WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
105 Fisk Hall * Middletown CT 06459
Tel 1 860 685 2550; Fax 1 860 685 2551; Email csorkin@wesleyan.edu


APPLYING FOR INTERNATIONAL POST-GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS
THROUGH THE OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES 2008
 

There are many opportunities to do graduate study abroad, some of which are competitive scholarships overseen, at Wesleyan, by various people on campus. This document provides basic information on scholarships for which application is made through the Office of International Studies (OIS):

Gates: http://www.gates.scholarships.cam.ac.uk/
Keasbey (no official website)
Luce: http://www.hluce.org/3scholfm.html
Marshall: http://www.marshallscholarship.org
Mitchell: http://www.us-irelandalliance.org/wmspage.cfm?parm1=2
Rhodes: http://www.rhodesscholar.org/
St. Andrews: http://www.standrewsny.org/scholarships.htm
You can reach these sites from our website as well: http://www.wesleyan.edu/ois/

Other useful sites:
British Council: http://www.britishcouncil-usa.org
On Course: http://www.oncourse.co.uk
UK Education website: http://www.educationUK.org
Research Assessment Exercise (rates academic departments at UK institutions): http://www.rae.ac.uk/ (2008, with results coming soon) or http://www.hero.ac.uk/rae (2001 -- the most recent version). Then look at the universities’ web pages individually, many of which are linked to the OIS website on the list of approved Europe programs under Great Britain).


To begin the application process
The first step is to let me know that you are interested, and in which fellowship(s). You can do this by phone (x2550), email, or a visit to the OIS.

You must submit a one-page curriculum vitae (or resume) and the attached Applicant Information Sheet with Draft 1. The CV/resume should be a graphically clean, one-page document, highlighting your leadership, research, extracurricular activities, work, and other notable achievements. You will not submit it in this format with your scholarship application materials, but it will be provided to Wesleyan’s International Scholarships Committee (ISC) before your on-campus interview to determine whether the university will support your candidacy. You also may find it useful in beginning the process of presenting yourself as an applicant. If Wesleyan nominates you, it is your responsibility to submit materials, including your transcript, directly to the relevant scholarship committee; you will work with me on coordination of materials submission.

There are various internal Wesleyan deadlines for each scholarship, as follows:

Deadlines:

Personal Statements and Brief Scholarship Descriptions
This is not your college-application personal statement; it is essentially a research proposal, in which you should outline what you plan to study, where you want this experience to take you (academically and professionally), what you have done that prepares you to make the most of the opportunity, and why what you are proposing to do matters. These awards tend to go to people who are pretty focused, so construct for yourself a relevant plan for your future. You may well not stick to it in the long run, but it’s important for you to think about where you’d like to be professionally in 5, 15, and 25 years. If you forward me your mailing address or stop by the OIS, I will give you sample statements written by past Wesleyan applicants who reached the interview stage or won a scholarship, so you’ll have an idea of what’s successful.

***NOTE: WESLEYAN IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THE KEASBEY IN 2008-09.***
Wesleyan is invited to submit applications for the Keasbey once every three years. The Keasbey is, like the Rhodes, for graduate study at Oxford University. In the 1,000-word personal statement, discuss what you want to study at Oxford, which means that you’ll need to research faculty and courses available. Also mention other things you have done or hope to do that relate to your qualifications and to how this experience will help you reach your goals. You must be interviewed and nominated by the Wesleyan International Scholarships Committee in order to apply for the Keasbey. Wesleyan can submit up to three candidates each year we are eligible.

The Luce is for graduates with no background in Asia to spend a year of internship and language study in Asia. You need an academic project, and the usual combination of academic achievement and personal breadth (and charm), for Luce. Visit the site and do some homework on what you think you'd want to do. The personal statement should be 1,000 words long. You must be interviewed and nominated by the Wesleyan International Scholarships Committee in order to apply; in 2008-09, Wesleyan can submit up to three candidates.

The Marshall application is online; the scholarship is for two years of study anywhere in the UK (you may split the time into two one-year stints at two different institutions, and there is an opportunity for Marshall Scholars to extend the scholarship for a third year, although this is not guaranteed). You need at least a 92 (3.7) GPA to be eligible. You will have to write both a 1000-word personal statement and a much more specific 500-word research proposal – the former should focus on the forest, the latter on the trees, of your project. Preference goes to people who don't want to study in Oxford, Cambridge, or London. Focus in the personal statement on the broader question of your field of study and scholarly goals, and on the relevance of the particular institutions you choose. The Marshall committee is interested primarily in You as Intellect, but also looks for evidence of substantive public service and leadership, broadly defined, in its deliberations. You must be interviewed and nominated by the Wesleyan International Scholarships Committee in order to apply; Wesleyan can submit as many candidates as the ISC considers qualified.

For Mitchell, the application is online. The scholarship is similar to the Marshall, but offers scholarships at several Irish universities, and aims to increase American awareness of Ireland and vice-versa, along with its academic goals. For this reason, your 1,000-word personal statement might reflect the relevance of Ireland to your proposed field of study. You must be interviewed and nominated by the Wesleyan International Scholarships Committee in order to apply; Wesleyan can submit as many candidates as the ISC deems qualified.

The Rhodes Scholarship supports graduate study at Oxford. Include a description of what you want to do academically at Oxford, which means investigating what fields and courses of study Oxford offers, and who teaches there. The Rhodes Scholarship Committee will be interested in the Whole You, so in addition to discussing academic goals and interests in your 1,000-word personal statement, be sure to discuss other experiences and plans you have that relate to your preparation and future. Rhodes places great emphasis on public service and leadership, so consider the relevance of both your academic and long-term professional goals in this light. You must be interviewed and nominated by the Wesleyan International Scholarships Committee in order to apply; Wesleyan can submit as many candidates as the ISC deems qualified.

The St. Andrews is for a year of study in Scotland. Eligibility is determined not only by academic merit, but also by heritage and geography: you must live or study within 250 miles of New York (as a Wesleyan student, you do), and you must be able to show some Scottish heritage. This application is less onerous than the others; there is a brief information sheet and two 200-word essays to write, in addition to submission of the transcript and letters of recommendation. You must be nominated by the Wesleyan International Scholarships Committee in order to apply; nomination follows an interview by Wesleyan’s International Scholarships Committee.

So, what should you be doing this summer?

• Figure out why you want this award: you need to really want this and have a good academic reason why. In other words, “I had a great time in country X when I studied abroad and want to go back” isn’t convincing, but “I want to spend the next Y time period studying/working on project Z, which relates to my academic interests A and B, and my professional goal C, and on which I have already done the following research” is. Research options via Internet or any other method that occurs to you.

• Draft your statement (you need to be thinking about how you want to present yourself after graduation anyway, so consider this a Voyage of Personal Discovery).

• Polish your resume or CV

• Become literate in contemporary life (see "Notes" if you have them; if not, get me your mailing address and I’ll send them to you). You should be able to talk sensibly about US involvement in Iraq, Bush’s energy policy, David Mamet's plays, the implications of cloning technology, whether we should abandon the electoral college, and such -- obviously not everything, but the sorts of issues you find in the New York Times or Wall Street Journal and on National Public Radio every day. Know what you like to read and why; have opinions about global issues. If all this is completely outside your interests, then this is probably not the right set of awards for you - they really do expect people to be very much engaged in the world at large.


Contact me with questions at csorkin@wesleyan.edu or (860) 685-2550.