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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development
National Center for Environmental Research
Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Program
CLOSED - FOR REFERENCES PURPOSES ONLY
Fall 2001 STAR Fellowships for Graduate Environmental Study
Opening Date: August 15, 2000
Closing Date: November 20, 2000
Introduction
Eligibility
Application
Package
Format
for Pre-applications
Where
and when to submit
Sample
application
See current STAR Fellowship
abstracts
ABSTRACT
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is offering Graduate Fellowships for master's and doctoral level students in environmentally related fields of study. The deadline for receipt of pre-applications is November 20, 2000. Subject to availability of funding, the Agency plans to award approximately 100 new fellowships. Master's level students may receive support for a maximum of two years. Doctoral students may be supported for a maximum of three years. The fellowship program provides up to $34,000 per year of support. This amount covers a $17,000 annual stipend, $5,000 for authorized expenses, and up to $12,000 for tuition and fees. Actual annual support may vary based on length of fellowship award and tuition and fees.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE STAR FELLOWSHIPS PROGRAM
The EPA invites pre-applications for graduate fellowships in academic disciplines relating to environmental research including physical, biological, and social sciences and engineering. A pre-application provides the information needed for the review of its merit. Top ranked applicants following the merit review will be required to submit a brief formal application.
These fellowships are intended to help defray costs associated with advanced environmentally oriented study leading to the master's or doctoral degree. Instructions for completing and submitting pre-applications are found in the sections that follow. Instructions must be followed exactly or the submission will not be reviewed.
Purpose of the Program
The purpose of the fellowship program is to encourage promising students to obtain advanced degrees and pursue careers in environmentally related fields. This goal is consistent with the mission of EPA, which is to provide leadership in the nation's environmental science, research, education, assessment, restoration, and preservation efforts. Both the public and private sectors will need a steady stream of well-trained environmental specialists if our society is to meet the environmental challenges of the future.
Applicants must be citizens of the United States or its territories or possessions, or be lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence. Resident aliens must include their green card number in their pre-application. This number may be verified with the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Students do not need to be enrolled in or formally accepted in a full-time graduate program at the time they apply for a fellowship, but proof of enrollment or acceptance must be produced prior to the award of the fellowship. Students must attend a fully accredited U.S. college or university. Students must be pursuing a master's or doctoral degree in an environmentally related field of specialization (see fields of specialization below).
Students who have completed more than one year in the master's program or four years in the doctoral program are not eligible. Students enrolled in a master's program, however, may apply for a doctoral fellowship.
Employees of the U.S. government must be able to prove separation from Federal service before accepting this fellowship.
Acceptance of this fellowship does not necessarily preclude acceptance of other scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, or grant aid. However, this fellowship may not be awarded to anyone who will simultaneously be receiving other federal assistance.
Eligible women, minorities, and disabled students are strongly encouraged to apply.
DESCRIPTION OF A STAR FELLOWSHIP
Tenure
The term of a graduate fellowship is negotiated with students and customarily covers a period of 9 to 12 months for each fellowship year. Students seeking a master's degree may be supported for a maximum of two years. Students seeking doctoral degrees may receive support for a maximum of three years.
The fellowship provides up to $34,000 per year of support. A maximum of $68,000 will be provided for master's fellows (two years) and up to $102,000 (three years) will be provided to doctoral students. The $34,000 annual support covers stipend, tuition, and expenses as follows:
- Stipends: For the 2001-2002 academic year these will be $17,000 for 12-month tenures and prorated monthly at a maximum of $1,417 for shorter periods. Fundsfor unused months are forfeited. Stipends are paid directly to the Fellow. At its discretion, each fellowship institution may supplement a Fellow's stipend from
- Tuition and Academic Fees: Up to $12,000 per year will be paid directly to the institution. For the purposes of this fellowship, health insurance is not considered to be an academic fee. Health insurance costs may, however, be paid from the expense budget.
