Marshall Essays
Even if you’re not applying for the Marshall but only for other UK/Irish fellowships, it is useful to develop good answers to these
questions. (See the current application for up-to-date prompts; what follows is based on the one for study beginning in 2017.)
Proposed Academic Programme (500 words) This is usually the best essay with which to begin. It should be pretty straightforward
and usually includes the following:
• Your proposed degree course and university
• Justification of your choice of university and course (scholars there doing interesting research in your field, unique
curricular features, a cutting-edge research center, archives, etc.—esp. if you’re proposing a popular institution like Oxford,
Cambridge, or LSE you’ll want to make a strong, specific case for it); if you’re proposing a research degree and have been in
touch with a potential research supervisor who’s expressed interest, mention that
• Your qualifications (relevant course work/research/lab experience/even relevant extracurricular work)
• Outcomes (what you hope to gain from this course, why it is a logical "next step," how it fits into your longer-term plans)
• You may focus on Plan A for the term of the fellowship, but you must also say something at least briefly about why Plan B
would also be a good option (a sentence or two might be all you need)
Post Scholarship Plan (500 words). All applicants must write this essay, but one-year Marshall applicants must explain why they
cannot spend more than a year in the UK and must make an especially strong case for how they’d make the most of a Marshall
Scholarship, during that one short year and far beyond.
Ambassadorial Potential “Candidates should describe what “the USA-UK special relationship” means. They should also describe
how they might strengthen ties between the USA and the UK in their field of study and through their extra-curricular activities, whilst
in the UK and upon their return to the US.” (500 words)
Look at the official Marshall selection criteria
, to see what they’re after. Together, the Post-Scholarship Plan and Ambassadorial
essays are trying to get at your plan for making the most of an extraordinary opportunity, in ways which accomplish the Marshall
mission. Use these two essays to complement one another and between them to show how you’d plan to make the most of your
time in the UK in ways that meet Marshall goals: what kinds of connections do you plan to make? how might you plan to
continue/build on those connections in your future life/work? how might having the chance to study in Britain make a difference to
your immediate next step(s) and to the work you’ve said you want to in the longer-term—how might that work be different?
When you get off that plane, how will you engage with the community/get to know the people and the place? What experiences
have been valuable in the past, to help you get to know people/a new place: are you looking forward to similar things in Britain? If
they should give you this extraordinary opportunity, how might you try to give something back to the local community, through
volunteer work or other types of community engagement?
There might be good professional reasons for studying/making contacts in the UK: don’t assume that these are obvious or that
readers will assume you know them. (Remember that there’s a whole separate essay for your academic proposal; these essays
should not cover that ground again but might provide context/the bigger picture.) Can you perhaps point to a past or current
example of trans-Atlantic collaboration in your field leading to interesting work/creative problem solving? How might you hope to go
about making connections and fostering similar good collaboration in future?
*Avoid general arguments for why study abroad is valuable, or why the history of Britain is important for Americans—and do,
please, avoid mentioning tea, tweed jackets, Harry Potter, etc. [Oh, and the Marshall committee knows the Churchill quote about
the special relationship…] Lots of people could (and will) say these kinds of things—what can you say that someone else might not?
Leadership (new as of 2015) “Candidates should describe a situation in which they recognized and responded to a need for
leadership.” (500 words) Again, look at the official selection criteria to see what kind of “leadership” they mean. Choose a situation
which shows your potential not only to have good ideas but also to translate them into change in the world. [Note that your 4
th
letter for the Marshall “may primarily address your leadership and ambassadorial potential, and this need not be provided by an
academic.” One possibility might be to have someone who can support/expand upon what you write in your leadership essay.]
Personal Statements
(Often capped at 1,000 words, but see the prompts and word limits for each application, as well as the selection criteria for each fellowship, as
these vary a good deal. *Essays for graduate school are not the same as personal statements for fellowships—see “other essays” below.)
A “personal” statement is not just about you, but also about the context for the application, what drives you, the work you want to
do/the change you want to make in the world, and how what you’re proposing to do with the fellowship might contribute to
that/help you to do that better, more creatively, more effectively… Remember that fellowship committees are, in a manner of
speaking, looking for a good return on their investment: if they give you this opportunity, what will you do with it and how might