Competitive Funding Applications | Center for Communication Excellence, Graduate College

Make an Appointment with a Competitive Funding Writing Consultant

Support for Preparing a Competitive Award Application

The Competitive Funding writing consultants help graduate student and postdoc award applicants in the following ways:

National award focused expectations	Understand funding agency expectations and requirements Highlight applicants' qualities and abilities to meet the expectations of the opportunity-funding organization Frame applicants' research, professional, and/or career interests to align with the program mission Present a compelling case for the proposed research or project Integrate relevant details about applicants' lives and experiences to develop an application that stands out and gets noticed Address the specific requirements of applications, such as targeted (short-answer) questions and length limits Emphasize applicants' strengths; re-frame their limitations and weaknesses in a positive light Communicate with mentors and others in their network to arrange for letters of recommendation and other support materials
Cross-disciplinary genre expectations	Develop content or subject matter in ways that meet the expectations of the funding review committee Outline, organize, and coordinate application materials Articulate the significance of research topics to the field Describe research methods in a clear and credible way Frame, position, and weigh propositions in a coherent discussion Articulate the value and contribution of their education, research, and career goals to the field Critically evaluate and refine their application writing according to academic expectations Understand the organization, communicative goals, and writing strategies of funding application genres (e.g., scholarships, fellowships, and grants)
Scholarly communication conventions	Differentiate among types of competitive applications (e.g., scholarships, fellowships, and grants) Understand the scope, aims, audience, and quality of awards and identify appropriate funding opportunities Understand ethical issues in scholarly writing Understand application requirements and the selection process
Academic and professional development	Identify academic writing conventions using scholarly resources Locate literature relevant to applicants’ research focus using library search engines and resources Effectively use writing technologies (e.g., electronic collections of texts, search engines for linguistic data)

Are you seeking funding for research or field study? Contact Iowa State University's Coordinator of Nationally Competitive Awards, John Milstead (milstea5@iastate.edu), to learn about prestigious funding opportunities. Then, get individual feedback on your application documents from CCE's Competitive Funding writing consultants.

Spring 2021 Fulbright U.S. Student Program Information Session

Are you a graduate student, junior, or senior searching for opportunities to teach English, pursue graduate study, or conduct research abroad? If so, you may be interested in the Fulbright US Student Program. This is the US government’s flagship international education program designed to increase mutual understanding between US citizens and residents of other countries. (Please note: applicants must be a US citizen at the time of application.)

Students interested in applying for nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships can now access the recording of Nationally Competitive Scholarships and Fellowships Webinar here. Topics include: a brief overview of the awards, how to identify and select an award, the application timeline and campus process, and tips and suggestions on writing effective essays.

Contact John Milstead (milstea5@iastate.edu), ISU's Coordinator of Nationally Competitive Awards in University Honors, if you are interested in applying. Schedule a Competitive Funding writing consultation for feedback on your application.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-J37ndeLrc.

Information on selecting which awards are best suited to your individual abilities and goals as well as how to prepare applications was discussed. In addition, assistance available from the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards and the Center for Communication Excellence was highlighted. Contact John Milstead (milstea5@iastate.edu) with any questions about this webinar.