The Recommendation Process
Recommendation Forms
Two recommendations (one academic and one professional) must be submitted in support of the applicant. To maintain confidentiality, recommendations should be requested by the applicant and input independently by the recommender through eSeaGrant. The forms must be submitted before the deadline.
Academic recommendation
The applicant’s primary faculty advisor or appropriate faculty member (PI on the research award the applicant will be working on during the fellowship) must provide one recommendation. Co-advisors are required to complete the form jointly.
Professional recommendation
VASG encourages applicants to consider someone that knows them from a different perspective than their academic advisor (e.g., former employer, mentor from a previous position, colleague they worked with in the past). Selected recommenders should provide a professional perspective to demonstrate the applicant’s breadth and may highlight different strengths and experiences than an academic advisor.
About the Recommendation Form
Referees will be asked to rate and describe the applicant on the following:
- Self-motivation
- Response to set-backs
- Skills and interest in teamwork
- Leadership skills or interest, particularly collaborative leadership
- How the applicant would most benefit from VASG support
- Academic/Professional performance
- Academic/Professional potential
- Anything else that VASG should know about the applicant in order to fully consider their candidacy
“The goal of my research is to enhance the sustainability of the American eel fishery and aquaculture in the Chesapeake Bay. We are working towards recommending appropriate cost-effective and efficient methods for improving water quality and mitigating disease.”
– AMAN K.
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Tentative Fellowship Completion Timeline
- Fellowship announcement released: September 1, 2022
- Registrations are due in eSeaGrant: 5:00 p.m. EST on December 1, 2022
- Applications are due to VASG: 5:00 p.m. EST on December 9, 2022
- Stage 1 – Relevancy review: January 2023
- Stage 2 – Review panel: March-April 2023
- Stage 3 – Candidate interviews: Late spring/early summer 2023
- Notification of results: Summer 2023
- Awards begin: September 1, 2023
Award Information
Contingent upon available federal funding, fellowships are available for up to two years, and provide an award of up to $40,000 per year to support the student’s academic expenses. The start date for the fellowship is September 1, 2023. VASG expects to fund up to eight fellowships for the 2023–2025 academic years.
VASG-funded projects require a 50 percent funding match (i.e., budgets must show $1 of match for every $2 of Sea Grant funding requested). Only non-Federal funds may be committed as matching contribution. VASG will make all awards to the applicant’s primary faculty advisor, who must be listed as the principal investigator (PI) on the fellowship application.