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Faculty and Staff Resources

The Office of Fellowships depends upon the expertise, insight, and collaboration of faculty and staff to support students in finding and applying for fellowships.

The advice and resources below are designed for faculty and staff to share with prospective applicants as they begin their search for fellowships.

Annual Goals for Future Fellows

It is never too late to contact the Office of Fellowships, but we also suggest the following annual goals as a series of best practices to guide students throughout their undergraduate careers and prepare them for fellowship applications.

Year 1: Students are encouraged to meet faculty members, pick a foreign language, and identify community service opportunities of interest.

Year 2: Students should build their research and leadership skills while achieving competency in their chosen foreign language. The summer between year two and year three is a good time to reach these goals.

Year 3: Students should strive to acquire independent research skills and achieve fluency in their chosen foreign language.

Year 4: Students should focus on completing research projects while making plans for graduate study in academic disciplines, professional degrees, or service placements.

This graphic representation of the annual goals for future fellows can be downloaded and shared with prospective applicants.

Mentor Map

Alongside the support offered by the Office of Fellowships, successful applicants for fellowships rely upon a wide array of mentors from across the Northwestern campus and beyond. As students begin to consider their pursuit of fellowships, they should also think about the many people in their life who can provide support throughout the process, from brainstorming partners to writers of recommendation letters.

This fillable PDF of the mentor map can be downloaded and shared with prospective applicants.

Top Ten Things to Know About Fellowships

  1. We are MATCHMAKERS. No need to pick a fellowship before you schedule an appointment.
  2. In an IDEAL case, build skills and seek guidance eighteen months before you need the money.
  3. BUT if you have the skills and the letters, last-minute applications CAN work!
  4. Fellowships exist for ALL students at ALL academic levels in ALL fields.
  5. Fellowships are for EVERYONE, not only the academic elite.
  6. Language ability ALWAYS expands options.
  7. Seek opportunities BEYOND the classroom: research, projects, arts, community service.
  8. Find MENTORS who know you from and can write LETTERS about all these activities.
  9. It is never too EARLY to visit the Office of Fellowships.
  10. It is never too LATE to contact the Office of Fellowships; we work with alums.

This graphic representation of the top ten things to know about fellowships can be downloaded and shared with prospective applicants.

Canvas Course

Faculty and staff have access to our Canvas course through the Canvas Commons (NetID and password required).  This resource includes interactive advice on how students can write the various components of a fellowship application and how to seek and build relationships with mentors.

Who Should My Student Meet?

Students interested in languages and global experience should contact Amy Kehoe.

STEM students should contact LaTanya Williams.

Students interested in public service careers or the arts should contact Jason Kelly Roberts.

Undergraduates can make appointments with our advisers by choosing a day and time through their ConnectNU accounts. If you are unable to make an appointment through ConnectNU, please call 847-491-2617 or email the Office of Fellowships.

Annual Reports

To learn more about our work with applicants, especially with regard to the support we offer across disciplines and our efforts to address diversity, equity, and inclusion, please see our annual reports since 2016 (NetID and password required).