Question: How does a GAANN fellowship differ from other Doctoral
Fellowship?
Answer:
GAANN fellowships guarantee 5 years of support (can be in various forms),
have a teaching mentoring component, and require financial aid certification.
There is no restriction on the area the student selects
for research. Many fellowships offer support for 1-2 years only and
may have restrictions on the areas of research.
Question: I am an applicant to the M.S. program and will probably
pursue a Ph.D., but that is not yet definite. Am I a potential candidate
for a GAANN Fellowship?
Answer: Preference is given to applicants with a strong desire
and potential for a Ph.D. We realize that some students are undecided and
may turn out to be great Ph.D. students.
Question: What is meant by "The first year involves a fellowship
. . . Subsequent years may include research assistantships?"
Answer: Once a GAANN fellow has chosen an area of research,
it is possible that he/she will be supported through research grants obtained
by the advisor. A GAANN fellow with be a teaching assistant during the
teaching period. The third form of support - and the one a fellow starts
with - is the fellowship.
Question: Tell me more about how "fellows rotate through major
research laboratories." This sounds like a great experience.
Answer: The fellows will be asked to identify
2-3 areas of research they are interested in. Then, they will be assigned
an office in the related research labs and have contact with senior students
and post-docs. Assignments may depend on space available in
research labs. Our goal is to help students
identify research interests within the first year.
Question: Does the two-semester training program occur in the
first two semesters of the award?
Answer: The teaching program will take place in either the second
or third year. It consist of being involved in the organization of a course
for one semester and teaching a section of the same course the following
semester. We have a number of undergraduate courses for which we run two
sections (to keep class sizes small). The actual teaching will be done
with a faculty who serves as a teaching mentor.
Question: Does being considered
for the fellowship imply acceptance of the admission offer?
Answer: No, it does not. Of course, we would like you
to accept admission to our department, but no such implication exists.
Also, should you be offered a GAANN fellowship, the TA offer will remain
valid and you can choose between the two.
Question: What are the obligations of a GAANN fellow?
Answer: GAANN fellows need to have a Ph.D. degree as the goal
and plan a career in research or teaching.
GAANN fellows need to have demonstrated
need of financial aid. They agree to participate in the 1-year teaching
mentoring program. GAANN fellows are expected to make satisfactory academic
progress.