Congratulations! You have the opportunity to be included in the NSF/STEM Fellowships Online Boot Camp! This Boot Camp entails training in the area of self-presentation and research preparation, particularly for national fellowships such as the NSF’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). This self-paced Boot Camp consists of five live, online sessions, each lasting approximately 3-4 hours.

This Boot Camp is part of a larger study examining the effects of information delivery systems and one-on-one consultations on students’ application and success rates. As part of this study, you will be asked to complete a series of nine surveys about your experiences with the Boot Camp and the application process more generally (seven surveys during the Boot Camp, and one each in May of 2022 and 2023). Each of these surveys should take under 20 minutes to complete. For complete details, see below.

Participants in the study will be randomly assigned to one of three groups. As a participant, you will have an equal chance of being assigned to each group. All groups will be requested to complete surveys as part of the study.

Online Materials + Consultations participants will participate in the five Online Boot Camp sessions and receive access to a full year of unlimited one-on-one consultations (via email, phone, and/or Skype) with our team of grant and fellowship consultants through March 1, 2021.

Online Materials Only participants will participate in the five Online Boot Camp sessions, but will not receive access to one-on-one consultations.

Control Group participants, as part of the control group, will only be asked to complete four surveys about their fellowships and academic application experiences: two in Spring 2021, one in May 2022, and one in May 2023.

To be included in the study, you must commit to participating in all of the Online Boot Camp sessions. Again, because space is limited, participation in the study will be offered to the first group of students who register—first registered, first served.

Click "Next" to access the form indicating your interest in participating in the NSF/STEM Fellowships Boot Camp Study. Because space is limited, participation in the study will be limited - first registered, first served. We will follow up with you via email regarding your participation in the study.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Mike Westrate (michael.westrate@villanova.edu; 610-519-5928) or the Villanova Center for Research and Fellowships main office (crf@villanova.edu; 610-519-8803).