10.1 Fellowships

Fellowships are an important opportunity for students: they are a nice national honor for the student, and they help the group manage its resources effectively. All students are encouraged to apply for fellowships.

• National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program
• Hertz Foundation Fellowships
• Department of Energy Fellowships
• Department of Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowships
• US Environmental Protection Agency Fellowships
• National Academies Fellowships
• National Energy and Technology Lab Fellowships
• Fulbright US Student Program
• IBM Fellowship
• Ford Fellowship

Some fellowships that international students might be interested in applying for are listed below:

• Link Foundation Energy Fellowship
• American Association of University Women International Fellowship
• American Association of University Women Austin Branch Fellowship for Doctoral Candidates
  
• Schlumberger Foundation Faculty for the Future program
• Taraknath Das Foundation Grant-in-aid
• ASHRAE Graduate Student Grant-in-aid
• Josephine de Karman Fellowship
  

10.2 Personal Statements

You will probably have to write a personal statement for a fellowship or career opportunity. Use these tips to help you.

•  Do not write it in chronological order, rather organize it thematically
•  Use a single, coherent unifying mission/vision to tie it all together 
  
  •  Look backwards in time: what pulled all of it together?
  •  Even though your life's journey may not have been perfectly planned, looking back, each of those steps are part of what made you who you are: make it appear more strategic and coherent than it might have felt to you at the time.
  •  Clarify that every step prepared you for this moment, and the fellowship takes you to the next level.
•  Every single paragraph should tie into that main theme; if it doesn’t, don’t include it (this essay isn’t supposed to be a litany of everything you have ever done).
•  Ask to be considered for the award and make clear that you would be honored by it.
•  Break up your sentence structure.  
  •  Avoid repetitive subject-verb constructs. 
    
  •  Switch the rhythm; use gerund phrases to start a sentence.  
  •  Use descriptive language (but not unnecessarily flowery or lyrical).