- Expense Allowance: Up to $5,000 will be provided to pay for items and activities for the direct benefit of the student's education, such as for health insurance, books, supplies, equipment, travel to technical meetings, and domestic and international travel required to conduct the proposed research. Specific instructions regarding the disbursement and management of the expense allowance will be provided during the award process.
institutional funds in accordance with the supplementation policy of the institution.
Fellows are expected to attend an annual EPA STAR Graduate Fellows Conference as long as they are in the program, unless the immediate needs of their research project make attendance impractical. Resources to support this travel are to be taken from the expense allowance.
International Activities
The fellow's proposed research may
be conducted outside the United States. However, EPA allows only
$5,000 for all expenses, including travel. See "Stipends and Allowances"
for details. If at any time during the research project, it becomes
necessary for you to work outside the United States and its territories,
you must notify your Project Officer who will obtain the necessary
EPA and State Department approval before you can use fellowship
funds to conduct these activities. In addition, for travel to international
meetings, approval must be obtained from the EPA project officer.
THE
STAR FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION PACKAGE
The application package for a STAR
Fellowship consists of three major parts: 1) the pre-application,
2) three letters of recommendation, and 3) a self-addressed, stamped
postcard. The pre-application provides the reviewers with information
about you and your proposed research, the letters provide support
for your pre-application, and the postcard allows us to keep you
informed about the status of your pre-application. This section
provides information you will need to complete each part of the
application package.
Educational Levels You
are also asked to select a Sorting Code for your application. This
sorting code will be used to direct your application to the appropriate
review panel. It is important that you select the most appropriate
Sorting Code from the list shown below. If you select more than
one Sorting Code it will be assigned to the first one you select,
regardless of whether it is the most appropriate.
F01-STAR-A1
Environmental/Civil Engineering *
These categories are designed for applications pertaining to the
inter-relationship of organisms and their environments, where there
is not a more specific EPA code available, such as Oceanography,
Entomology, etc.
Mandatory
Format for Pre-applications
The
pre-application part of your package consists of thirteen (13) items.
The pre-application must be completed using a 12 point or equivalent
typeface on 8-1/2 x 11-in paper with one-inch margins all around.
Page limitations for individual components of the pre-application
are specified below. Do not exceed these limits or the proposal
will be ineligible. Do not submit permanently materials bound, or
in ring binders.
ITEMS
1-8 COMBINED MUST NOT EXCEED ONE PAGE
Item
1 PERSONAL DATA -- provide your full name (last name first), current
address, permanent address, and home and work telephone numbers.
If you can be reached by fax or e-mail, include that information
as well. (Optional -- for statistical reporting purposes only, we
ask you to include your gender and race, e.g., African-American,
white, Hispanic, native American, Asian and Pacific Islander, etc.)
Item
2 CITIZENSHIP STATUS -- state whether you are a U.S. citizen or
permanent resident. If you are a citizen, give the city of your
birth. If you are a resident alien, provide your green card number.
EPA may choose to verify this information.
Item
3 DEGREE SOUGHT -- state either master's or doctoral (or M.S., M.A.,
Ph.D., etc.). Include the month and year you expect the degree to
be awarded.
Item
4 EDUCATIONAL LEVEL -- state either entering graduate student, doctoral
student, or continuing doctoral student (as defined above).
Item
5 SORTING CODE -- from list provided above. You MUST select only
one. Your pre-application will be reviewed by individuals from the
field you select. This code must also appear in the address for
delivery of your pre-application, as specified below.
Item
6 TITLE -- provide a descriptive title for your research project,
or your research area of interest if the specific topic has not
yet been selected. This title will be posted on the NCER web site
in the event of an award.
Item
7 CURRENT SCHOOL AND DEPARTMENT -- Name and location of your current
university, school and department.
Item
8 NAME AND ADDRESS OF GRADUATE ADVISOR -- If you have a graduate
advisor, give his or her name, address, and telecommunications data,
including phone, fax, and e-mail, if available. If you do not yet
have an advisor, write "NA".
