Frequently Asked Questions
 

What is the deadline for submissions?

October 31, 2005
 

Why is eligibility limited to US citizens and green card holders?

        The Aquaculture CRSP is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Since the terrorist attacks of several years ago, the US government has imposed many new restrictions and conditions on foreign nationals who enter the US. Likewise, USAID has imposed restrictions even on top of those for sponsoring foreign students for study in the US.

        In designing this new fellowship opportunity, we consulted closely with OSUs International Programs, and this is what we learned. If the CRSP fellowship were awarded to a foreign student, federal law would require that student (already in the US under other means) to physically return to his or her country and to completely re-new his or her visa application, including even being subject to rejection (although her or she had already been admitted to the US once). Without even taking into account the unnecessary cost that this would involve, this was a risk that we, with the concurrence of OSUs International Programs, were unwilling to assume. The USAID-sponsored foreign student would also be placed on a further-restricted visa and subject to restrictions on his or her length of stay in the US. In sum, the potential costs to the "lucky winner" might be much higher than anyone would have imagined under less extreme circumstances.

        After assessing this disappointing scenario, we reluctantly concluded that it would be unproductive at best to raise expectations only to encounter a lengthy bureaucratic process, unnecessary expense, and above all great uncertainty.
 

Is cost share an absolute requirement? Will my application be rejected or somehow penalized if I cannot show a cost share contribution?

No, cost share is desired but not necessary.
 

I was just accepted into a graduate program at OSU and will be starting in the fall. Can I apply for this fellowship now?

Unfortunately, one of the eligibility requirements is that the student have completed at least one year of degree-related coursework at the time of the award, so you would not be eligible.