In keeping with its strategic plan, Loyola Marymount University is devoted to encouraging its most talented, outstanding students to apply for nationally competitive scholarships, fellowships, and awards. LMU students are competitive for these awards, and they need your help in attaining scholarships and fellowships that speak to their academic, personal, intellectual, and professional goals. This section of our website is dedicated to providing basic information on how to act as a mentor and guide for potential applicants, as well as how to assist them in the actual application process.
At this level of competition, the students and ONIF rely on the assistance and commitment of the LMU faculty in aiding students in the application process, which may include acting as a "sounding board" for student proposals, providing intellectual and emotional support, and/or writing strong letters of recommendation. Generally, we ask that you serve as a mentor for these applicants, and if possible, work with them to improve their proposals and statements. In addition, serving as a panelist on a mock interview is a great way to be involved in the fellowships advising process.
Here are some basic tips on how to be involved in the national awards process:
- Encourage first-year students and sophomores to start thinking about scholarships early
- Encourage students to engage in self-reflection, define their goals, identify research award opportunities that match these goals and aspirations, and have them make an appointment with a University Advisor. Direct them to materials (look under faculty resources on our website for printable materials for students). Advise students not to wait until their last year of college to apply, because the process itself helps to refine these goals and interests further.
- Encourage students who are already scholarship winners or have been recognized by the LMU community in some capacity to apply for national awards. Most people who win national awards have been given university awards such as merit-based scholarships. One scholarship tends to lead to another.
As a member of the faculty, the scholarship application process can involve faculty in the following ways:
- Writing Letters of Recommendation
- Serving on campus selection committees, the faculty committee, or acting as an award advisor/nominator
- Participating in mock interview scholarship panels
- Acting as an advisor/mentor on personal statements, proposals, CVs, etc.
Please learn about scholarships and fellowships available to students in your discipline, and consider serving on a Fellowships Committee.
Which students make for strong fellowship applicants?
Identifying a strong candidate for fellowships, like charity, should probably begin at home. The student who is working in your lab, assisting with your research, or writing an honors thesis under your supervision is usually a much better bet than the one in the course you are teaching who earned a stellar grade but with whom you have no relation to speak of outside of class. The rule here is simple: Given a choice between the student you know well and one you know hardly at all, always recommend the former.
But what specific qualities should you look for in those students with whom you are already familiar? The answer here is quite simple too: Selection committees aren’t impressed with mere busyness and high GPAs; what they want most to see is passion and commitment from students who consistently challenge themselves. The strongest fellowship candidates are those who, regardless of their year in school, already possess a fairly well-defined sense of what they want to accomplish with their lives, either intellectually or professionally, and most likely have already begun to take the firsts steps necessary to reach those goals. In other words, the ideal fellowship candidate is not simply a joiner; they are instead a hard-working and creative leader, an agent of change who identifies a problem and then sets off finding its solution.
Finally—and this is why it appears last—a student’s grades should be your least concern when it comes to recommending that one of them apply for fellowships. It is true that many of these awards require a grade point average ranging from A- to A, but by themselves grades function mainly as a qualifier, and even if a student can boast an unblemished academic record, they won’t get very far in these competitions unless they can demonstrate the kind of intellectual or professional passion and commitment described above. On the other hand, if they have fashioned a goal and are already working towards it, don’t hesitate to recommend them even if you’re worried that her academic record might not be impressive enough. The grade thresholds for fellowships are much more flexible than you may realize, and for the student who seems to you to possess the right stuff and no less than a 3.0 GPA, there will always be something at our office for which to apply and for which they’ll have a reasonable chance of winning.
View ONIF's Fellowships Chart to quickly identify opportunities that are the right fit for your students.
Seeking Bright Lions!
The Office of National & International Fellowships (ONIF) encourages the LMU community to recommend students for fellowship support.
Please complete this referral form and ONIF will reach out to the student to introduce them to our services, including fellowship opportunities that meet their academic and professional goals.
Contact fellowships@lmu.edu or call 310-338-3792 for questions about the referral process.
A strong and supportive letter of recommendation can make a very significant contribution to a candidate's chances for success.
Here is some guidance for assessing when it is appropriate for you to write a letter on a student's behalf and tips for crafting a supportive letter.
Review the selection criteria for the award.