ITEM
9 MUST NOT EXCEED ONE PAGE
Item
9 STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES -- Explain your academic and career goals
and how your proposed course of study or research will help you
to achieve these goals. Include any background information you believe
is pertinent and provide insight into why you have chosen the goals
you are pursuing. You will be evaluated on your dedication to your
studies and to an environmentally oriented career. This statement
will also provide insight into your organizational, analytical,
and written communication skills.
ITEMS
10 & 11 COMBINED, MUST NOT EXCEED ONE PAGE
Item
10 EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE -- List the academic degrees you have
received or expect to receive in the near future, including the
date and the institution. Also list relevant experience, including
paid employment, military service, internships, residencies, special
studies, volunteer work, etc. Give dates and a short description
of your duties in each position, listing most recent first. Give
names and addresses of employers. List only relevant experience.
Item
11 PUBLICATIONS -- If you have published in the technical literature,
provide a bibliography here. If you have not yet published, write
"NA".
ITEM
12 MUST NOT EXCEED 5 PAGES
Item
12 NARRATIVE STATEMENT -- The narrative statement will differ slightly
at each educational level. All students must include a description
of the scientific and, if appropriate, societal importance of their
field of study. At the various levels, reviewers will be looking
for answers to the following questions:
ENTERING
GRADUATE STUDENTS: What are the degree requirements in your program?
What is your planned course of study during the period of the fellowship?
Do you know if you will be undertaking a thesis/special project?
If so, describe it. If you do not know, what project would you like
to propose? Why would it be important? How is it relevant to the
issues or problems that EPA deals with or regulates?
DOCTORAL
STUDENTS: Why do you want a doctoral degree? What are the degree
requirements in your program? How does this program build on your
former education? If you could become involved in a research project
this year, what would it be? Why is it important? How will it advance
your academic and career goals? How is it relevant to the issues
or problems that EPA deals with or regulates?
CONTINUING
DOCTORAL STUDENTS: Provide a scope of work for your research project.
The scope of work must be structured as follows:
A.
Goal of Research -- Introduce the problem. What is your hypothesis?
ITEM
13 MAY USE AS MANY PAGES AS NECESSARY
Item
13 TRANSCRIPT INFORMATION -- Provide, in tabular form, the following
information taken from your transcripts: identify the institutions
at which the credits were earned, dates, names and catalog numbers
of courses taken, credit hours, grades received, and cumulative
GPA for all courses taken at each degree level. If possible, course
titles should not exceed the space available. Abbreviations are
allowed. If courses were audited or not completed, note this information.
If any institution you attended had a grading system different from
the traditional "A, B, C..." system, explain the system in a succinct
footnote to Item 13. Do not leave anything out. Include data from
your entire college career. DO NOT INCLUDE COPIES OF YOUR TRANSCRIPTS.
Top-ranked applicants will be required to submit official copies
of transcripts for validation prior to the award of the fellowship.
Letters
of Recommendation
Each
application package MUST include three reference letters from individuals
who have knowledge of your academic record. If you have a sponsor
or advisor in the program, one of these letters should come from
that individual. EPA is bound by regulation to require three letters.
If the pre-application does not include three letters, it will not
be reviewed. The original and six (6) copies of each required letter
must be contained in an individual envelope sealed by the writer
and must be included in the pre-application package. We will not
accept reference letters sent separately.
Self-addressed
and Stamped Postcard
Include
a postcard in your package so that we can notify you that your pre-application
was received. If your postcard with the identifying application
number is not returned within 30 days of the announcement deadline,
you MUST call 1-800-490-9194 to verify that your package was received.
If you do not include the postcard, you will not be notified that
we received your package.
SUBMISSION
REQUIREMENTS
All
pre-applications must be submitted in the exact format described.
All necessary information is provided in the instructions. To illustrate
the instructions, a sample pre-application appears at the end of
this announcement. Pre-applications must include the original and
six copies of each letter of reference enclosed in three individually
sealed envelopes, as described above.
EVALUATION
AND SELECTION PROCESS
The
pre-applications and letters of recommendation will be reviewed
by non-EPA experts from the appropriate field of study. Students
applying for fellowships must select a Sorting Code from the list
provided. Reviewers are recruited based on the specialty fields
represented by the pre-applications.
