This year, the Stanford in Government Fellowship application consists of a common application, a supplemental application, and tiered preferences. Applicants will all compose a Common Application and may select up to three (3) SIG Fellowships for which to write supplement essays, and may then further select up to two (2) tiered preferences for which to be considered.
Common Application
All applicants complete a common application including:
- Personal Information: Complete a personal information page.
- Documents: Upload a resume and an unofficial transcript.
- Recommendation: Have someone who is familiar with your academic work submit a letter of recommendation on your behalf. Applicants must submit at least one letter of recommendation to be eligible for SIG fellowships, but can submit up to three letters of recommendation. Recommenders will receive a unique Fellowship URL where they can submit their letters. Letters can highlight an applicant’s aptitude for SIG Fellowships in general, or for an applicant’s skills and experience as it relates to a specific fellowship.
- Relevant coursework: In no more than 125 words, please describe the coursework you have completed or are currently taking relevant to SIG Fellowships and the particular fellowships you have selected
- Personal statement: Please write no more than 750 words. We recommend composing the Personal Statement on a separate word processing document before pasting it here. The Personal Statement should address the following questions:
- Why are you interested in pursuing a SIG Summer Fellowship?
- What qualifications and experiences do you have that would contribute to a SIG Fellowship?
- How could a SIG Fellowship enhance your academic and/or career plans?
Supplement Application
For up to three (3) opportunities, SIG Fellows can provide the following additional information:
- Fellowship statement: Please write no more than 250 words, and write a separate one for each of the three top fellowships. We recommend composing the Fellowship Supplement on a separate word processing document before pasting it to this application. The Supplement statement should address the following question: Why are you interested in pursuing this particular fellowship?
- Letters of Recommendation: Applicants must submit one letter of recommendation to be eligible for SIG fellowships. Recommenders will receive a unique Fellowship URL where they can submit their letters. Letters can highlight an applicant’s aptitude for SIG Fellowships in general, or for an applicant’s skills and experience as it relates to a specific fellowship.
- Budgets: Stanford in Government fellows, while responsible for finding their own housing, will receive a stipend of at least $4000 to cover the living expenses during their fellowship experience, including housing, transportation, and food, among other costs. However, applicants should formulate their budget to reflect how much assistance they will actually need, even if it exceeds the base amount of $4000. Please note that SIG takes your budgets very seriously. Please investigate with care the cost of living in your proposed placement city and area-specific requirements like immunizations. For example, the budget might state: If selected, I may budget my stipend among my potential expenditures in the following way (based on my own research about such expenses in the area of the particular fellowship):
- Travel budget
- Local transportation budget
- Room and board budget
- Other budget
Tiered Preferences
Applicants may rank up to 5 fellowship choices and provide a detailed supplement for the top 3 choices.
Note that once an applicant submits his or her preferences, he or she will no longer be able to edit them. The applicant needs to submit all preferences before the deadline in order to finalize the fellowships application.
Eligibility
In order to be eligible for SIG fellowships, an applicant must be an enrolled Stanford student for the 2015-2016 academic year and cannot have conferred his/her undergraduate degree before the completion of the fellowship. In other words, graduating seniors are ineligible for SIG fellowships. Seniors who will be returning to coterm for all of next year are eligible to apply.
Please note that when you submit your application to apply for a Stanford in Government fellowship you agree to waive your rights to inspect the contents of any letters or statements of recommendation submitted in support of your application.
Process
Selection committees composed of Stanford faculty, past SIG Fellows, and SIG representatives evaluate applications to determine up to five finalists to be interviewed for each position. From these finalists, a prospective fellow is selected, and his/her application is forwarded to the host office for final approval.
Stanford in Government has approached professors about this program with relevant experience and knowledge for each fellowship. This information will be posted on the website as soon as possible. Please check the website for this information.
Fellowship Requirements
Fellows who are going abroad during Spring quarter will be expected to watch a video of the pre-Fellowship Orientation and pass a quiz to indicate that they acknowledge and understand the material presented in the video.
Fellowship assignments usually include some form of data research and analysis, drafting position papers, and extensive interaction with high-level staff. Therefore, analytical skills, writing ability, and personal qualities are the critical factors evaluated by the selection committees. SIG provides stipends that assist Fellows with travel and summer living expenses. In addition, limited financial aid is available to those Fellows who demonstrate need. The Fellow commits to working full-time (a minimum of 35 hours per week) for at least nine weeks (some fellowships are eight weeks to accomodate visa issues). Fellows are expected to start no later than July 1, 2016. Receipt of the stipend is contingent upon the fulfillment of such an arrangement. The exact timing of the fellowship period will be negotiated between the Fellow and the host offices. Fellows are expected to secure their own housing, although the stipend is used to fund it.
Note: International Fellows are responsible for attaining their own appropriate visas, through consultation with their fellowship placement as necessary. All recipients of SIG fellowships serving abroad are required to register for and attend Stanford’s International Preparation workshop on Monday, May 16.
To the Recommender: Fellows are generally given greater responsibilities than those within the scope of a normal internship. Assignments usually include some form of data research and analysis, drafting of position papers, and extensive interaction with high-level staff. Therefore, analytical skills, writing ability, communication skills, and personal qualities are the critical factors evaluated by the selection committees. With these criteria in mind, we would greatly appreciate your candid comments regarding this student’s abilities.
Please direct any questions to Emma Leeds Armstrong (emmala [at] stanford [dot] edu), SIG Vice Chair of Fellowships, or Robert Chun (rchun1 [at] stanford [dot] edu), SIG Chair.
Application Timeline
- December 25: Application Released
- February 9, 11:59 PM: Application Deadline, Letters of Recommendation Submission Deadline
- Mid-February: Interviews
- Mid-March: Decisions Announced