Purpose
The purpose of this award is to encourage, support, and recognize graduate/doctoral student research and
creative activities associated with the thesis/dissertation or project requirement in any academic area.
These awards are also intended to expand the opportunity for students to engage more fully in their work
and thus achieve excellence for themselves, their programs, and the Division of Graduate Studies. In
addition, the process involved in submitting an application for this award is meant to be a valuable
learning experience for graduate students who may later be required to submit similar applications as
doctoral candidates or as professionals. Inclusion of this award on resumes has generally fostered
additional recognition as a special honor.
Amount of Awards
All awards for the fall or spring semester in the amounts up to $1,000 are paid directly to the individual
applicant. If you receive an award, but for some reason you cannot carry out the planned research, you
are required to return the award to the Division of Graduate Studies.
Note: Recipients of this award who are currently receiving financial aid are subject to having the
amount of this award factored into their current budget by the Financial Aid Office, with the possibility
of reducing the amount of another award or loan.
Selection Criteria
Graduate Student Research and Creative Activities Support Awards are made by the Graduate Dean based
upon the recommendation of a review committee approved by the University Graduate Committee. The
chief considerations in determining whether a student's submission will be awarded are the support,
clarity, and quality of the proposal (see below). Because this award is given to recognize individual effort,
joint student proposals will not be considered for funding. Support from this fund must be acknowledged
in subsequent publications or presentations of the work.
Required Supporting Documents
Applicants should attach a proposal for their thesis/dissertation or project to the application form for the
Graduate Student Research and Creative Activities Support Award. This proposal must include
supporting documents tailored to an audience of non-specialists.
• Introduction (background information with support from literature where appropriate);
• Purpose (hypothesis and/or project goals/objectives);
• Significance of the research/project;
• Methodology/Project Design (specific research design and data analysis, or detailed plan of work);
• Dissemination of results must include:
a) A brief description of all completed and potential on-campus presentations;
b) A brief description of at least one or more completed or potential presentations
at a national or regional conference (include date and place);
c) Journal publication (include submission procedures);
d) Publisher, imprint, or periodical for creative writing; or
e) Venue (include description) for other creative works.
• Amount of work toward the thesis/dissertation or project completed to date; and
• A reference list for citations in the application (use APA, MLA or other format).
• A projected budget sheet with justification as to how money will be used.