Each
student will be evaluated based on his or her potential for success
in a graduate study program. The reviewers will consider academic
records, recommendations, and career goals and objectives. Students
at each educational level will be evaluated based on the information
provided in the pre-application as described above under "Mandatory
Format for Pre-Applications".
Reviewers
will recommend the best applicants from each of the three educational
level categories. Finalists will be selected for award of a fellowship
based on the availability of funds, reviewers' evaluations, and
program goals, such as distribution of awards across disciplines,
institutions and geography, degree level being sought, and other
possible indicators of program balance. Only finalists will be required
to submit the following:
Pre-applications
must be received at EPA no later than 4:00 p.m.,EST,on November
20, 2000. Pre-applications may be submitted by regular mail,
express mail, or uniformed courier services. If using regular mail,
allow sufficient time for delivery since applications MUST be at
EPA by 4:00 p.m. EST on November 20, 2000.
If
sending by regular or priority U.S. mail, send the original
AND SIX (6) COPIES of all required materials to: Courier-
or personally-delivered applications must be brought to the
Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington,
DC 20004. The courier must come to the EPA Visitors Lobby (see map),
tell the security guard that he/she has a delivery for the EPA mail
room. The courier will be required to sign a visitor's log, and
will be directed to the EPA mail room. The mail room is open 8:00
a.m. until 4:00 p.m. weekdays, exclusive of Federal holidays. If
the applicant requires a receipt for the delivery, you will need
to provide a form which the mail room personnel will sign.
NOTIFICATION
AND AWARD DATES For additional information or assistance
in preparing your pre-application, first consult the "Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQs)" on the NCER Home Page (http://www.epa.gov/ncerqa).
EPA also maintains a toll-free telephone number which allows individuals
to leave a recorded message or question. These will be answered
through a return telephone call. To access this service, dial 1-800-490-9194.
The pages that follow constitute a
sample pre-application for graduate fellowships.
NOTE!!!!
Smart as he is, this hypothetical student probably would NOT receive
an EPA fellowship because his curriculum has no obvious relationship
to environmental concerns or the disciplinary degree he is seeking.
His only chance would be if his narrative statement clearly made
that connection. The purpose of this sample is to demonstrate format,
not content. 1.
Name: Beckett, Samuel John
12.
Narrative Statement
Sam
Beckett, our hypothetical candidate, must provide a detailed scope
of work for his proposed research, because he is a continuing Ph.D.
student, he may not exceed five pages in describing the goals, rationale,
approach, and references for his project.
13.
Transcript Data
Sorting
Codes
F01-STAR-B1
Other Engineering (e.g., chemical, mechanical, agricultural, systems,
risk management, etc.)
F01-STAR-C1
Chemistry and Materials Science
F01-STAR-D1
Oceanography (includes physical, chemical, and biological systems)
F01-STAR-E1
Geology (includes geochemistry and geophysics)
F01-STAR-F1
Geography
F01-STAR-F2
Atmospheric Sciences
F01-STAR-G1
Social Sciences (includes sociology, anthropology, psychology)
F01-STAR-G2
Economics
F01-STAR-G3
Environmental Decision Making (includes risk communication, environmental
policy)
F01-STAR-G4
Urban and Regional Planning
F01-STAR-H1
Aquatic Ecology and Ecosystems *
F01-STAR-H2
Terrestrial Ecology and Ecosystems *
F01-STAR-J1
Toxicology
F01-STAR-J2
Biochemistry, Biophysics, Bioengineering
F01-STAR-K1
Zoology
F01-STAR-K2
Forestry
F01-STAR-K3
Entomology
F01-STAR-K4
Ecological Risk Assessment
F01-STAR-L1
Microbiology
F01-STAR-L2
Molecular Biology/Genetics
F01-STAR-L3
Public Health Sciences (includes epidemiology, exposure assessment,
biostatistics and health risk assessment)
B.
Rationale -- What is the technical or social need for this research?
