It’s fellowship season and that means you’ll want to apply to as many scholarships, grants and fellowships as you can over the next few months. It can be overwhelming to search for what’s right for you and your research. The Graduate Division can help in directing you to potential funding opportunities.
As you plan for scholarships, grants, and financial aid be sure to file your Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly known as FAFSA, by March 2, 2017, the deadline for California residency eligibility.
What kind of funding is available?
Fellowships typically cover educational and living expenses.
Grants usually cover expenses related to specific projects.
Other types of funding include loans and research assistantships and teaching assistantships.
Where can I find fellowships and grants?
There are many funding opportunities available to graduate students at Berkeley. A good place to start your search is the Graduate Division’s list of Fellowships on the web. In addition, students can explore many outside resources.
National Databases
University of California, Berkeley Scholarship Connection
University of California, Berkeley Graduate Fellowships and Grants
FinaAid.org
National Coveted College Scholarships
Cornell University Graduate School Fellowship Database
GRAPES, UCLA’s Graduate and Postdoctoral Support Database
FastWeb.com’s Graduate Scholarships
Petersons’ Graduate Scholarship Search Engine
MSU’s Graduate Scholarships, Fellowships and Loans
UMD’s Scholarships for Graduate Students
University of Miami’s Graduate Scholarship Database
Purdue University’s Graduate Funding Database
StudentScholarshipSearch.com’s Graduate School Scholarships
National Association of Fellowship Advisors’ Scholarships
Research Administration and Compliance
Profellow
Underrepresented and Minority Scholarships, Grants and Fellowships
Hispanic Scholarship Fund
100 Minority Scholarship Gateway List
Educators for Fair Education (non-U.S. citizenship students)
American Indian Science and Engineering Society
American Association of University Women
American Physiological Society – Minority Awards
Financial Aid & Scholarships for Minority Students
International Databases
ETSU’s International Student Scholarships
MIT’s Fellowships for International Students
Fulbright Programs
Social Science Research Council’s Fellowships and Prizes
Institute of International Education’s Fellowships
InternationalScholarships.com
Mobility International USA’s Funding
International Scholarships for Students from Developing Countries
International Financial Aid and Scholarship Search
Boren Fellowships for International Study
Other Resources
Professional associations, such as the American Psychology Association, National Association of Fellowship Advisors and American Meteorological Society, list on their websites grants and fellowships for a variety of disciplines.
A good reference book is The Annual Register of Grant Support, The Grants Register.
What to look for
The full ride: multi-year packages that cover educational and living expense for two to six years. These can be
Institutional: specific to a university, usually part of an admissions offer; or
Portable: able to be taken to the university of your choice
Small grants for specific projects, such as travel, language study, conference attendance, summer research or professional development.
One-year fellowships for specific phases of graduate study, such as for research, an internship or mentorship or dissertation writing.
Tips for applying
Be on time! Applying by deadline is essential. Individuals who don’t meet deadlines lower their chances of obtaining funding by 100 percent.
Plan ahead! The average turnaround time from application to acceptance runs six to nine months.
Don’t stop applying! Be persistent. Your chance of receiving a fellowship or grant will increase the more you continue to apply. The process of applying will also improve your grant-writing skills.
If you have received a fellowship or grant in the past, help the university attract more funding by completing the Berkeley Scholarship Recipient Profile.
Need more information? Visit Financial Aid and Scholarships or stop by the Fellowships office:
Graduate Services Fellowships Office
318 Sproul Hall
510-642-0672