Welcome to the website of Chaser, the Resource Center for Graduate Student External Support, which serves the Graduate School-New Brunswick community.

Our mission is to assist graduate students in securing external support -- throughout the entire process, from finding awards to filing applications. We offer workshops on proposal writing, mock review sessions and information sessions on how to apply to major funders, such as the Social Science Research Council, NSF, and Fulbright. We also provide assistance in developing budgets, as well as proposal critiques. And we work with students in all fields -- sciences, engineering, humanities and social sciences -- and at all levels, including postdoctoral.

Applying for external funding is a time and labor intensive activity. Students who apply for support should plan to do so at least a year before they will need the funding. Successful applicants will be able to articulate a clear and focused research idea and plan that will contribute to the advancement and understanding of their discipline.

External support typically takes the form of a merit based fellowships or research grants. We do not work with students on need-based financial aid. Please see the Financial Aid Office for assistance with need-based aid.

A central service offered by Chaser, and open to the members of all Rutgers University graduate schools, is the extensive Funder Database. Before visiting the database, however, you may want to visit our FAQ page, which will answer many basic external funding questions and our Application Process page which will help you think about how to integrate applying for external funding into your graduate career. Students may also find the Funding Assistant to be particularly helpful, as it contains links to sample proposals and helpful articles and guides on how to apply for fellowships and grants.

• Search for external funding by visiting the Funder Database.
• Learn more about applying for external funding by visiting the Funding Assistant.
• Practice drafting a funding proposal by using the Proposal-Writing Tutorial.
• Sign up for an upcoming Workshop.
• Keep up to date on important Deadlines.

In addition to these on-line resources, an appointment with a Fellowship Advisor may be requested, to discuss funding options and to review and critique proposals. The requests for an appointment exceeds our current availability. If you would like to request an appointment, please plan ahead and schedule an appointment well in advance. Please visit our Appointment Scheduler to request a meeting.