- Knowing what the fellowship is looking for will help you understand how to present your candidate. For example, Fulbright looks for candidates with 'ambassadorial' as well as scholarly skills; Truman looks for candidates deeply devoted to public service; Goldwater looks for candidates committed to scientific research; Rhodes looks for all-around excellence at the highest levels. We can provide you with criteria for most programs. Contact us at fellowships@lmu.edu for this information.
Aim to make the candidate come alive.
- Most top fellowship competitions interview finalists. Your letter should make the selection committee want to meet the candidate in person.
Use specific examples or illustrations.
- Praise in broad terms, however striking, will not make a vivid impression without specific and substantive illustrations. Discuss specific papers, conversations, projects, deeds that will help distinguish the candidate in the reader's mind. The quality of your examples or illustrations is more important than the quantity.
Highlight any unusual or truly outstanding quality or ability you believe makes the candidate especially well-qualified for the award.
- At the highest levels of competition all candidates have outstanding records and accomplishments. What makes your candidate different?
Convey a clear sense of the candidate's intellectual and/or personal qualities.
- How has the candidate demonstrated superior critical abilities, originality or intellectual curiosity? What personal qualities make the candidate particularly memorable or impressive? How, in your experience, has the candidate’s character or ability to lead or bring about change been manifest? How do the candidate's personal qualities complement or enhance his or her aims and ambitions?
Provide a useful and relevant context for evaluating the candidate's promise.
- Consider the candidate in light of his or her ambitions for graduate study, public service, or professional achievement, and in light of your own relevant experience and background. How does the candidate compare to grad students you've known (for faculty letter writers) or to younger colleagues or subordinates (for internship or volunteer supervisors). Would you be excited to have this student as an applicant for graduate study or employment at your institution? Why? Be specific.
Avoid recapitulating highlights from the candidate's resume.
- Your letter is most valuable when it shares information, experiences, anecdotes that reveal qualities not evident through paper credentials alone.
Write at least three full paragraphs.
- Letters that are too brief – one or two paragraphs – convey disinterest or lack of acquaintance and can be harmful to the candidate’s prospects. Aim for one complete page, and possibly more for the most competitive awards.
- ONIF recommends letters be between 500 and 1000 words.
If you feel you can't write a strongly enthusiastic letter, gently decline. If for any reason you feel unable to write a strongly supportive letter, it is best for the candidate if you politely decline. You are welcome to help the student to consider other possible letter writers, is applicable. Below are some additional factors that may aid you in your decision:
- If the students asks too close to the deadline. (We advise students to ask for letters no later than three weeks in advance of a deadline.)
- If a student approaches you in a highly unprofessional manner.
- If you recall little more about a student than the recorded grade(s).
- If you think that you are not the best person to write a letter.
- If you simply do not have the time to write a good letter for a student.
Additional Resources
- Joe Schall has an excellent commentary on what specific national fellowships are looking for in a letter. Please see chapter 6 of his online resource manual, Writing Recommendation Letters
- The University of Arizona created this sheet on avoiding gender bias in reference writing
*Sources used to compile guidelines include the materials distributed by the National Association of Fellowship Advisors and Writing Recommendation Letters by Joe Schall.
We are always happy to respond to any questions you may have about preparing your letter. Please feel free to contact ONIF at fellowships@lmu.edu or 310.338.3792.
National Deadline: September 15, 2026
fellowships@lmu.edu | 310.338.3792
Fulbright offers over 400 teaching, research, professional project, or combination awards to U.S. faculty and experienced professionals in over 125 countries.
Please review the information below and contact your department chair and dean as early as possible if you are interested in applying for the 2027-2028 cycle.
Upcoming Events
Application Process
- Explore the award catalog
- Reach out to prospective host institutions abroad (see Fulbright Scholar Program Letter of Invitation Checklist)
- Speak with your dept. chair and dean, and/or director supervisor about your intentions to apply
- Align your Fulbright with a sabbatical, or arrange approval from your chair/college before you apply!
- Compose your application materials
- Submit your application by September 15, 2026
- Complete LMU's Fulbright Post Submission form no more than 5 business days after the national deadline
Resources
Eligibility
- Applicants must be U.S. citizens.
- Although most Fulbright awards are open to both academics and professionals, approximately 80 percent of available awards require a Ph.D. or terminal degree.
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