Summer Teaching Assistant Fellowship (STAF)
Application Instructions

The STAF deadlines are provided below. Please review carefully. No exceptions will be made. Applications that are not considered complete by the specified deadlines below will not be processed nor considered for the award.

**Please note: The process has changed from previous years. Applicants are to submit their portion of the application (cover Page with abstract, proposal, self-assessment) directly to the Graduate School by the deadline indicated below. The Graduate School will provide all referees with details on how to access the applications for review and how to submit their letter of recommendation. All recommendations are to be submitted electronically by the referees using the STAF Letter of Recommendation web form. Please review the 'Letter of Recommendation' tab below for further details.

• Tuesday, January 10, 2012 - The applicants portion of the application (to include the following: Cover page, Abstract, Proposal, Self-assessment) and the applicants submission of the online STAF Letter of Recommendation Letter Request Form must be submitted before midnight. No exceptions. *The letter request form is used to collect who the referees will be for each applicant.
• Wednesday, January 18, 2012 - All referees will be notified via an email from the Graduate School with instructions regarding accessing applications for review and using the STAF Letter of Recommendation web form to submit their letter(s) of recommendation.
• Thursday, February 9, 2012 - Completed application due. All letters of reference must be received by midnight for applications to be considered complete. No exceptions.

All applications must contain the following to be considered complete: Cover Page with abstract, proposal, self-assessment, and two letters of recommendation.

Please use the pre-formated application template that is double-spaced, using Times New Roman 12pt font with 1” margins, and numbered pages. There is a 7 page limit (including cover page) to the application, not including reference letters. Please do not include appendices. Note: please save your completed application (cover page, proposal, and self-assessment) as one document using MS Word or a text searchable PDF format (i.e. not a scanned image) and save as “STAF_lastname_firstname_APP.doc(x)”. Email your application to the UNH Graduate School Dean's office email: grad.deansoffice@unh.edu with a subject heading of “STAF_lastname_firstname_APP” (ex. Staf_Smith_John_APP.doc).

1. Cover Page (1 page limit to include your single spaced abstract)
   1. Download and fill in the Cover Page & Application template (MS Word document, if trouble downloading email our office for a copy). Indicate your name; UNH ID# (not SSN); Program of Study; complete mailing address; phone number; and email address. Please also provide the names of the two faculty members writing your letters of recommendation along with their titles and email addresses.
   2. Abstract: In your own words describe your project ( single spaced 150 word limit). Please cover the following questions:  What are you doing, what will be the contribution to your field, and how will the work contribute to your overall academic plan?
   3. There is a 1-page limit (to include your abstract)
2. Proposal
   1. Be aware the selection committee is multidisciplinary by design. In a clear concise, non-technical statement, describe for the general reader your proposed summer research/study program.  Your proposal should be original and inform the reader about the relevance of this work to your field in general and to your program of study in particular. Be specific about your plans for summer 2011 and where this work fits in your overall academic plan. 
   2. There is a 4-page limit (including any notes but not including references) to the proposal.
3. Self-assessment of TA performance
   1. Provide a reflective statement using standard format* (can be single-spaced) on your experience as a TA. Discuss your teaching philosophy and provide examples of how you might improve your approach to teaching in the future. If available, provide a synopsis of teaching evaluation scores  and student  comments (included in the two page total).
   2. There is a 2-page limit.
   3. Example of previous work: Synopsis Example
4. Recommendation Letters (Applicant Portion)
   1. Two recommendation letters are required. Applicants must complete and submit the “applicant” portion of the recommendation web form by the specified deadline. Please use the STAF Letter of Recommendation Request form to submit your referees.
      1. A letter is requested from the Department Chair or the Graduate Program Coordinator and must discuss your performance as a T.A.
      2. A letter is requested from a faculty member who is best able to judge your academic performance and summer proposal as it relates to your overal academic program.

All referees will submit their letters using the online STAF Letter of Recommendation Form. All referees will recieve an email, from the UNH Graduate School Deans Office, that will provide them with a custom link, and access, to this form. Paper copies will not be accepted.

1. Process
   1. Following the email instructions provided, access and enter all requested information into the STAF letter of recommendation form.
   2. For the recommendation text it is suggested that you create it using any word processing software with no formatting (beyond line breaks and spacing) ahead of time. Then copy and paste the entire letter into the field provided. Note that all formatting will be removed in the process but actual line spacing and paragraph returns will be correctly saved.
   3. Applicant information and reports, to be used for reference in submitting the form, will be provided to all referees via Blackboard (instructions for this will be provided in a separate email).
   4. Once the letter is submitted you will be unable to access it again.

CRITERIA FOR AWARDING FELLOWSHIP

• Academic  performance (5 points).
• Proposed summer  project (12 points)
• Service as a teaching assistant (8 points)

• Deductions: Applicants who already received a Summer Fellowship and/or have been awarded a 2011-12 Dissertation Year Fellowship will be given lower priority. Students who failed to provide reports for past funds are not eligible.

Terms of the Award

• Fellowship stipends are processed as a one-time payment in mid July.*
• The 2012 summer stipend is expected to be $3150.

• Recipients are expected to devote at least 1/3 of their summer to fellowship activities and may supplement their fellowship through a graduate summer appointment at the university. The maximum combined compensation for a student receiving a fellowship and a working appointment is equivalent to 2/3 of their prior academic year stipend.

• Fellows must submit a report of their summer activities, endorsed by their advisor, to the Graduate Dean's Office and to their Graduate Program Coordinator by August 24, 2012.