<p>Hello, I am currently entering my junior year as an atmospheric science major at Cornell University. However, I am considering a career as a research professor.</p>
<p>For my research I would like to do case studies on Northeast ice storms (similar to Paul Kocin’s Northeast Snowstorms book) and how the elevation of the terrain affects ice accrual.</p>
<p>I would like to go to grad school and then complete a post-doc.</p>
<p>For grad school, I am looking into
University of Maryland
University of Delaware
Rutgers University
SUNY StonyBrook</p>
<p>For grad school, if I get an outside fellowship, can I use that in addition to any fellowships the university may give me? </p>
<p>What are some fellowships for African American males?</p>
<p>Will I be required to be an adjunct professor before I become a research professor?</p>
<p>Does anybody have a book that gives some sample successful admissions essays for hard science Ph.D. programs?</p>
<p>Any insight people would have would be much appreciated!</p>
<p>Lots of questions. You should ask many of these to your professors, particularly the ones you plan to ask reference letters form for graduate school. They will know your field of interest very will and can guide you to applying to the right mix of programs. However, I will answer some of your questions:</p>
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<p>In atmospheric science, you should only get a Ph.D. at a program which supports you financially with tuition and a stipend. It is going to take you 5-6 years and you don’t want to self-finance. There might be some fellowships you can apply to, for example:
[Hertz</a> Foundation Applied Science Fellowships](<a href=“http://www.hertzfoundation.org/]Hertz”>http://www.hertzfoundation.org/) and [Homepage</a> - NSF Graduate Research Fellowships Program (GRFP)](<a href=“http://www.nsfgrfp.org/]Homepage”>http://www.nsfgrfp.org/) but they are very competitive.</p>
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<p>The GEM fellowships are specifically for minority students [GEM</a> Fellowship](<a href=“http://www.gemfellowship.org/gem-fellowship]GEM”>GEM Fellowship Program - GEM Fellowship)</p>
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<p>No, it is likely that you will have to be a postdoctoral researcher for 2 or more years and then you will be ready to compete for Assistant Professor positions.</p>
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<p>You might find some examples at the NSF Graduate Research Fellowships site (above) and there are forums you can find where students share their essays, however the best thing to do is to have one of your faculty mentors who has done graduate admissions read and edit your essay for you.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
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<p>Okay, then you should be aware that you’re looking at an incredibly competitive process. You will absolutely need to go to the very best and most reputable programs in your field. Similarly, you need to work with the most prominent scholars in your field. So you should consider more than the four or so schools you’ve listed.</p>
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<p>The university will ask you to use the external fellowships first and foremost. They may or may not add to that money. Each school has their own policy. In my graduate program, a small amount of funding can be given from the school in addition to a major outside fellowship (like NSF GRFP), but it’s not possible to combine two major fellowships.</p>
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<p>No. “Adjunct professor” isn’t really a professor position at all. It’s a temp job teaching excess courses on a per-course basis. As mentioned above, you’ll be needing to do one or more postdocs.</p>
<p>For your first question, it depends on the university. No university will allow you to combine the two (for example, say you get $30K from NSF and $30K from the school - they’re not going to let you combine them for $60K). But, some universities will top you up to a limit. Let’s say that the school’s limit on PhD stipends is $35,000, and you get a $25,000 fellowship from the university but also win an outside fellowship of $30,000. The university will “top you up” to $35,000. The university’s graduate school page should tell you whether or not you can get that.</p>
<p>Check fatomei.com for nationally coveted scholarships, but be aware that most of the big fellowships are not race-specific. Since you are in the sciences, you will be interested in the National Science Foundation GRF, the National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) fellowship, and the Hertz fellowship. You may also be able to write a grant to agencies like NOAA or the EPA.</p>
<p>No, you don’t have to be an adjunct before you become a research professor.</p>
<p>Graduate Admissions Essays, by David Asher, is a good resource that has admissions essays from a variety of fields.</p>