What's a Fellowship?

Financial support for graduate study comes in many forms. The most common are teaching assistantships and research assistantships offered by academic department (what UO calls "GTFs", for "graduate teaching fellowships"), and tuition reimbursements by employers (usually for part-time study toward a master's degree).

A third kind of financial support is a fellowship. While a teaching assistantship or a research assistantship is (at least partly) a job, a fellowship (sometimes called a scholarship) does not involve work responsibilities: free money, more or less. Besides the attraction of money without extra work responsibilities, fellowships have prestige value. As you might well assume, they are much more difficult to obtain than research and teaching assistantships.

Rhodes, Marshall, Mellon, Truman, and Fullbright Scholarships

A handful of very prestigious fellowships (or scholarships) are awarded each year, primarily in fall. The University of Oregon starts the fall term much later than most schools, as a result of the the quarter system in place here (as versus the semester system used in many other schools). An unfortunate consequence of this schedule shift is that good candidates for prestigious fellowships often learn about them too late to meet their deadlines. While it is too early now (spring 2000) to submit applications, now is the right time to start inquiring about the nomination and application process, to be ready for the formal application process which will begin in early September (while we are still on summer break).

The Rhodes Scholarship is awarded to 32 Americans annually for graduate study at Oxford. It requires academic excellence as well as evidence of leadership and other extra-academic accomplishment. Applicants must be between 18 and 24 years old. The bachelor's degree must be completed before October 1, 2001.

The British Marshall Scholarship will be awarded to approximately 40 Americans in 2001, and requires a minimum GPA of 3.71, exclusive of the freshman year. The scholarship supports two years of study in any discipline in a British university of the candidate's choice. The bachelor's degree must be completed before the award begins.

Rhodes and Marshall Scholarship applicants must submit preliminary applications to the U.O. College of Arts and Sciences by 30 September 2000. Interviews will be conducted in early October. For more information, contact the College of Arts and Sciences Dean's Office, 114 Friendly Hall, 346-3902.

Mellon Fellowships "for careers of teaching and scholarship in humanistic studies" will be awarded to 80 students in 1999. The deadline for application requests is December 7, with completed applications due December 21. Brochures explaining the application process are available in the College of Arts and Sciences Dean's Office, 114 Friendly Hall, 346-3902.

Truman Scholarships provide up to 80 scholarships to junior-level U.S. students whose class standing is in the upper quarter, have outstanding leadership potential, are committed to careers in government or elsewhere in public service, and wish to attend graduate school to help prepare for their careers. Information is available from the College of Arts and Sciences Dean's Office, 114 Friendly Hall, 346-3902.

Students interested in Fulbright Fellowships should contact the office of International Education and Exchange, 330 Oregon Hall, 346-3206.

The information on specific fellowships is excerpted from a memorandum sent to U.O. faculty on May 3, 2000. I made the other stuff up, but it might be true anyway.