Graduate Students
Graduate (PhD) Applicants
Fellowship Applications
(Note that all students in the Crawford Lab will write a fellowship application at some point during their time in the lab).
Prospective students (or current new students) who wish to apply for fellowships early on:
Graduate students in our program are fully funded through a combination of the program (department/college), graduate teaching assistant (TA) positions, training grants (Biochemistry's MMOD), and lab funding (grants to Dr. Crawford).
Prospective or new students who wish to apply for their own individual fellowships, however, are more than welcome (and these are great for your personal career development and demonstrate a competitive advantage for later stages). These funds will support your stipend and research funding will remain supported by Dr. Crawford.
Options could include (but aren't limited to):
Scientific foundations: American Society for Microbiology, American Society for Virology, American Heart Association
Federal Funding Agencies: NIH, NSF
National/International Fellowships: Fullbright, etc.
We are more than happy to support your application to these programs. Please contact Dr. Crawford directly at least 3 months prior to your deadline to discuss options and get the assistance you need to be competitive.
How to apply (for graduate students):
All graduate students must be admitted to a UNL graduate program before joining the lab. There is no direct admission program for my lab.
Our home department is Biochemistry. More information about the program can be found on the Department of Biocehmistry Grad Program page.
The application deadline for Biochemistry is December 1, 2023.
Application requires:
Personal statement - please include why you are interested in the program, any specific research interests, groups you might be interested in joining, and a discussion of the goals/role you played/significance of any past research experiences.
Transcripts
Letters of reference (x3, must be uploaded confidentially)
Any College of Graduate Studies requirements (TOEFL, application fee, etc)
Note: the GRE is not required.
All applicants will undergo an initial round of screening and selected candidates invited to a visit weekend (typically early February, with/without a virtual option - depending on health restrictions and/or travel options).
Acceptance letters will be sent end of February/early March and program acceptance is due April 15.
All admitted students in Biochemistry will complete 2-3 research lab rotations during their first semester (in parallel with coursework) before selecting their home lab for their degree.
All students receive
Full funding: stipend of $32,000 ('24-25 academic year)
Separate tuition waiver (tuition is paid separately and the student pays $0)
Support for professional development outside traditional lab work
We also can support students and have projects in the lab appropriate for affiliated UNL graduate studies programs including Biological Sciences and Complex Biosystems. Support through these programs is comparable to Biochemistry, but specific details can be found on the appropriate pages linked above.
If you have questions about the program or research that are not addressed with these resources, please feel free to reach out directly.
Helpful (general) information and links on how to apply to graduate school
(note that these are opinions only and do not reflect an official UNL point of view nor guarantee acceptance into programs, use at your own discretion)
Make sure you pick a program that fits your interests - this is your career and life, and it must be interesting to you.
Be specific! If you are reaching out to a PI in advance or when writing your personal statement, tailor your statements to reflect what about their work is interesting to you/how your experiences fit the area of study or group culture/why you are interested. Please do not just copy directly from their website - take the time to briefly personalize this.
For my group the important things I consider are: 1) Interest, 2) Evidence that you have thought through the process and our work, 3) Potential. This does not mean (for us) that you must have already worked in our areas of research or published (in any field), etc. Many students do not have the opportunities to do this prior to graduate school and we do not expect you to have either. But we do expect that you research our work and our department and show your interest and connections to these.
Other resources: