Application

The application consists of a single, two-phase process. The Student Fellowships Committee, an interdisciplinary committee comprising Bowdoin faculty and staff, reviews the applications and makes final award decisions.

If you are even considering applying for a summer fellowship, we encourage you to submit a phase one application. The application is non-binding and can be withdrawn from the process at any point by contacting Gina Pappas and your faculty mentor.

Please be reminded that Bowdoin’s Honor Code applies to the fellowship application process.

The phase one online application (see deadline above) will require you (the student) to provide:

• contact information for your faculty mentor

• an uploaded PDF of your unofficial academic history from Polaris

• a brief paragraph describing your proposed research (This will not be considered during the evaluation process; it is purely for the benefit of your faculty mentor.)

When you submit your phase one online application, your mentor will receive an e-mail explaining how to submit a letter of recommendation by the phase two deadline, and you will receive a confirmation email with a link to your phase two application.

The phase one deadline pertains to student applicants only; the letter of recommendation from your faculty mentor is due by the phase two deadline. 

Once you submit your phase one application, you will receive an email with a link to your phase two application which will ask for:

• a two-page, single-spaced project description uploaded as a PDF. (For detailed instructions on what your project description should include, please refer to the "Selection Criteria" page.)

• if applicable, budget and justification uploaded as a PDF. (In addition to their award, fellows may also be reimbursed for up to $500 for justified research-related expenses, such as laboratory/art supplies, analytical costs, and travel beyond the local area to conduct field work or to visit an archive. Find a sample budget here.) 

• if your project is based in the humanities, a bibliography of representative primary materials and scholarly studies that will inform your project and that you plan to work with during the period of the fellowship. This bibliography should include at least six items (books, scholarly articles, or similar materials), but should be limited to one single-spaced page. Be sure to follow a bibliographical format (e.g., Chicago MLA) appropriate to your discipline.

Additionally, faculty mentors will be expected to email their letters of recommendation to Gina Pappas by the phase two deadline.