Pursuing a competitive fellowship during or after your graduate degree in biomedicine is an excellent step towards a successful career in research, teaching, or biotechnology. In preparation for my upcoming seminar at the Tufts Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, we’ve found a number of fellowships for students in biomedical sciences.
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) sponsors the Medical Research Fellows Program, which provides medical, dental, and veterinary students fellowships for a year of full-time biomedical research training.
The Smithsonian Institute (SI) has a wide-range of undergraduate to postdoctoral research fellowships. I previously wrote about funding for the new David M. Rubenstein Fellowship, which allows Fellows to conduct research with giant pandas at The National Zoo in Washington, DC. SI also recently announced the Smithsonian Institution Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biodiversity Genomics and Bioinformatics. Fellows are funded for 12-24 months to conduct collaborative research in these fields, as well as build a network of genomics experts in the greater Smithsonian research community.
There are a number of postdoctoral fellowships focused on research in specific diseases, such as the International Rett Syndrome Foundation’s (IRSF) postdoctoral fellowship. IRSF Fellows receive up to $100,000 over 2 years to research relevant to Rett syndrome.
The AAAS Science & Technology Fellowships provide opportunities for accomplished postdoctoral to mid-career scientists and engineers to contribute to the public policymaking process. Jay Grahm won an AAAS Science & Technology Fellowship and went to Haiti to help build hand washing stations and provide other sanitation needs for growing camps full of displaced people.
For graduate students and professionals seeking something different than a career in research and academia, several organizations lure scientists into K-12 teaching through competitive fellowships. The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation supports scientists and engineers who commit to teach math, science, engineering and technology for at least 3 years in rural and urban schools.
I’ll be speaking of these fellowships and others in more detail at the Tufts seminar on February 27, 2012. Hope to see you there!
ProFellow Seminar at Tufts University, Boston, MA
Monday, February 27, 4:00 – 5:00pm
Location: Room 316, Sackler Building, 145 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA
Map: http://sackler.tufts.edu/Campus-and-Community/Directions
Vicki speaking with University of Delaware students, October 2011
We’re psyched to announce that from Feb 27-29, 2012, I will be giving seminars at Boston-area universities on finding and applying to professional and academic fellowships. Participating universities include Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, Tufts University’s Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Boston University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Watch this page for updated times and locations.
This second tour will be even bigger and better than the last. I’ll provide insiders tips on how to prepare a competitive application, how to rock the individual and group interview, and how to make the most of your fellowship experience. I’ll also give an overview of a wide range of fellowships for graduate school, career advancement and experiences abroad. Stay tuned for announcements as we finalize our plans. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me.
We hope to see you there!
Forbes blogger Kelly Phillips provides some great tips on the tax implications of fellowships. Kelly writes:
“A scholarship or fellowship is tax free only if you are pursuing a degree at an eligible educational institution and you use the scholarship or fellowship to pay qualified education expenses. Qualified expenses include tuition and fees as well as course-related expenses, such as fees, books, supplies, and equipment that are required by the institution.”
Most fellowships that provide a stipend for teaching, research or professional work are taxable as income. It’s a good idea that you put some of your stipend aside for taxes when you file.
Fellowships in foreign countries may be tax-free in that country, but in some cases you must claim the fellowship as income when filing your U.S. taxes. If you’re uncertain, ask a tax professional for advice.
Did you know the Congressional Budget Office offers an Economic Policy Fellowship for PhDs?
The CBO provides Congress with “objective, timely, nonpartisan analyses to assist economic and budgetary decisions.” The fellowship provides an opportunity for experienced economists to work full-time or part-time at the CBO in Washington, DC on complex budgetary issues and contribute to research and publications. Meet some of the Fellows.
Not sure where the timely, nonpartisan analyses have been these past few weeks. Thank goodness Congress has a fellowship for talented economists – now it’s time to tap them!
Are you a K-12 teacher who dreams of getting paid to get out of the classroom and into the field to learn about cutting edge environmental research and conservation efforts? The Earthwatch Educator Fellowship funds you to do just this!
Earthwatch Educator Fellows are funded by the Earthwatch Institute to go on expeditions around the world and work alongside leading environmental scientists. What you give back is a blog and presentations on your experience to encourage others to be involved in conservation efforts.
You might think you need years of experience, a science background or a certain education level to be eligible for the Earthwatch Educator Fellowship. Not at all! According to the Earthwatch Institute, “all you need is a sense of adventure, a deep curiosity, a love of meaningful work, and a desire to make a difference.”
If you ask me, that sounds exceptional.
The devastating earthquake that ruptured in Haiti in January 2010 is far off the media radar, yet Haiti still has a long road to recovery. Many hope to rebuild Haiti so that it can one day provide better education, infrastructure and health services for its citizens than ever before.
