Q: Who is eligible to apply?
A: Eligible applicants for Hertz Fellowships must be students of the applied physical, biological and engineering sciences who are citizens or permanent residents of the United States of America, and who are willing to morally commit to make their skills available to the United States in time of national emergency (see our Moral Commitment section
http://www.hertzfoundation.org/dx/fellowships/commitment.aspx).
Q: Do you offer grants for non-Americans?
A: Eligible applicants for Hertz Fellowships must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States of America.
Q: I am a first year PhD student. Am I still eligible to apply for a Hertz Fellowship?
A: Yes, you are still eligible to apply as a first year grad student. Please refer to the application for specifics on the tenable school choice.
Q: As a graduate student can I still apply if I cannot transfer schools?
A: You can still apply, but the system requires you list a tenable school choice. If your first choice of graduate school is not presently a Hertz tenable school, there is a point on the application where you can enter this school's name. You will be expected to concisely defend this unconstrained choice later in the application, indicating what this school offers that is not offered by any of the tenable schools.
Q: I have already earned a Masters degree. Can I apply as a first year graduate student, or does the time put into my Masters count as graduate work?
A: If your Masters is in a different field you can apply as a first year graduate student in this field. If it is in the same field, then it will apply. You can confirm this with your graduate school's department —if they consider you a first year grad student, list yourself that way if you choose to apply this year. For the purposes of the Hertz application, graduate level work performed before the award of a BS or BA degree is not counted toward years of graduate work.
Q: Can I still apply if I am beyond a first year graduate student?
A: We generally do not award fellowships to students who are already beyond their first year of graduate study except in cases of "exceptional leverage." You can apply, but you MUST select one of the tenable schools from our list of tenable schools as your first choice. (Leverage meaning what difference the award of the Hertz Fellowship is likely to make in the kind, quality, and/or personal creativity of the student's graduate research.)
Q: My school is not listed. Is it possible to get my school added to the list of tenable schools?
A: You must choose a tenable school first on the application. In the next section of the application, you will have the opportunity to list your "unconstrained school choice." You will be expected to concisely defend this unconstrained choice later in the application, indicating what this school offers that is not offered by any of the tenable schools. At this point, documents are not required.
Q: If the Hertz fellowship is received, can it be used at any tenable school, even if it was not listed as the first choice on ones application?
A: At the time the award is offered, you will have the opportunity to make a final decision on the school you'd like to attend. It is also possible to transfer your Hertz Fellowship to a different tenable school during the course of your graduate work if this become desirable
Q: I have several publications that I would like to attach to my online submission, but it looks like there is only a place for one. Is there another way to attach multiple publications?
A: The best way to attach multiple documents is to make them into one pdf document and upload it that way. If you are not able to do that, or if the documents becomes too large to upload, you can either mail it in to the address above, or email to
askhertz@hertzfoundation.org.
Q: If I go over 300 words on my essays, will they be nullified?
A: No. You can enter as much information as you like for the essays. You will not be able to see the entire essay in preview, but it will be uploaded to Hertz.
Q: What is the Hertz Foundation looking for in the personal essay?
A: The personal essay is your choice on the topic suggested—it is intentionally open-ended.
Q: Can letters written on my behalf in a non-Hertz format be submitted?
A: We expect that each of your recommenders will use our format to submit their information, answering our specific questions. We can accept any other letters as supplemental information only. Please register your four references using the system we have provided.
Q: Can I submit more than 4 recommenders electronically?
A: Only 4 recommenders can be submitted electronically. If you have additional recommenders that would like to submit a paper application, please contact us at the Foundation and we can send a PDF form to the recommender.
Q: Will recommendations be accepted after the deadline?
A: We will continue to accept recommendations after the deadline. If we have not received all of your recommendations by the time the files are reviewed, your application will still be considered, although it is in your best interest to have all of them in. If your recommender is not able to submit, you could remove one and select a different one through Embark.
