research awards graduate students

The 2025-26 Competition is now open. Applications must be submitted by the national deadline of October 8, 2024 at 5pm ET.

Current U.S. Student

United States citizens who are currently enrolled in undergraduate or graduate degree programs are eligible to apply.If you are currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program at a U.S. college or university, you will apply through that institution, even if you are not currently a resident there. Find the Fulbright Program Adviser on your campus.

U.S. Citizen but not a Student

If you are a U.S. citizen, will hold a bachelor’s degree by the award start date, and do not have a Ph.D. degree, then you are eligible to apply. Non-enrolled applicants should have relatively limited professional experience in the fields (typically 7 years or less) in which they are applying. Candidates with more experience should consider applying for the Fulbright Scholar Program .

The Getting Started page will provide information on eligibility and next steps.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program welcomes applications in the creative and performing arts. Arts candidates for the U.S. Student Program should have relatively limited professional experience in the fields (typically 7 years or less) in which they are applying. Artists with more experience should consider applying for the Fulbright Scholar Program .

Creative & Performing Arts projects fall under the Study/Research grant category and are available in all countries where Study/Research grants are offered.

U.S. Professor/Administrator

If you are a U.S. citizen and a professor or administrator at a U.S. institution and are interested in applying for a Fulbright Scholar Award, you will need to apply through fulbrightscholars.org .

To support your students in applying for a U.S. Student Program award, please connect with the Fulbright Program Adviser at your institution.

Non U.S. Citizens

If you are a non-U.S. citizen interested in applying for a Fulbright Award to the United States, you will need to apply through the Fulbright Commission or U.S. Embassy in your home country. Find out more information on the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program or Fulbright Foreign Student Program .

• Getting Started
• Study/Research Awards
• English Teaching Assistant Awards
• Fulbright-National Geographic Award
• Critical Language Enhancement Award
• Fulbright-Fogarty Fellowships in Public Health
• Search for a Fulbright Program Adviser
• Award Search
• Study/Research: Academic
• Study/Research: Creative & Performing Arts
• Fulbright-National Geographic
• Information Sessions
• Fulbright Online Application

Open Study/Research Award

2025-2026 Competition Deadline: Tuesday October 8, 2024 at 5 pm Eastern Time

Applicants for study/research awards design their own projects and will typically work with advisers at foreign universities or other institutes of higher education. The study/research awards are available in approximately 140 countries. Program requirements vary by country, so the applicants' first step is to familiarize themselves with the program summary for the host country.

Here are the application components for all grant types.

Creative and performing arts applicants are required to submit supplementary materials based on their disciplines.

Field-Specific Award Opportunities

Fulbright arts grants.

Australia : Western Sydney University Award enables American students to undertake research in the following fields of study: Creative and Performing Arts (all fields), Environmental Studies, Social Justice and Public Health.

France : Fulbright-Harriet Hale Woolley Awards in the Arts are offered to students in the visual fine arts (painting, print-making, sculpture, photography) or music (composition, instrumental, or vocal performance). Hungary : Fulbright/Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music Award offers training to students with strong music education backgrounds in one of the following: symphonic orchestral instruments, voice, jazz, music education, music history, composition, choir/orchestral conducting or folk music. Ireland : Fulbright/Hugh Lane Gallery Curatorial Award enables an American student to pursue an exciting education curatorial project for up to 12 months working with the Hugh Lane team. The project will contribute to the gallery's strategy, as well as the Dublin City Council’s strategy, of embedding a culture of continuous engagement between the Hugh Lane Art Gallery and Dublin's communities. The project will involve working with communities in the city as well in the gallery, establishing and developing strong links between the cultural institution and the communities. Fulbright/University College Cork Masters in Creative Writing Award enables students to pursue a taught Masters in Creative Writing. Netherlands : Fulbright/American Friends of the Mauritshuis Award will focus on the study, examination and treatment of works of art in the collection of the Mauritshuis, in combination with a tailor-made study program at the University of Amsterdam. The grantee will gain practical experience and knowledge treating paintings in the conservation studio of the Mauritshuis, under the supervision of the conservators of the museum.

Taiwan : National Cheng Kung University offers a Master’s Degree program award in Creative Industries Design. T his award enables American students to pursue a full-time Master’s degree program. The program is taught in English.

