I have found that many fellowships/grants are exclusive in one way or
another for whatever reasons their boards have determined.  Some like
this NEH/Div Pub Prog/Div Mus Spec Proj, seem a bit too exclusive if they
do not have some means of allowing persons to travel to whatever site is
needed to fulfill the opportunity.
 
In general, grants/opportunities for undergraduates are nearly
non-existent.  For graduates, the field opens up.  These sorts of filters
are exclusive in themselves and really do not reflect the individual nor
the quality of the project.  Some grants do allow for "professional" to
substitute for the education (indeed English has no word for self-taught
master like the Russian "samarodok").
 
For some of the research I have done recently, it was private individuals
that provided about 85% of the necessary funds while the airline provided
a 1/3 discount on the ticket.
 
Is it the resourcefulness of the individual to overcome such financial
obstacles?
 
 
On Thu, 13 Oct 1994, BETH WILKINS wrote:
 
> > The National Endowment for the Humanities announces the availability of
> > up to four fellowships in its Division of Public PPrograms, to be
> > awarded to promising public humanities professionals.  Fellows
> > would participate in the work of the Division's Museums and
> > Special Projects programs from mid-January l995 to the end of
> > March l995.   The application deadline is November 7, l994.
> > Decisions to be announced the week of November 21.  Each fellow
> > will receive an NEH grant of $5,500.  Guidelines and application
> > materials are available on NEH's electronic bulletin board at
> > 202/606-8688 (8-N-1)   Applicants must currently be working in
> > some area of public programming in the humanities--in museums,
> > libraries, cultural centers, historical societies, public radio
> > or television stations, or other organizations that provide
> > public humanities programs.  NEH actively seeks to extend its reach to
> > underrepresented groups, particularly to rural and inner-city communities
> > and minority and tribal individuals and iiinstitutions.  Accordingly
> > the NEH encourages applications from individuals at small, embergi
> > emerging, minority and rural museums, libraries, cultural and tribal
> > centers, and public radio and television stations.
> >
> hi, i too looked at this announcement, and feel that interested
> persons need to know they are expected to come up with their own funds
> for air-fare and housing, which pretty much limits the number of
> people from small institutions or any graduate students who wish to
> respond...too bad, sounded like a very good program to take part in.
> Anyone else have any thoughts on the matter of fellowships, their
> exclusiveness or otherwise?  thanks from another poor
> graduate student.