Some extraordinary people took the opportunity to make a real difference in Haiti through a fellowship. Jay Grahm won an AAAS Science & Technology Fellowship and went to Haiti to help build hand washing stations and provide other sanitation needs for growing camps full of displaced people.
This year Anand Habib, a senior from Houston, Texas studying biology at Stanford, won a Medical Missionaries Post-Baccalaureate Fellowship to spend a year serving at the St. Joseph Clinic in Thomassique, Haiti. Anand plans to become an infectious disease doctor.
There are also Haitians who have used fellowships to train abroad and bring skills and expertise back to Haiti. Pierre Fouché, a Fulbright Fellow from Haiti, studied at the University of Buffalo to learn more about building earthquake-proof structures. He went back to Haiti to train other engineers and architects working in the rebuilding effort.
Cynthia Robinson, director of the AAAS S&T Fellowships, said the efforts of those working in Haiti “are indicative of the skills that Fellows can offer by applying their knowledge in real-world situations to address challenges and bring about positive change.”
Ryan and I are having great fun volunteering with the Reel Brazil Film Festival in Wellington, the brainchild of Leandro Cavalcanti. Reel Brazil is a non-profit venture bringing some of the best Brazilian films to New Zealand theatres in September. We’re impressed by the dedication and passion brought to this festival through the volunteers and independent filmmakers from Brazil eager to share their work.
This got us wondering…. are the fellowships for filmmaking?
Silly question. There are lots! For example, there are numerous fellowships for filmmakers selected to participate in Sundance’s Feature Film Program Lab, like the Sundance Institute Cinereach Feature Film Fellowship.
There are also new fellowships for filmmakers popping up every year. The new Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship funds a year-long, in-depth experience for an emerging, talented film editor, including full passes to popular film festivals in the U.S.
Even the San Francisco Silent Film Festival has a fellowship, allowing a film preservation graduate the opportunity to work directly with international archivists attending the festival.
Speaking of filmmaking, Ryan and I could use some pointers. Enjoy our out takes video. And we’ll see you at Reel Brazil!
Some of our IndieGoGo backers have asked for help finding artist-in-residence fellowships, which help fund creative projects. Well, we are on the hunt! You wouldn’t believe how obscure some of these fantastic opportunities are.
We’re finding that some artist-in-residence opportunities are unpaid or even require a fee. Our goal is to find those opportunities that provide financial support in the form of stipends, housing and supplies.
Deanna Wood, who was an artist-in-residence at Ora Lerman Charitable Trust Artist’s Residency at Soaring Gardens, PA, blogs:
“…they’re “giving me the gift of time” to do my work. I think that’s a good way to put it. I’ll be away in a beautiful setting with other artists and I won’t have to worry about “everyday” types of things that keep me from doing art.”
Deanna talks about different kids of residencies, including unique ones like the Artist in Residence Program at Recology San Francisco, which provides artists with a stipend, a large studio space and “scavenging privileges” for discarded materials. This allows artists the freedom to use art to encourage conservation.
We think these programs are awesome–we’ll keep scavenging to find them!
Erin Johnson, a Jewish Service Corps Fellow, recently reached out to me via LinkedIn to share with me her experience looking for fellowships online. Like many of us, she spent hours on the Internet searching for fellowships that provide financial support for a community service project. She hit a gold mine when she discovered that a number of Jewish organizations provide fully-funded service fellowships, including service projects abroad in Israel!
The Jewish Service Corps, sponsored by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, offers year-long, paid, service opportunities to young Jewish leaders. The fellowship covers round-trip travel expenses, housing, a monthly stipend for basic living expenses, a small end-of-year bonus, and a health insurance package. Currently, JSC Fellows are located in Argentina, India, Turkey, Ukraine, Russia, Germany, Poland, Estonia, Serbia, Israel, Rwanda and Ethiopia.
We know there are many more fellowships like this funded by faith-based organizations. This is one more lead for our fellowship search – thanks Erin!
Venture for America is doing their part to create jobs for the U.S. economy. Today VFA announced the offering of new entrepreneurship fellowship opportunities for recent college graduates. VFA’s goal is for its fellows to contribute to the creation of 100,000 jobs by 2025.
Here is a bit of information about how the program works:
“Start-up companies within the target cities will be identified within industries of great potential or future importance (e.g., energy, biotech, materials sciences, infotech, education innovation, etc.). These start-ups will be presented with VFA fellows to hire for two years, at a discounted salary of $32- $38,000 per year. At the end of the 2-year period, the company can hire the fellow under new terms”.
VFA fellowships are for two years, and upon the conclusion of the fellowship the highest performing fellow is awarded $100,000 for seed investment for a new venture or funding for their existing company. VFA is working with established venture capital and angel networks to be able to extend multiple awards like this, as well as vendor services, in the coming years.
To learn more about Venture for America fellowships please visit their website: http://ventureforamerica.org