Download - Tips for NSF GRF Applicants
Tips for NSF GRF Applicants
Matt WilliamsBarry M. Goldwater Scholar (2004-
05)NSF Graduate Research Fellow
(2005-08)
October 13, 2010
Matt Williams ([email protected])
Evaluation Criteria
Intellectual Merit• Demonstrate
intellectual ability– Plan and conduct
research– Work in team or
independently– Interpret and
communicate research
Broader Impacts• Contributions that
– Integrate research and education
– Make learning exciting– Broadly communicate
findings– Encourage diversity
(women, minorities, people with disabilities)
– Benefit society
10/13/10 2/9
Matt Williams ([email protected])
10/12/09 3/9
Essay Tips: General• Essays will make or break you• Follow essay prompt and target
evaluation criteria– Address “Intellectual Merit” and
“Broader Impacts” in all essays!• Be memorable• Express excitement and be
positive– Never “I hope”; always “I will ”
• Revise, revise, revise ...– … then have others read it and
revise some more. From the Reviewer’s Mouth…
“… did not go in depth on outreach activities or his personal perspectives and plans to translate the technical research into societal impact…”
“… uses I quite a lot to demonstrate accomplishments rather than team’s…”
“As a weekend volunteer in our GatorTRAX program, I have had the pleasure of teaching grade-school students basic concepts of math, science and engineering.”
“I participated in the UF sponsored GatorTRAX program designed to reverse the decline of graduating engineers in the United States. I spent Saturday mornings teaching …”
“It is commendable that you are thinking about the declining graduate trends in the US…”
Matt Williams ([email protected])
10/12/09 4/9
Essay Tips: Research Proposal• Clearly “place” your
proposed research within your field– Novelty? Impact?
• Support– Expertise, courses,
equipment• Don’t be too technical
– Best essays are accessible– Limit jargon and acronyms– Diagrams/pictures– Don’t let your professor
write it for youFrom the Reviewer’s Mouth…
“… consider the kinds of facilities available and how they might contribute to the success of the project.”
“... is familiar with available resources at proposed graduate school.”
“… the plan should address explicitly the novelties of the proposed approach.”“Focus on improving crop yield and agricultural development has potential broader impact.”
Matt Williams ([email protected])
10/12/09 5/9
Essay Tips: Personal Statement• Open up
– What are you about?– What makes you tick?
• Childhood wonderment is tired
• Past outreach activities– Use to support future
plans/ideas
“… I feel that I can successfully serve as a mentor to young women because of my experience as a residential advisor. Sophomore year, I …”
Broader Impacts!
“I can feel the drone of the aircraft engine pulsing through my chest almost as strongly as my quickly beating heart.”
“As far back as I am able to remember, I have been intrigued at the thought of flight.”
Matt Williams ([email protected])
Essay Tips: Prior Research
• Show technical competence• Highlight…
– Valuable contributions– Achievements– Leadership– Communication of results
10/13/10 6/9
From the Reviewer’s Mouth…
“… currently working on paper to be published…”
“… research findings have been presented to the sponsor; student participated…”
“… encourage you to have faculty or grad students mentor you on writing a publication, even to a student conference…”
Matt Williams ([email protected])
Evaluation Criteria
• Intellectual Merit– Demonstrated intellectual ability and
other accepted requisites for scholarly scientific study, such as the ability to• Plan and conduct research• Work as a member of a team as well as
independently• Interpret and communicate research
findings
10/12/09 8/9
Matt Williams ([email protected])
Evaluation Criteria (cont’d)• Broader Impacts
– Contributions that• Effectively integrate research and education at all
levels, infuse learning with the excitement of discovery, and assure the findings and methods of research are communicated in a broad context to a large audience
• Encourage diversity, broaden opportunities, and enable the participation of all citizens—women and men, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities—in science and research
• Enhance scientific and technical understanding• Benefit society
10/12/09 9/9
Matt Williams ([email protected])
10/12/09 10/9
Recommendation Letters• Pick writers who have something interesting
to say about you…– …or at least give them something to say.
• Prepare your letter writers– NSF Evaluation Criteria– Memory-jogging notes– Notes on effective letter writing– Resume
• Arrange a middleman for letter review– Honors College? Library?