Office of Fellowship and Scholarship Opportunities

Description and Contact Information

The Office of Fellowship and Scholarship Opportunities is more commonly referred to as the Center for Post-Graduate Opportunities. This Center is located in the New Building on the 8th floor, Room 8.66. Its overall purpose is to provide students with information on fellowship and scholarship opportunities. The Center's goal is to encourage students to discover opportunities that fit both their personal and academic aspiration. When I first heard of the Center, I immediately thought of advisement sessions; however, I am now aware that this Center also offers informational programs and writing and application workshops. Within those workshops, facilitators focus on helping students create well-written essays and proposals.

In order to schedule an appointment with an advisor to discuss fellowship and/or scholarship opportunities, students may visit the Center or email ofso@jjay.cuny.edu. Advisors will ask students if they have any particular opportunities they were looking it or would like to know more about. There are specific people students will be advised to contact depending on what opportunity they may be interested in.

Resource in Relation to My Goals

This office plays an important role in my specific goal to apply to the Vera Fellowship. The Vera-Fellows Program is described as a collorative project between the Vera Institute and John Jay College of Criminal Justice. This program, being a fellowship, combines aspects of an internship and a scholarship. It is designed for students interested in advocating for social justice and public service. Agencies that students accepted into this program will work with typically are those that seek to improve administration of justice, public policies, conduct research, and a variety of social services. In order to gain a better, less generic understanding of the program and its general requirements, I needed to speak directly with the person in charge. Since I have never filled out an application for a fellowship, I also needed this resource to help me feel more comfortable and confident in completing the application.

Experience with the Service

I initially emailed a representative from the office in order to schedule an advisement meeting. I received a response rather quickly. I was then referred to contact the man who heads the Vera Fellows Program. I almosst immediately reached out to him, regarding my desire to apply, if he could provide me with more information on the program, and how to apply. He also responded in a timely manner; however, I was referred back to the original contact email in order to learn more about the opportunity. He did offer a chance for me to meet with him in regard to filling out the application; he assured me he would walk me through it.

I contacted the Center again, explaining what the Vera-Fellows directors had said, to which I was advised to stop in. I felt like I was going back and forth, and I didn't necessarily like that; however, I did visit the Center, and my questions were answered. I also gained a much more detailed perspective on expectations if and when accepted into this prestigous program.

Recommend to a Student?

I would recommend this resource to a student. I would advise the student to physically go to the office instead of emailing them, just so as to avoid going back and forth essentially. The faculty and staff of this office were quite helpful in their explanations of what I needed. Their friendliness also made the visit that much more promising, considering I had a slight distaste after the email situation. Overall, it is a great service to become acquainted with.