Apply Yourself

A wide range of scholarships, grants available to students

March 17, 2009

Bernadette McFadden '07 studied in Ireland on a Mitchell Scholarship for a year before landing a job as a research associate with the Institute of Medicine in Washington, D.C.

Fulbright grants get a justifiable amount of publicity. Last year nine Dickinsonians received the prestigious awards—no small feat at any college, much less one with fewer than 2,400 students.

But there are other impressive fellowship programs available to students, including the Morris K. Udall Scholarship (environmental-science-policy related), Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship (research-based for sciences and mathematics), Harry S. Truman Scholarship (leadership and government service), Humanity in Action Fellowship, Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship, Marshall Scholarship (for study in the U.K.) and the Mitchell Scholarship (conflict resolution and policy issues, for study in Ireland).

"Through faculty advisors, we are encouraging Dickinson students to consider applying for a fellowship program that is most appropriate for them," said Shirley King, director of advising at Dickinson. "The qualities for applicants that many of the prestigious fellowships and awards are seeking are actually quite broad and varied. Although an excellent GPA always lays the foundation for a strong application, the focus of many of these programs ranges from leadership experiences to independent research or policy and government-related issues. Dickinson students can be very competitive for these programs, but we need to make sure those who are interested in pursuing an application know about the numerous resources and opportunities that are available to support them here."

For a complete list of the scholarships and grants available to students and graduates, visit www.dickinson.edu/departments/advising/scholarships.html.

For an example of the value of one of the awards, consider Bernadette McFadden '07 who received a Mitchell Scholarship to study at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, where, from September 2007 to September 2008, she began pursuing a master's degree in applied social research. She was one of 12 Americans to receive the scholarship, which is awarded for academics, leadership and community service.

"My Mitchell scholar peers were absolutely brilliant and taught me not just about the problems they'd already been working to solve—bringing world attention to Darfur, bridging religious and cultural divides in neighboring Belfast communities, assisting the Swaziland government in developing HIV/AIDS prevention policies, and serving our nation as members of Army and Navy, to name but a few—but also about the internal spirit and perseverance necessary to commit to one's dream to make a difference," said McFadden, who has been employed as a research associate with the Institute of Medicine in Washington, D.C., since November.

While living in Dublin, McFadden said her coursework built on foundations she established at Dickinson—statistical methods and qualitative research.

"The Mitchell scholarship program excels at encouraging its scholars to engage in the community," said McFadden, who also received a Fulbright but declined it to accept the Mitchell grant. "Within four months of living in Ireland, I found myself working full-time for Dublin City Council's Homeless Agency. While there, I was able to link my Dickinson policy-studies background with my newer understanding of social research. I researched and drafted pre-budget submissions—somewhat like nonprofit lobbying efforts—to the national government related to rent supplements and the national drug policy."

McFadden also worked as the editorial assistant for a volume of essays on homelessness in Ireland that was published in July 2008 and assisted in counting the number of homeless persons sleeping on the streets and living in other various forms of shelter.

"The Mitchell scholarship program combined with my experiences at Dickinson and in Carlisle enabled me to pursue my interests, both professionally and personally," she said.