Graduate Life Fellowship Application and Information
The Graduate Life Fellowship 2021-2022 Application is Now Open!
Applications are due by March 14, 2021!
The Graduate Life Fellowship was created as a way of providing grad students who have demonstrated a commitment to the graduate community an opportunity to do more of what they love: the goal of the GLF program is to enhance the graduate community through leadership, peer mentoring and the coordination of activities that foster diverse social and academic engagement.
Through the Graduate School’s Center for Graduate Life (CGL), GLFs have the opportunity to build community through active participation in the CGL events such as Fall and Spring New Graduate Student Orientations and/or Open House events. In addition, GLFs are given the opportunity to work together as a team (or small teams) to coordinate events or initiatives designed to connect graduate students to one another and to valuable campus resources.
Not only do GLFs use their role to strengthen graduate community, they are also strategically positioned to learn and communicate the needs of our graduate student population back to the CGL. Above all else, GLFs regularly attend and promote the CGL’s professional development and wellness workshops in an effort to support graduate student success across disciplines. Serving as a GLF will allow you to:
- Build your resume and reference list
- Network with administration, faculty, staff and fellow students
- Improve your communication and leadership skills
- Enhance your own professional development
- Receive a notation for Leadership Competency on your official transcript
- Gain valuable volunteer experience
- Have an impact on the graduate student experience at UNC Charlotte
The award amount for each Graduate Life Fellow is $5,000 for the academic year. Half of the award will be paid to student accounts in the Fall, and the second installment will be credited during the Spring semester of 2022. The award can accompany a graduate assistantship; both domestic and international graduate students can apply.
Selection Criteria
- Only full-time graduate students may apply (degree-seeking preferred)
- Must have completed at least one year of graduate-level coursework at UNC Charlotte
- Must have a GPA of at least 3.0 and be in good standing
- Fellows must live in the Charlotte area throughout the academic year of their fellowship
- In the interest of giving everyone an opportunity, former Graduate Life Fellows are ineligible to reapply
The ideal candidate will
- Be engaged, responsible and motivated and will have demonstrated their commitment to service through volunteer activities
- Have excellent written and oral communication skills
- Be eager to interact respectfully with a broad range of graduate students from diverse backgrounds
Application Requirements
The Graduate Life Fellowship application has three components: your general application, two short essay questions, and a CV/resume. All three items must be submitted online by 5:00 PM on March 14. The essay answers and resume must both be uploaded to the application form as PDFs. If you require special accommodations, please email Aura Young at Aura.Young@uncc.edu for additional assistance.
You must respond to two of the four following short essay prompts (250 words max for each question):
1) What are you most proud of?
2) How do you usually contribute to the communities of which you are a part?
3) In your opinion, what is the most challenging aspect of attending a university with a diverse student population?
4) Describe a time you made a mistake. What did you do to get back on track?
Selection Process
The GLF selection process consists of two parts:
1) Selected applicants are invited to participate in one of two group process interviews. The process interviews are a time for the CGL staff to learn how you interact as part of a team. Group interviews will be held on Monday, March 29 from 1:00-2:30 and Tuesday, March 30 from 11:30-1:00.
2) Selected candidates will then be invited for individual interviews with CGL faculty and staff sometime between April 3 and April 13.
Decisions will be made and offers extended the week of April 22!
Submission Instructions
You must submit your GLF Application, your essay answers and CV/resume by 5:00 PM on March 14. Please email Aura Young, Assistant Director of the Center for Graduate Life, at Aura.Young@uncc.edu for more information.