Summer 2026 OGFA Newsletter

Summer is all about planning, drafting, and preparing for fall fellowship submissions! Connect with OGFA this summer as we offer a two multi-day workshop series aimed at helping you get started, wherever you are in your graduate and funding journey. Our Three-Day Finding Funding Workshop provides an overview of the external funding process, including how awards work, what the typical application components are, and best practices for application writing. Day two is devoted to in-depth guidance on how to use funding databases and resources to identify good fit funding opportunities. For students who have already identified a fellowship they plan to apply to in the fall or spring, our Four-Part Application Writing Workshop provides structured exercises and a collaborative, supportive place to get started generating content for a competitive funding proposal.

Beyond these workshops, OGFA is always eager to connect to support you in your pursuit of external funding. Check out the Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards Let’s Meet webpage for more information on how to jumpstart your fellowships and awards journey.

We want to know if you've won an external fellowship of grant! If you were awarded an external fellowship or grant to support your graduate education for the current academic year or for the next academic year, submit your award information here so we can recognize you!

Aside from the possibility of securing funding for research and professional development, applying for fellowships and grants is a great way to build critical skills. At OGFA, we encourage you to view the pursuit of external funding as an integral part of your graduate training—the application process can help you clarify your goals, refine how you communicate your research/work, develop skills in project management, and make you a better collaborator. In the excerpts below, you can see how graduate students who have worked with OGFA to apply for external funding describe the skills and perspectives they built through the process.

Funding opportunities are always competitive, and you’re never guaranteed to win the thing you apply for. But you can be sure that the process is worthwhile. Even if you don’t get the funding, you will engage in meaningful work that furthers your scholarly and professional development. OGFA is ready to support you in that endeavor!

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Carine Schermann, PhD Candidate in Modern Languages and Linguistics

Recipient of Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship and the
Boston College African and Africana Diaspora Studies Program Dissertation Fellowship

Applying for fellowships has been both challenging and transformative. Even if I hadn’t received any funding, the application process itself was invaluable. It pushed me to clarify my academic project (its purpose, stakes, and the kind of language I want to use to communicate it). I was also able to reflect on who I am as a scholar: what I value, how I want to present my work, and how my methodologies align with my principles.

The process helped me better understand how to use the resources available to me: how and when to reach out to mentors, how to manage my time strategically, and how to structure long-term goals. Most importantly, it reinforced that academic writing is fundamentally collaborative. Whether I’m preparing a grant proposal or a dissertation chapter, feedback from others (both specialists and non-specialists) makes my work stronger.

Practicing writing for broader audiences has been especially meaningful. Making my research accessible is a priority for me, especially in relation to the communities I work with. Fellowship writing gave me a chance to develop that skill intentionally, and I truly believe it’s made me a better writer (especially in English which is not my first language).

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Daniel Gutierrez, PhD Candidate in Biological Science

Recipient of McKnight Doctoral Fellowship and
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Applying for funding has allowed me to improve and practice most, if not all, of the skills that an academic would need for their career: formulating a cohesive research project, identifying relevant hypotheses, designing an appropriate methodology, thinking about broader impacts, and, most importantly, being able to communicate all of this for a broad range of audiences, both general and specialized. Learning how to take and incorporate feedback is a fundamental skill that is only learned through experience, too.

I have learned how to frame my specific work into a broader academic or knowledge framework that is of interest to a larger audience than my direct peers and colleagues. This skill is something that I personally have had to work on constantly, and grant/fellowship writing has forced me to think about the broader impacts of my research and how it fits into larger questions. I have also learned to accept rejections as part of the process; not every application/proposal will be the best fit for every funding source, and there are always very competitive proposals being submitted.

FSU’s Three Minute Thesis competition highlights graduate research across disciplines, sharpens communication skills

Thirteen Florida State University graduate students distilled years of research into just three minutes at the annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT™) competition on April 8 in the College of Medicine Peaden Auditorium. The brief time limit to explain complex work to a non-specialized audience encourages participants to consolidate and crystallize their research ideas. Read more.

Musicology graduate finds community in Colombia through Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award

As a universal language, music often has the power to connect people across borders. Recent Florida State University graduate Amelia Rivers is advancing that idea in Rionegro, Colombia, where she’s using education and the arts to build intercultural community as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. Read more.

FSU’s Celebration of Graduate Student Excellence touts impressive year of national fellowships and grants

Florida State University recognized graduate student achievement and leadership at the Celebration of Graduate Student Excellence, sponsored by The Graduate School and the Congress of Graduate Students, on April 6 at the FSU Alumni Center. “Florida State has attracted some of the top graduate students from Florida, from around the United States and from around the world,” said Steve McDowell, interim dean of The Graduate School. Read more.

FSU student earns American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship

Exercise physiology doctoral candidate Thomas Bissen received the highly competitive national award that supports promising doctoral students pursuing innovative cardiovascular research. The fellowship provides funding and advanced training opportunities, allowing early career scientists to focus more deeply on their research while preparing to become leaders in improving heart health and overall well-being. Read more.

If you are a current FSU student, please register with your FSU email.

Funding Your Graduate Education: Database Search
OGFA staff will facilitate small group meetings to assist graduate students with navigating award databases to identify fellowships and awards that are a good "fit" to support their graduate education.

January 25 | 11 AM | Register here
February 21 | 2 PM | Register here
March 21 with a focus on international students | 10:30 AM | Register here
April 19 | 11 AM | Register here

Fulbright U.S. Student Program Info Sessions

General Info Session | January 23 | 11 AM | Register here
Academic Grants | January 24 | 10 AM| Register here
Arts and Creative Projects | January 25 | 11 AM | Register here
English Teaching Assistantships | January 26 | 1:30 PM | Register here

Building Cohesion in Application Writing
January 31 | 12 PM | Register here
Facilitated by the Center for Intensive English Studies, this workshop is intended to support English as a Second Language students who are interested in developing their fellowship and award application writing skills. “Cohesion,” or flow and connection across an application, is essential for writing high-quality application essays. This workshop will provide guidance and instruction on achieving cohesion.

CV/Resume Workshop with The Career Center
March 22 | 10:30 AM | Register here
CVs and Resumes are an important part of your scholarly and professional profile, and they play vital roles in the fellowships and awards application process. Join OGFA and the Career Center for a workshop on preparing high-impact CVs and Resumes! Time-allowing, we will also provide feedback on your CV/Resume!

Proposal Planning and Writing with the Office of Research Development
March 30 | 2 PM | Register here
This workshop will focus on breaking down fellowship application guidelines to identify what is required in a competitive application. Evangeline Coker from the Office of Research Development will discuss how to strategize and plan an application and provide tips for writing high-impact proposals.

Communicating the Significance of your Research
April 13 | 1 PM | Register here
Explaining your research to a broad audience of fellowship reviewers can be challenging. In this interactive workshop, we will practice pitching the significance of your research to your target audience and refining the answer to the elusive “so-what” question.

All award titles below are hyperlinked to the award webpage.

Fulbright U.S. Student Program

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides opportunities to teach English, conduct independent research/creative projects, or enroll in graduate coursework in more than 150 countries around the world. It is open to graduate students in any discipline or degree program, though it is limited to U.S. citizens. FSU has an internal application process; contact ogfa-info@fsu.edu to learn more.

Deadline: June 05, 2026

Phi Kappa Phi Love of Learning Awards

Open to members of Phi Kappa Phi honor society, the Love of Learning Awards can fund expenses associated with graduate studies, including dissertation research, career development, and travel related to teaching or research. One hundred fifty-five awards, at $1,000 each, are distributed each year.

Deadline: June 30, 2026

American Academy of Underwater Sciences Research Scholarships

The American Academy of Underwater Sciences awards two $3,000 research scholarships to graduate students, one master's program student and one Ph.D. candidate, engaged in, or planning to begin, a research project in which diving is or will be used as a principal research tool or to study scientific diving. The AAUS may also award two additional $1,500 scholarships to the next two proposals that are ranked the highest.

Deadline: June 30, 2026

Paul P. Fidler Research Grant

The Paul P. Fidler Research Grant is open to those planning to conduct research on college student transitions. The comprehensive award package includes a stipend, priority consideration for publication in the Center's Journal of The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, registration to two national conferences hosted by the Center, and more. Entries can be submitted for an individual researcher or a team. Ph.D. and Ed.D. students are strongly encouraged to apply.

Deadline: July 13, 2026

Visit Funding Booklet Collection

The work and research in action of graduate students at Florida State University broadly impacts the campus community and the world around us. OGFA initiated the Grad Impact: Digital Narratives Project to capture and amplify the lived graduate student experience at FSU. Check out some of our grad student highlights below.