Information and Resources for Student Funding

Definitions

Fellowships- are awarded to individuals. They are primarily for professional development and are meant to support a recipient who is taking advanced courses, carrying out research, or working on a project. The fellowship money is meant to serve as a salary that covers living expenses. Sometimes fellowships include a small allowance specifically designed for travel or research expenses; they may also include payment of tuition and fees. Selection is based on merit of the individual applicant (i.e., achievement and promise of achievement, as evidenced by grades, GRE scores, publications, and letters of recommendation). Financial aid is only occasionally a consideration.

Residential Fellowships- A variation of a general fellowship given to support work undertaken at a specific location, generally a facility operated by the sponsoring organization. The fellowships usually cover travel and living expenses during the time of residence and may be awarded in the form of a fixed stipend or on a monthly basis.

Grants and Grants-in-Aid usually awarded to support research or specific projects. Grants in aid are small grants meant to contribute to the expenses of a research project, often for a short period of time. Grants and grants-in-aid provide funds to cover expenses directly related to carrying on the proposed research (e.g., materials, computers, etc.). They usually do not include basic living expenses of students while in residence of their own universities. Grants in aid usually provide limited funds ($1k to 3k). Selection is based on the quality, originality, and importance of the research proposed and on the applicants personal qualifications indicating their ability to carry out the project successfully.

Awards-in-Recognition and Prizes presented after-the-fact to recognize outstanding achievements, e.g., for outstanding doctoral dissertations. Winners receive a small amount of money, but a lot of prestige, and usually publication of their work and an expense-paid trip to an annual meeting of the organization sponsoring the award prize, where the recipient may be asked to present their work.

Travel Awards Providing travel funds for graduate and postdoctoral scholars is extremely limited. When available, the funds enable the individual to travel to a research or fieldwork site, consult with a colleague, make use of a library or a collection, or attend a specific conference.

Links to Additional Possible Funding Sources

American Psychological Association Funding Links
http://www.apa.org/apf/scholar.html
http://www.apa.org/apf/research.html
http://www.apa.org/students/funding.html

NIH Funding links
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/index.cfm

Fund Source (a searchable database of funding opportunities)
http://www.decadeofbehavior.org/fundsource/

Hispanic Scholarship Fund
www.hsf.net

Illinois Minority Graduate Training Grants
Illinois Minority Graduate Incentive Program
Illinois Consortium for Educational Opportunities Program

Other Online Sources and Search Engines
www.fastweb.com list of scholarships and grants, notifies you via e-mail of any scholarship you may be eligible to apply to.
www.fastaid.com similar to fastweb.com
www.finaid.org scholarships and loans with online applications
www.grantsnet.org similar to fastweb; register for grants and fellowships
www.studentadvantage.com/scholarshipsearch up to date online database of scholarships, loans, grants and other awards
www.scholarstuff.org
www.freshinfo.com
www.4scholarships.4anything.com search engine, relevant links
www.scholarships.com search engine
www.fdncenter.org gives information about foundation grants to individuals and institutions