Q: I received a score range rather than an actual score at the test. Should I enter the range in my application?
A: Yes, please enter the score information you receive at the time of testing and send the actual score(s) to the Foundation when you receive them:
Fannie and John Hertz Foundation
2300 First Street, Suite 250
Livermore, CA 94550
Q: Are GRE’s required to apply for the Hertz Fellowship?
A: Yes, every Fellowship applicant is required to take at least the aptitude portion of the Graduate Record Examination and to have the results sent to the Foundation. Our Foundation ID is #4366. We accept subject test scores, but do not require them.
Q: Is it OK to use GRE scores for the exam that I will take in November?
A: We will continue to accept GREs after the deadline. Initial interview decisions will be made in mid-November. If we have not received your GRE’s by then, your file will be reviewed without those scores.
Q: What can I do if I cannot forward my official GRE scores?
A: If you are unable to get an official copy from ETS, please mail a copy of your personal documents to the Foundation's office:
Fannie and John Hertz Foundation
2300 First Street, Suite 250
Livermore, CA 94550
Q: I applied for the Hertz Fellowship last year and had the ETS report my scores. Can I re-use the scores I reported last year, or do I need to have the ETS report my scores to you once again?
A: Unless you have taken additional tests, we have your previous scores and you do not need to resend them.
Q: I am currently an MD/PhD student beginning my PhD. As a joint student, my MCAT scores were used for my PhD admissions file, and I never took the GRE. Can I use my MCAT scores instead?
A: Current MD/PhD students may submit their MCAT scores in place of GRE scores if they never took the GRE.
Q: When will the new application be available, or is it okay to fill out the current application for consideration for the following academic year?
A: The new application is available on the web site at the end of August. You can create an account log-in name and password to view the old application, but any additional information you input will not be ported over when the new application becomes available. It would be better to wait and fill in the information on the new application.
Q: I am having problems with the on-line application. Who can help me with that?
A: You should contact Embark. You can contact them through the help link on the top right corner of your application.
Q: When can I expect to hear back from the foundation regarding my application?
A: Interviewees will be selected by mid-November. You should hear from the Foundation regarding your status before the end of the year.
Q: Can you please tell me which address I should send my transcripts and other documentation to?
A: Fannie and John Hertz Foundation
2300 First Street, Suite 250
Livermore, CA 94550
Q: Will transcripts being mailed from my undergraduate institution still be accepted after the deadline, or will that disqualify my application?
A: Transcripts will be accepted after the application deadline. Enter your GPA and it will be verified when your transcripts are received. You do want to get them in as soon as possible, as your application will not be considered complete until they are received, although it will still be reviewed.
Q: I am a first-year grad student applying for the Hertz Fellowship. My current school does not provide transcripts until after the first semester is completed. What should I submit?
A: You do not need to send transcripts unless you have grades posted. Your undergraduate transcripts are all that's required in your case.
Q: What qualifies a class as "upper division"? And how do you deal with cross-discipline classes?
A: Each program defines their upper division courses somewhat differently, so please detail those courses you feel are upper-division. With regard to cross-discipline classes, use your best judgment.
Q: Can I defer a Fulbright Grant and apply for a Hertz Fellowship?
A: Yes, it is certainly possible. If you are awarded both the Fulbright and the Hertz, the Hertz Foundation will work with you on deferring support.
Q: Can I defer current departmental funding and apply for a Hertz Fellowship?
A: Yes, you should apply now and if you are awarded a Hertz Fellowship, we will work with you on deferring and/or coordinating support.
Q: If I am awarded a Hertz Fellowship with another fellowship, such as NSF, do I need to turn it down in order to accept the Hertz?
A: You do not need to turn it down. In most cases, we are able to coordinate with institutions such as NSF, NIH, NDSEG and others. We can also work with you to defer your fellowship if you are awarded scholarships such as a Rhodes, Churchill or Marshall Scholarships.