Someone recently asked me about funding for a PhD/doctoral degree and the question was...
"What's the best way to get funding and scholarships for a PhD/Doctoral degree?"
Here's my answer...
Your best bet would be to contact each university directly to ask about their specific funding, scholarship, and fellowship opportunities for PhD candidates.
It’s worth mentioning that if you plan on getting a PhD in any of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math) Fields at a university in the United States then you most probably won’t have to worry about funding. Most of these programs fully fund their PhD students for 5 years, but of course there are always exceptions so make sure you do your research. Many PhD programs also allow students to get a Masters degree while they are working towards getting a PhD (these types of combined Masters and PhD programs usually last for 5 years or more).
When it comes to getting a PhD in the United States, the hardest part is actually getting admitted into a program. After you’re admitted, the university/department usually funds you and fully takes care of your costs to attend the university. A PhD student’s tuition is usually covered and she/he is usually given a living stipend/salary as long as she/he provides intellectual labor via teaching and research assistantships.
I’ll tell a short story to show you.
I have a friend who scored an internship with the United Nations in Jordan during her junior year of college. However, there was one problem; the internship was unpaid. She didn’t have enough money to support herself and work for free abroad.
Determined to take advantage of the great opportunity, she asked a professor from our major department (we were both Near Eastern Studies majors) about funding available for students. The concerned professor went out of his way and lobbied for her. He made sure she got a piece of department funding so she could do the internship.
Without this positive relationship with her professor, she likely wouldn’t have asked him for support when she needed it the most. With out that relationship, she might not have been awarded extra funding from our major department and would’ve ultimately been unable to take advantage of that great opportunity!
It goes to show you that building meaningful relationships with your professors can pay—literally.
Professors that know you well will also be more inclined to recommend you to scholarships, fellowships, grants, internships and other types of educational funds. This is because many professors are just helpful people who like to support their students andbecause they’ll know enough about you (your academic major, campus activities, etc.) to be able to guess which programs you’d be eligible for.
Here’s a personal example— teachers, professors, and academic advisors would always tell me about scholarships and other funding programs that few students knew about. They would even sometimes volunteer to write my recommendation letters for the application. This absolutely gave me a huge advantage and a better chance of being awarded as the competition wasn’t so steep and great recommendation letters strengthened my applications.
Alright, to bring the message home, let me say this again. Relationships with your professors, teachers, advisors, and guidance counselors MATTER when it comes to finding alternative ways to fund your education.
Don’t believe the hype that tells you that you have to be valedictorian in order to get higher education for free. Finding money for your education isn’t necessarily about being the “smartest” student. It’s often about doing what most students won’t do or what most students never think to do.
So here’s a task for all you students out there. Start building better relationships with your teachers and professors by….
Being more engaged and active during class/lecture: Ask questions, share your opinion, etc.
Asking professors for their advice about doing well in the course. You can literally ask “what’s your advice on how to do well in this class?”
Attend office hours or out of class activities or sessions with your professors. Don’t be shy! Mix and mingle, start a conversation about ANYTHING if you’re nervous at first. You’ll see that your professors and other university faculty members will be happy to engage with you.
Writing a great scholarship essay can be challenging but following these 5 steps will surely make you stand out from other applicants.
So, while you are writing your scholarship essay, make sure you...
Tell your story- People love stories and good stories catch massive attention quickly! In your story, answer these questions: What has happened in your life up to this point to make you want this scholarship? What have you done in your life to be worthy of this scholarship? In your essay, demonstrate with examples. Use anecdotes.
Show how you will better serve others with the resources and skills you will gain from the scholarship program- Remember, service to others is what really makes your scholarship application memorable. The selection committee usually doesn’t want to dole out money to self-absorbed students; they feel more comfortable giving money to those who show they will carry on the scholarship’s tradition and share what they’ve gained from the scholarship. For example, while I was applying to the State Department’s Critical Language Scholarship for Arabic, I wrote about how I established an Arabic tutoring club on campus after I came back from my first study abroad program in Jordan. In the application essay, I expressed my need to better master Arabic in order to be a better resource for the students I was already serving on my campus.