What other work has been published on this subject and how do these
results relate to your project?
C.
Approach - How will you test your hypotheses?
D.
Expected Results -- What scientific or other benefits are expected
from this work?
E.
References (these must be included within the five page limit).
The
necessary forms are available on the NCER homepage (www.epa.gov/ncer/fellow/).
For
express mail-delivered applications, the following address
must be used:
Phone:
(202) 564-6939 (for express mail applications)
If you comply with the requirement
to include a stamped, self-addressed postcard with your pre-application,
you will be notified when we receive your package. Subject to the
availability of funding, awards should be made by July 31, 2001
for the fall term.
Pre-application
for STAR Graduate Fellowship
Page1
Current
Address: 68, Dane Avenue, Somerville, MA 02899
Permanent
Address: C/o John Beckett, Rr 2, Box 98, Elk Ridge, Indiana 54096
Home
Telephone: 101-555-1234
Work
Telephone: 101-555-1111
Fax:
101-555-1010
E-Mail:
Xxxxx@yyy.com
Gender:
Male
Race:
White
J.
C. Armstrong
Chairman,
Department of Theoretical Mathematics
Room
464-82
Massachusetts
Institute of Technology
Cambridge,
MA 02899
Office
Phone:(101) 555-1235 Fax: (101) 555-4321
E-mail:
Xxxxxxx@mit.edu
Page 2
Page 3
1/98
to Present: Enrolled in Ph.D. Program at Massachusetts Institute of
Technology. Current GPA: 4.0
1/98
to Present: Teaching Assistant MIT, Department of Mathematics. Contact:
Philip Lonicro, (617)111-0001
11/97
to 1/98: Invented a Plasma Energy Drive System (Patent Number 876GB5F457YD)
1/96
to 1/98: Employed at Highbrow Technologies, Riverside CA.
1/94
to 12/95 California Institute of Technology, MS Applied Mathematics.
10/90
to 12/93 University of Indiana B.S. Mathematics (Summa Cum Laude)
4.0 GPA (4 point scale)
Smith,
A.B., Jones X,Y, and Beckett S.J. "Algorithms for Hazardous Waste
Site Management". Environ. Sci. Tech. 1(11), 111-222 (1997).
Smith,
A.B., Jones X,Y, and Beckett S.J. "Spatial Analyses for the Assessment
of Hazardous Waste Sites". Environ. Sci. Tech. 2(8), 1-22 (1998).
Pages 4-8
Pages 9 and Beyond.
Institution
Year
Course
#
Title
Credit
Hrs
Grade
MIT
1996
744
Special
Project
5
In
Progress
MIT
1996
740
Topology
5
In
Progress
MIT
1996
735
Number
Theory
4
In
Progress
MIT
1996
722
Adv
Topics in Chaos
4
In
Progress
MIT
1996
719
Special
Project
5
A
MIT
1996
716
Transfinite
math
5
A
Cal
Tech
1995
Ph-96
Number
Theory
8
A
Cal
Tech
1995
Ph-85
Euclidian
Geometry
4
A
Cal
Tech
1995
R-65
Applied
Physics
4
A
Cal
Tech
1995
R-64
Applications
Theory
4
A
Cal
Tech
1994
R-63
Linear
Geometry
4
A
Cal
Tech
1994
R-62
Basic
Java Language
4
P
Cal
Tech
1994
R-61
C++
Programming
5
P
Cal
Tech
1994
R-60
Special
Project
4
A
Cal
Tech
1994
R-59
Research
Project
4
A
U.
Indiana
1993
620
Applied
Geometry
4
A
U.
Indiana
1993
621
Advanced
Calculus
4
A
U.
Indiana
1993
666
Computing
4
A
U.
Indiana
1992
431
Advanced
Math
4
B+
U.
Indiana
1992
444
Physical
Education
4
P
U.
Indiana
1991
522
English
4
C
U.
Indiana
1991
101
Math
4
A
U.
Indiana
1991
122
Geography
4
A
U.
Indiana
1991
177
Statistics
4
A