Winter Break

Applications are due Thursday of 4th week in Fall Quarter. 

Summer Break

Applications are due Thursday of 4th week in Spring Quarter. 

The selection committee will review applications and awards will be announced within 30 days after the application deadline. Funds should be available after the academic term has ended. A personal interview may be required at the selection committee’s discretion. Students who have already received SPA funding will receive priority for subsequent applications.

Honors the late Mrs. Isabel Beeler

• Typically funds up to half of the projected cost of a SIP overseas
• Maximum award typically $2,750; number of Fellowships determined by amount of funding in a given fiscal year; (typically fewer than 15 awards per year)
• Applicants must have a junior or senior standing, minimum of 2.75 GPA
• Applicants must spend a minimum of 4 weeks overseas pursuing project

*At the discretion of the committee, the combination of a Beeler Fellowship and a Collins Fellowship is possible, as is the combination of a Beeler Project Grand and a Collins Fellowship. A student may not apply to both the Beeler Fellowship and the Beeler Project Grant. If applying for two fellowships, only one application should be submitted.

Honors the late Mrs. Isabel Beeler

• Typically provides up to five awards of $600 each
• Available to all  Kalamazoo College Students, regardless of class standing
• Applicants must have a GPA of at least 2.5
• Applicants must spend at least 1 week abroad conducting project

*At the discretion of the committee, the combination of a Beeler Fellowship and a Collins Fellowship is possible, as is the combination of a Beeler Project Grand and a Collins Fellowship. A student may not apply to both the Beeler Fellowship and the Beeler Project Grant. If applying for two fellowships, only one application should be submitted.

Honors the late Paul Collins, former Dean of Students at the College

• Fellowship provides round-trip airfare to project location in a country in development
• Student must plan to carry out SIP or other project which will allow them to learn first-hand about suffering caused by:
  • Poverty, Famine, Undernourishment
• Typically one Collins Fellowship is awarded each fiscal year
• Available to all Kalamazoo College students, regardless of class standing

*At the discretion of the committee, the combination of a Beeler Fellowship and a Collins Fellowship is possible, as is the combination of a Beeler Project Grand and a Collins Fellowship.

Honors the late David Riley, K’71

• Typically provides up to five awards of $500 each
• Available to all Kalamazoo College Students, regardless of class standing
• Applicant must have a GPA of at least 2.5
• Applicants must spend at least 1 week abroad conducting project

*At the discretion of the committee, the combination of a Beeler Fellowship and a Collins Fellowship is possible, as is the combination of a Beeler Project Grand and a Collins Fellowship.

Timeline

• Tuesday of 4th Week, Fall Quarter: Applications Open on Hornet Passport
• Thursday of 5th Week, Winter Quarter: Completed Applications must be submitted by 5:00pm on Hornet Passport.
• 8th Week, Winter Quarter: Finalists are selected and notified.
• March 29 (Friday of Spring Break): Finalists upload the final, edited versions of their applications. Faculty Recommender forms are submitted.
• 1st week or early 2nd week, Spring Quarter: Finalists interview with the selection committee.
• Thursday of 2nd week, Spring Quarter: Recipient and Alternate are selected and notified.

Application Suggestions

The following steps are designed to improve your chances of success:

• Try to think through your project idea with various people before you write your proposal. Talk with your parents, friends, spiritual advisers, employers, faculty – whoever it is whose judgment and intelligence you trust. Give them the official criteria for the program and encourage them to force you to justify your project on the Fellowship’s terms.
• As you build your budget, don’t forget to consider student loan payments (if you have student loans) that will start 6 months after graduation.
• As you write your initial application, remember that this is just the first step if you end up as a finalist and that you will need to have taken your project to a higher level by the time you submit your final application a couple of months later.
• The Sherbin Fellowship contact, Lizbeth Mendoza Pineda, is available to assist students with any questions or advice throughout the process. We encourage you to work with her and other writing specialists at K.
• Applicants will be assessed based on their proposal’s creativity and personal significance, their passion for the subject, and how the work may shape their future plans.
• Remember that most countries have very strict definitions of visa status and what activities can be legitimately pursued under specific types of entry documents. You may be in a different legal category from a tourist with a two-week permit to spend as much money as possible. However, you will probably not qualify for professional researcher status. Find out enough about your proposed location to be reasonably confident that someone holding your passport can obtain a visitor status that will make it possible to carry out your proposal. The College will not approach a foreign government on your behalf. Please be aware that many countries will not allow you to spend an uninterrupted calendar year within their borders—one of the reasons why many Sherbin proposals will need to assume a change of scene after a number of months.
   

