Tanyol AAUW

Applying for an AAUW (American Association of University Women) American Fellowship • $20,000 dissertation fellowship for American women (also: $30K post-doc, $6K summer publication grant, or $18-30K international student fellowship available) • Dissertation fellowship requires submission of:  3 recommendations (incl. your dissertation committee chair)  transcripts from all graduate schools you’ve attended  institutional certification form (signed by dean or dept./grad chair)  ~20-page application filled out online (includes essays)  $40 application fee (submitted online) • Deadline: Nov. 15, 2009

The ~20-page online application • Mostly fill-in-the-blanks (advisors, field, your vital stats, your work history, etc.)

• Short written sections: 

Describe your proposed project/dissertation in one paragraph (argument, significance)

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Your teaching experience

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Your mentoring/counseling commitments to women during the school year

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Your past scholarships, fellowships, & grants (w/amounts); past honors & awards; publications (if any)

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Other background information (more on this later)

The Narrative Autobiography • Your relevant autobiography (what led you to this point—a job, a singular experience, some interesting anecdote) • Your academic work (in brief) & how it is likely to help women and girls break through cultural and societal barriers (if relevant) • How you have mentored other women and girls (students, members of community groups, etc.)

• Essay is ~1 to 1.5 pages long, single spaced

The Project Statement • Describe your dissertation: its significance, its contributions to your field of study, the details of each chapter (a paragraph per chapter). Your diss proposal is a good model.

• Begin with a relevant example from your dissertation—a hook— before leaping into the details of the dissertation.

• Avoid technical jargon, because your audience is an educated but non-expert selection committee. Convince readers that your project is useful and interesting.

• Include the names of your committee & a timeline for finishing your diss at the end of the Project Statement, if they ask for it.

• Essay is ~3 pages long, single-spaced.

Other Background Information? (opportunity for a third essay—whoo-hoo!)

• Usually the last question on the application before the Narrative Autobiography • About a paragraph long • Your chance to squeeze in things that may help you to get the fellowship but which didn’t fit naturally in your Narrative Autobiography or Project Statement 

had to get chopped out of the essays due to those pesky character limits 

El Budget-o (how to spend $20,000)

• Acceptable: most living expenses, books and supplies, dissertation tuition, travel to conferences • Unacceptable: research assistants, lab supplies & equipment, publication costs, tuition for additional classes, obligations/debt • Budget should be ~$20,000, so you don’t appear too expensive to fund (say, $30,000) or as if you don't need it (say, $10,000) • Since your employment during your AAUW year is limited to teaching for <10 hours a week, shortfalls can’t be made up through additional employment if budget is too high.

Best of luck…

• Award notifications April 15, 2010 • 10 Penn grad students have been named American Fellows in recent years (3 in 2004-2005; 4 in 2005-2006; 1 in 2007-2008; 2 in 2008-2009). Usually ~40 dissertation fellowships awarded per year, plus a few post-doctoral fellowships & publication grants) • 5 Penn grad students (M.A. and Ph.D.) have been named International Fellows in recent years.

• Fellowship year July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011