FELLOWSHIP PROPOSALS

Ideally you should have confirmed a lab position far enough ahead (end of Fall term-January) of the summer fellowship deadlines to allow time to meet with your principal investigator and lab mentor to discuss a project. This will help enormously as you prepare to write the research proposal for your fellowship applications (note, that research proposal requires several drafts before final document can be submitted). The more time you have to prepare drafts of your proposal and get feedback from your mentor, the stronger your application is likely to be. You may find it helpful to set up a timeline for submitting drafts to your mentor to ensure that they will have enough time to read and return them to you with comments before the deadline. DO NOT LEAVE THIS UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE. Your mentor may not have time to review your proposal if you send it to them the day before it is due.

Fellowship proposals have to be tailored to each specific fellowship application. Students are encouraged to read application instructions and include all required information in the specific format that each application requires, including word limit. Two common fellowship proposal guidelines are listed below. 

Harvard College Research Program (HCRP): The HCRP application requires a 3-5 page detailed research proposal (see application instructions and make sure to include section headers and each item required for the proposal as well as proposal tips) and a letter of support from the lab principal investigator.

PRISE (Program for Research in Science and Engineering):  PRISE fellows are expected to find their own research positions. However, students may apply to the program before having secured a lab position. PRISE research proposal limit is 500 words. Obviously, students who have not found a lab placement by the application deadline will not be in a position to write a specific project proposal; however, they are expected to submit an essay that broadly outlines their research interests. The selection committee allows some leeway in these instances as long as the essay has some scientific merit and makes a connection between the applicant’s research interests and academic goals. The selection committee expects a more detailed research proposal from students who already have found research positions. Your lab mentor can provide you with background material and work with you on your project proposal. Be sure to phrase the proposal in your own words and not use wording taken directly from lab publications or their web site. You also are required to submit a second essay that describes how you plan to engage in and contribute to the PRISE community.