Date Printed: Saturday July 28, 2007, 8:15 am

FAQS

Page location: https://whitakerawards.org/faqs.html
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1) What does the typical Fellowship/Scholarship experience look like?

A. The experiences of grantees can, and will, vary. The Fellowship/Scholarship can be anything from studying at a university, to conducting research at a research institute, to working as an intern at a policy-making organization. Our only requirement is that the activity leads to a substantial enhancement of the recipient's professional experience in biomedical engineering.


2) Can I do research abroad without a host affiliation?

A. No. All grantees must have a host country affiliation. Types of affiliations can vary, and may include universities, laboratories, policy-making organizations, and others.


3) Who should I choose to be my host institution?

A. Any international institution that offers an outstanding professional experience in biomedical engineering may serve as a host institution. It is your responsibility to select the host affiliation.


4) How can I find a host institution and/or program?

A. Talk to your advisor, dean, or other faculty at your home institution. Search online as well. You can start at our Resources page, which includes a sample of programs offering biomedical engineering abroad.


5) I found a host affiliation. Now what?

A. The Whitaker Program requires a letter of support from the host affiliation as part of the application process. These must be hard-copy letters – no faxes or emails will be accepted (it should be sent along with your hard-copy application).


6) Can non-U.S. citizens apply?

A. Non-citizens may apply if they are permanent U.S. residents.


7) I have graduated. Do I still need the Dean/Chair's nomination letter?

A. Yes. You should get the nomination from the institution where you received your most recent degree.


8) Should I propose a research budget?

A. No, this is not necessary. The grants will cover cost-of-living expenses (housing, food, transportation, etc.), costs for international travel, health insurance and tuition (if applicable).


9) How much money can I expect? How are grant amounts determined?

A. Grant amounts are determined based on cost-of-living in the proposed host country, expected travel expenses, and tuition fees (up to $15,000).


10) I do not currently have a biomedical engineering degree, but want to do one in the near future. Can earning my first degree in biomedical engineering from an international program be my project?

A. No, applications to purse your first biomedical engineering degree are not acceptable.


11) May I take dependents with me on the grant?

A. You may take dependents, but there is no additional funding for them. In addition, you will need to arrange for health insurance, visas and international travel for your dependents separately.


12) I do not speak the language of the country in which I wish to do my project. What do I do?

A. You should have appropriate language skills to successfully complete the project that you propose. If your project does not require knowledge of the host country's language then we recommend that you obtain survival/hospitality level skills in the language before beginning the grant to aid you in the settling in process


13) Why do I need to register to fill out the application?

A. The registration is to help make your application process easier. You can save, logout, and re-enter the application at anytime from any computer.


14) One of my essays runs longer than allowed, but it shows up in the PDF printout. Is this okay?

A. No. We allow you to see your entire essay, but you may not submit it this way. All essays must follow page length requirements, so you will need to edit the essay accordingly.


15) When I print the PDF of my (draft or finalized) application, it comes out small. What do I do?

A. Some versions of Adobe Reader automatically auto-shrink PDF pages to fit within standard borders. To correct this: in the print dialogue box, select "None" in the "Page Scaling" box. The application should print correctly.


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