Steve Wright – Honors Program, 304 Bowne Hall, 315-443-2759, shwright@syr.edu
Once you have determined which scholarship(s) or fellowship(s) you want to apply to:
- Register on the fellowship/scholarship webpage. This will allow you start the application, save it, and come back to revise and refine it.
- Read through the ENTIRE application and be sure you understand all that is required to complete the application.
- Pay attention to deadlines – institutional internal deadlines as well as foundation deadlines.
- Gather the materials you will need to complete you application (i.e., official transcripts from all colleges and universities you attended; financial reports; portfolios, writing samples, or research projects; etc.)
- Identify your mentors and recommenders – explain your plans and ask for their help.
Recommendations and Letters of Reference:
this section under construction
Essay Writing Tips:
Guidelines for Writing Scholarship Essays
Adapted from DePauw University – Nov. 2009
In many ways, a scholarship application essay resembles other types of analytical essays that you are asked to write in college courses. It must present a clear, logically developed, well-illustrated set of points; it must be a unified whole, rather than a string of observations; and it must be aware of its audience (faculty members, business people, and experts in the area defined by the scholarship).
Unlike critical essays that you might write for humanities and social science classes, and unlike science lab reports, however, most scholarship essays expect the writer to talk about personal experience. Using the first-person ("I") in a critical essay may be the single most difficult challenge for scholarship applicants. Scholarship essays need to make good, clear points, but they also need to tell stories and to convey the character, personality, values, and experiences of the writer. Strong scholarship essays are both critically astute and deeply personal.
As you review the scholarship essay draft, ask yourself the following questions:
- Does the essay address the prompt directly, answering all of its embedded questions?
- Do I give specific, detailed examples to illustrate each of the points made in the essay?
- Do I show myself in action, rather than simply listing credentials and skills?
- Do the topic sentences (first sentence of each paragraph) make a point or lay out an idea that is then developed and illustrated by the paragraph that follows? That is, could a reader follow the gist of my argument by reading only those first sentences?
- What sentences or ideas best identify my passion in life? Could the essay begin with or more fully highlight these sentences and ideas?
The following questions are usually best to ask when reviewing a near-final draft of the scholarship essay:
- Does the opening sentence catch the reader's attention?
- Does the last sentence pull ideas in the essay together? Is it adequately specific and visionary (rather than just a flat summary)?
- Does the essay have momentum? Does it build up to its most interesting and important insight?
- Is there a thread connecting the different parts of the essay -- an idea or image that unites the essay as a whole?
- Do any points remain vague, overly general, or incompletely illustrated?
- Does the essay use unnecessary words? (Experiment by cutting adjectives and adverbs, especially intensifiers such as "unique" "entire" "overwhelming" "completely" "absolutely" "definitely". The plain sentence that results usually has more power and punch.)
- Do the essays adhere to character or word limits?
- And finally, is it thoroughly edited?
Fellowship FAQs
What is a fellowship?
A fellowship is an endowment used to provide financial support to individuals pursuing advanced study or training. Awards are granted on a competitive basis and are generally not based on financial need.
What kinds of fellowships are available?
Fellowships can usually be grouped into one or more of the following categories:
- For study at a specified level (undergraduate, graduate, postdoctorate, etc.)
- For study in a given field or subject area
- For travel to a particular country or region
- For professional development
- For specific projects within a given group or organization
What do I need to find out before I apply?
Every fellowship is founded with a specific purpose in mind. Make sure that the goal and intent of the fellowships you are targeting match your interests, strengths, and plans. Verify that you meet the eligibility requirements, and that the award provides enough funding to meet your needs.
When should I start looking for fellowship opportunities?
Plan to look for fellowships about a year and a half before you wish to receive funding. If you have decided that your goals include further study, and you have determined the field and degree you wish to pursue, it’s time to look for fellowships. If you plan to apply for fellowships for graduate school, start researching opportunities in your junior year.
SU Scholarship Winners, Finalists, and Honorable Mentions
2008-2009
Astronaut Fellowship
Avi Hameroff
Coro Fellowship
Curtis Eatman
Fulbright Fellowships
Zachary Beier
Laurah Klepinger-Mathew
Aaron Koller
Sofia Pablo-Hoshino (alternate)
Nicole Wilson
NSF
Gavin Hartnett - Honorable Mention
Anna Stewart - Honorable Mention
Thomas Stewart - Honorable Mention
2007-2008
Goldwater Scholarship
Amy Rabideau
More to come…
Link to Pre-Application (coming soon)
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