Using the Graduate Writing Lab as a Fellowship Seeker

Whether you’re an avid or casual reader of the GradFunding newsletter, you’re likely already acquainted with some of the services that we offer in the Graduate Center Office of Fellowships; these include Zoom info sessions for specific grants like the NSF-GRFP and DAAD, summer and fall Fellowship Application Development Programs, and department-specific fellowship workshops. But did you know that the programming in the Graduate Writing Lab (GWL) is also directly applicable to funding applicants? Here are some GWL services that may be of help to you as a fellowship seeker:

Writing Efficiency Sessions: Let’s say an important deadline is approaching, and you need time to chip away at your application materials. This is a great time to register for the Writing Efficiency Sessions (WES). These two-hour Zoom sessions are held Monday through Friday, and they’re perfect for helping you carve out some space in your calendar to make concrete progress on your application in a supportive, low-stress environment.

Graduate Writing Tutors: After a few weeks, you’ve made great progress in WES, and you have a solid draft of your research statement. You’re about 50 words over the word limit, however, and you aren’t sure if your narrative is easily understood by someone who isn’t a subject area expert. You can make an appointment with a trained and certified Graduate Writing Tutor—either in person at the Graduate Center, over Zoom, or through asynchronous Feedback Loops—to get thoughtful feedback from a peer tutor on how to strengthen your writing and identify potential patterns to improve.

Graduate Writing Groups: By the time you’ve submitted your fellowship application, you’ve developed some great writing habits and are seeing tangible improvements in your writing. You might already be thinking about trying your luck at other fellowships in the future, but you aren’t sure what else might be a good fit. Did you know that your fellow graduate students are some of the most valuable resources for learning about fellowship opportunities? When you join a Graduate Writing Group, you’ll automatically have something in common with each of the other participants, whether you’re in the same broader field (like the social sciences), are in similar life circumstances (like parenting while in graduate school), or share an identity or affinity (like being an international student). Through weekly meetings, you’ll discuss topics like writing and goal setting, and you’ll also build a valuable peer network for sharing fellowship opportunities.

We hope this is a helpful introduction to the offerings of the Graduate Writing Lab and how they can help you as a fellowship applicant.

Sedona Heidinger

Art History PhD Student

Graduate Teaching Associate, School of Art

Graduate Assistant, Graduate Center Office of Fellowships

For further information on these programs, please contact Shelley Hawthorne Smith, Associate Director of the Graduate Center Office of Fellowships, Associate Director of the Graduate Writing Lab, and Assistant Professor, Graduate College at shellh@arizona.edu.