Minority Fellowship Program Neuroscience
Postdoctoral Fellowship Application

Fall 2002

Dear Applicant:

This letter provides you with instructions for completing the MFP application. Please review them carefully and thoroughly. Following the instructions should help you put together the very best application possible. At all times, use language that is clear and concise, and use typed instead of hand-written responses. As a precaution and for your own future reference, please make photocopies of all original material that you send us.

A complete MFP application includes the following:

Applications for the 2003-04 Season are under revision.  They will be available in September 2003. 

• Application Form (available September 2003)
• Essay or Research Plan
• Three letters of reference
• Transcripts
• Curriculum Vita

Tips for Applicants

• We strongly encourage you to begin preparing your application as early as possible.
• Use a word processor or typewriter.
• Prepare ALL your material and send it in at the same time (except transcripts and GREs)
• Photocopy all original documents submitted to us and retain for your records
• Use the Application Checklist at the end of these instructions to track your material
• Make note of our address and phone number and keep track of the names of MFP staff with whom you have phone contact.
• It is often wise to consult with one's advisor or mentor while completing the application. They often provide valuable suggestions and guidance.

List of Required Materials

• APPLICATION FORM: Complete the enclosed form in its entirety. Answer each question completely using a separate piece of paper if necessary and do not answer questions by simply referring to your vitae. Please type or write legibility. We encourage you to type your application if at all possible, making it easier for the staff and Advisory Committee Members to process and read.
• ESSAY: Include a concise essay describing your plans for postdoctoral research using three pages or less. Identify your faculty advisor and project, explaining your choice of research topic. Describe how your training will fit your career goal for neuroscience research and/or teaching. You may mention any unusual experiences or qualities that prepare you uniquely for further training in neuroscience or particular challenges you have met in developing your skills.
• TRANSCRIPTS: Please forward transcripts for any college/university you attended for at least a full academic year within the last 10 years. Transcripts must be official with a raised seal or official making used by the college/university. You should request that transcripts be mailed directly to the MFP office: APA/MFP Fellowship Application, 750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. Deadline: January 15, 2003.
• CURRICULUM VITA: A curriculum vita is a short account of one’s qualifications, training, career experiences, publications, professional presentations, etc. If you are a graduating senior, you may not have one at this stage on your career. We strongly urge you to work with someone in your department to develop one. It is a standard document that will be used throughout your professional career. It is certainly to your advantage if you include one.
• LETTERS OF REFERENCE: Your letters of reference should be completed by three people most familiar with your academic accomplishments and/or experiences that demonstrate your ability and interest in pursuing a doctorate in psychology with an ethnic minority focus. Make sure that your proposed postdoctoral advisor sends us a letter indicating support of your application. This person should describe plans for your training, grant support for your research, and the environment of the laboratory/department including numbers and types of other trainees and the type of support (stipend supplements, research space and material, travel support, etc…) that will be made available to you. Please ask your references to sign and seal their letters in an envelope and return them to you so that you may send in your letters with the rest of your application material on time. {A cautionary note: Missing letters of reference account for most incomplete MFP applications! Start early working diligently with your references to get them in on time.}

Important SPINES Announcement

All MFP in Neuroscience Fellows are required to attend the Summer Program in Neuroscience, Ethics, and Survival Skills (SPINES) during their first summer. If you are selected as an MFP in Neuroscience Fellow, your SPINES expenses will be covered by your MFP fellowship. SPINES is a month long program at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA, for the specific dates and information, please visit the MBL website or contact the MFP office.

This program is designed to broaden your knowledge of neuroscience scientific ethical issues (gender and racial issues, faculty/student relationship, research issues) and scientific survival skills (writing and presentation skills, granting mechanisms, career planning, and job opportunities). These ethical and survival skills will be combined with opportunities to increase your knowledge in the neurosciences.

During SPINES you will have many opportunities including:

• Discussing issues in neuroscience with several leaders in the field and to work with some of these researchers in their labs at the MBL.
• To attend either the Neurobiology or Neural Systems and Behavior courses.
• Access to the MBL library, open 24 hours and carries most of the premier journals in neuroscience.
• Instruction on how to compose you data into an article or a grant proposal. And
• The opportunity to present your work at a campus poster session and an oral presentation at a SPINES sponsored conference.

DEADLINES

We hope that the information in this letter will help you prepare a competitive application.

Sincerely,

Joe L. Martinez, Jr., Ph.D.
Director,

Minority Fellowship Program in Neuroscience