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Our Philosophy

The Office of Fellowships takes a holistic, pedagogical approach to advising.

We empower our advisees across all backgrounds and identities to discern and pursue their goals with guidance from an expansive network of mentors—whether or not they file an application, let alone win a fellowship.

We facilitate connections among faculty, students, staff, and alumni to ensure our advisees build the strongest possible network at Northwestern and that they understand how to maintain those relationships after they graduate.

Fellowships Advising Cycle

Drawing upon insights and best practices from across the field, the Office of Fellowships approaches its work as a continuous cycle that stretches from initial recruitment efforts to the announcement of awards and back again. Throughout the cycle, we offer these services to the community of Northwestern students and alums:

  • Proactive advising to contact prospective applicants on campus and beyond
  • Informational delivery of eligibility rules, campus and national deadlines, and award benefits
  • Developmental advising to help applicants articulate their academic and professional goals
  • Strength-based advising to guide applicants as they shape the argument of their candidacy
  • Advising as teaching through feedback on writing and in mock interviews

This graphic representation of the fellowships advising cycle can be downloaded and shared.

Engagement with Collaborators

Faculty and staff play important roles throughout the fellowships advising process. The Office of Fellowships relies upon campus collaborators to identify potential applicants, most notably through our annual talent search. Faculty and staff also provide support for advisees during the application process by serving on mock-interview panels, providing mentorship, and writing letters of recommendation. Finally, faculty and staff are crucial in our annual effort to report fellowship winners across the Northwestern community.

This graphic representation of our engagement with collaborators can be downloaded and shared.