Highlight all your activities and goals relevant to the scholarship’s mission or theme- Have you participated in any clubs dedicated to the scholarship’s mission? Participated in any volunteer work related to the scholarship’s mission or theme? Are you working towards undertaking any activities related to the scholarship’s mission but need additional support? All that information is relevant and should be reflected in your application.
Clearly convey how you will use the scholarship in your current and future work- Are you studying the target language independently because courses aren’t offered at your university? Are you studying (or plan to study) the language in order to better prepare yourself for future academic work? How do you plan to use the target language in your future career? Think about these questions and include this information in your essays.
5. Get the essay/application proofread and edited- Go to your school’s or college’s writing center and get your essays edited and make revisions. Visit the campus career center or your school’s guidance counselors’ office to get your essay/letter in great shape. If you aren’t able to find free writing services and counseling resources at your university or school, ask a teacher, professor, or fellow student to help you proofread and edit your essay and application.
Step 1: Search and Find Travel Scholarship and Funding Programs
10 Travel Related and Study Abroad Scholarships, Grants, and Fellowships:
The Fulbright Program– covers a full year of study, teaching, and/or research abroad for college graduates, graduate students, professionals, artists, and teachers. There are many different programs administered all over the world (non-U.S.territory) countries around the world.
Ambassadors Scholarship Foundation– sponsors several different scholarships geared towards promoting international and cross-cultural understanding and friendships. Some scholarships are awarded based on merit and others are awarded based primarily on financial need. You do not need to be a student to apply.
Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship -supports international exchange opportunities like study abroad and career-oriented internships for U.S. university students abroad. The program annually offers over 2,700 awards of up to $5,000 each.
Critical Language Scholarship (CLS)– fully funds U.S degree-seeking students to study critical languages in an intensive summer language institute. Critical languages include Arabic, Azerbaijani,Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Swahili, Turkish, Urdu.
Rhodes Scholarship– is an extremely competitive scholarship/fellowship that covers 2 full years of graduate study at Oxford University.
Marshall Scholarship– completely covers 2 to 3 years of graduate study in the UK. US citizens who have finished a bachelor’s degree are eligible to apply.
Make sure to check out these opportunities and do your own research on the multitude of other travel and study abroad funding programs that you may be eligible for. The larger internet search engines like google and bing are great for the search. And if you’re currently a student, make sure to try out scholarship search engines like fastweb.com, scholarships.com, and the phone app Scholly.
Step 2: Apply to Scholarships
Now that you know that there are countless organizations just waiting to award travel money to deserving applicants, you need to know the best way to apply. Here are 3 monumental tips for applying to scholarships and other funding programs.
Know the mission of the scholarship and show that you will carry on the tradition of that particular program. For example, the mission of the Critical Language Scholarship Program (CLS) is to increase the number of Americans studying critical languages. So, in my application for the CLS program, I made sure to emphasize how I would further promote the study of Arabic on my university campus by using the language skills I expected to gain if I was accepted into the program. The strategy worked; I was awarded the scholarship and got to study Arabic in Oman for a summer.
Get the best recommendation letters possible. While not all scholarship applications require recommendation letters, most do. A great letter will go a very long way and will increase your chances of being awarded funding. In order to make it easier on the person writing your letter, make sure to ask for the recommendation letter long before the application deadline. Also, provide your recommenders with a resume/CV and a summary of the scholarship program to which you are applying so they can write a detailed and impressive letter for you.
Get your application proofread and edited! Students can ask teachers and/or guidance counselors to proofread applications and essays. Non-students can visit a local library or a community center and ask a librarian or an assistant to edit and proofread your applications if friends and/or family members are inaccessible.