 Project Examples From Thomas J Watson Fellowship

Eligibility

Applicants:

• May be from any country or academic major
• Must be seniors (graduating during the current academic year)
• Have strong academic standing (but there is no minimum GPA)

Application Components

The application process has two rounds. For the initial round, a complete application consists of the following items:

1. Biographical Questionnaire
    
2. Personal Statement – Must be no longer than 1500 words and will be uploaded to application. This should craft a narrative that discusses how and why this is your project – how it reflects your talents, concerns, and commitments; why you chose your topic, how it developed out of previous interests or experiences; and how it represents a new challenge. You may also want to describe your background, your college years, your professional goals and aspirations, and your reasons for seeking the Sherbin Fellowship. You will not get far if your Personal Statement is not personal.
    
3. Project Proposal – Must be no longer than 1500 words and will be uploaded to application. It is read in tandem with your Personal Statement so you do not need to repeat information already provided there. You should describe your plan for the 10-month fellowship period, including a description of your project and details about how you intend to carry it out. This is not meant to be an academic proposal (no references needed/desired), but rather it should describe an independent and sustainable project, in as much detail as possible, that comes from your heart, whether it is a deep interest or a new one you developed while on study abroad. The most important project criterion is that it suits the person you are. Be sure that your project does not involve travel to countries under a U.S. travel warning/embargo, or to areas where you have previously lived or studied for any significant length of time (a month or longer).
    
4. Two Faculty Recommenders – You should contact potential recommenders and ask them if they would fill out the Sherbin Fellowship Faculty Recommender Form if you are nominated by the Faculty Committee as a finalist. Inform them that they would have a 4-week window in March to submit the form. You will only be asked to submit names as part of the initial application.
    
5. Resume
    
6. Budget
    
7. Travel information – All prior travel outside of the US must be documented on the application, as instructed.
    
8. Other information – Fill out all of the questions on the Application Questionnaire to the best of your abilities.

For the Finalist round:

• Selected applicants will receive feedback from the selection committee to incorporate into revisions/edits of the project proposal and personal statement. 
• Selected applicants will also participate in a short interview with the selection committee. 
• Faculty recommenders will be asked to complete the Recommender Form. 

The selection committee will be looking at both the project you propose as well as the person that you are. They will use the following criteria to guide their review of applicants. 

The Project: 

• Organic – The project must grow from the candidate’s background, their interests, activities, and themes that they have shown active engagement in.  
• Inspiring – It must be deeply meaningful to their life and will provide the energy to sustain and propel them through the ups and downs of the year.  
• Open – The project should take advantage of the fellowship’s unique latitude, its flexibility and permission to stay curious and even fail.  
• Bold – Provided the project is realistic, the candidates should push the envelope to stretch.  
• Realistic – The project must balance boldness with pragmatism.  
• Connected – Applicants are encouraged to reach out to inspiring institutions and organizations.  
• Three-dimensional – The project should include multiple approaches via methods, disciplines, and/or borders.  

The Person:  

• Leadership – Does the applicant demonstrate leadership skills? 
• Responsibility – Has the applicant shown ownership in their work or community? 
• Integrity – Has the applicant exhibited honest and principled behavior? 
• Emotional Maturity – When faced with difficult personal challenges, how has the applicant responded? 
• Imagination – Does the applicant show they think beyond the boundaries they are given? 
• Independence – Does the applicant demonstrate that they can carve a personal path to a meaningful end? 
• Resourcefulness – Does the applicant deal effectively with problems when resources are scarce? 
• Courage – Does the applicant show they persevere under moral, emotional, and physical challenges?