Grant and fellowship season is coming up again. Seeing the deadlines creep closer on my calendar made me sigh and groan a little. These applications are always a fair amount of work (read as “time I could be doing something else”) and the rewards are few and far between. I’ve been dragging my feet, so I’m taking the time to remind myself of why I have subjected myself to over 40 grant and fellowship applications over the last 8 years.
1. Each application is a chance to articulate your agenda and ideas.
You’re not going to win every grant or fellowship you apply to. Rejection is inevitable along the way, but there is something to gain by going through the process. It forces you to think through your research projects, connect them into an overarching research agenda, and articulate them to others who are often not experts in your area. Doing this work is helpful for other parts of academic life as well such as writing job market materials, a book proposal, or a tenure portfolio statement. It could also help you nail down your elevator pitch for networking.
2. Creating a detailed plan and budget can help you plan.
There’s nothing like being forced to articulate what you will be doing on a project during a period of time and with a pot of money to help you more generally plan for finishing a project. Doing these detailed plans and budgeting help you see what’s left before getting to the finish line of what might feel like a neverending research project.
3. One submission is the start to the next application.
Once you’ve applied to a grant or fellowship once, you now have draft materials to the next year’s application. Some of what you write will be specific for the year you apply, but a lot of the content can be edited and revised rather than needing to be rewritten. In fact, some materials can be used for more than one grant/fellowship application. Even better, some grants/fellowships provide reviewer feedback, which can be helpful in identifying what you need to clarify, provide more detail about, or just scratch in future applications.
4. Each application is a little bit easier.
The more grant and fellowship applications you write, the easier that style of writing gets. The easier it gets to write about your research projects. The easier it gets to declaratively state what you will finish in some absurdly short period of time. And the easier it gets to write those awkward personal essays about yourself and how you came to pursue a PhD and academia.
5. Even the rejections count.
My department and university care that I’m applying for grants and fellowships. Of course they would love if I won one, BUT they also ask what I’ve applied for regardless of whether I’ve been successful or not. So making an effort counts for something!
6. Every once in a while, you win!
Yes, there’s a lot of rejection in applying for grants and fellowships, but every once in a while the stars align and you get some approval. And in this case, approval comes with $$$, yay!!!!
practical phd 