United Kingdom : John Wood LAMDA Award offers a one-year Masters in Classical Acting. Trinity Laban Award in Music & Dance and the University of Roehampton Award in Dance all fund a one-year Master’s degree or the first year of a longer Master’s or PhD program.

Fulbright Business Grants

Finland : Fulbright-LUT Graduate Award is available for a student in the fields of business or technology. The award is primarily aimed at students who wish to complete a full Master’s degree at Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology.

Mexico : Binational Internships enhance the knowledge, expertise, and understanding of post-NAFTA Mexico. This award is available for students interested in combining coursework in international business or law with an internship at a Mexico-based company conducting international or legal business.

Spain : Fulbright/IE University Awards for International MBA and/or Tech MBA  offers awards to pursue the following full-time Master's program at IE Business School: 

• International MBA

Fulbright IE University Master's Award at IE School of Business/IE School of Science and Technology offers one award for any of the following full-time masters at IE School of Business: 

• Master in Talent Development & Human Resources
• Master in Creative Direction, Content and Branding
• Master in Strategic Marketing and Communication
• Master in Market Research & Consumer Behavior

Taiwan : National Taiwan Normal University offers a Master’s Degree program award in International Human Resource Development (MBA) . This award enables American students to pursue a full-time Master’s degree program. The program is taught in English.

Fulbright Journalism & Communication Grants

Germany : The Young Professional Journalist Program consists of an initial research phase, followed by one or more internships or guest journalist positions at German newspapers, publishers, or television and radio stations. Research and internship affiliation will be arranged by the Fulbright Commission in cooperation with the grantee. Applicants should be beginning journalists or recent graduates in journalism or related fields with up to seven years of professional experience.

Journalism & Communication Fact Sheet

Fulbright Grants in STEM and Public Health

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program welcomes applicants in the sciences to all eligible countries. Please note some specific grants below:

Austria : Fulbright-Austrian Marshall Plan Award for Graduate Studies and PhD Research in Science and Technology offers support for full-time research in STEM fields.

Australia : Western Sydney University Award enables American students to undertake research in the following fields of study: Creative and Performing Arts (all fields), Environmental Studies, Social Justice and Public Health. The Fulbright Anne Wexler Scholarship in Public Policy award will enable U.S. students with strong academic credentials and leadership potential to undertake a master's degree in Australia in a key area of public policy such as health, sustainability, energy, climate change, regional security, education, political science, history, or government relations.

Chile : Pursuant to the Commission's interest in supporting study at Chile's leading science centers, the Chile Science Initiative Award will be given with preference for students conducting Master's-level or Ph.D. study/research in science and technology fields.

Hungary : Fulbright/Budapest Semesters in Mathematics-Rényi Institute enables an American student to reside one academic year (two semesters) at Budapest Semesters of Mathematics (BSM), take courses, and to take part in the activities of BSM.

Iceland : Fulbright-National Science Foundation Arctic Research Grant is open to students in all social and natural science fields as they relate to the Arctic and the people living there.

Ireland : Fulbright/RCSI PhD Awards enables US citizens to complete a fully funded PhD at the Royal College of Surgeons, an innovative, pioneering international health sciences education and research institution dedicated to breakthroughs in human health. Fulbright/Peter Real Analog Devices Bernal Award at the Bernal Institute supports a fully funded PhD to encourage innovative research projects in Chemistry, Engineering, Biological Materials, and Composites Materials. Fulbright/Masters Of Science In Public Health Award at the University Of Limerick Award provides students with a marketable and transferable skillset and competencies that will enhance their career in public health or other health-related disciplines, both locally and internationally.

Netherlands :   Fulbright/Delft University of Technology: Industrial Design Engineering Award offers an opportunity in one of three MSc degree programs in Industrial Design Engineering: Design for Interaction (DfI), Strategic Product Design (SPD), and Integrated Product Design (IPD). Fulbright/TU Delft, Faculty of Applied Sciences Award offers 2-year MSc programs conducted fully in English and include coursework, an internship, and a research thesis. Fulbright/NAF Fellowship in Flood Management is limited to research related to flooding. Applicants should have attained their undergraduate core technical skills already but will want to complement these with a graduate multidisciplinary study of water management aspects, such as: assessment of flooding risks, spatial planning in flood-prone areas, and mitigating flood impact and flood risk reduction. Fulbright/Faculty of Science Radboud Award offers one or two-year English language masters programs at the Faculty of Science. 

Spain : Fulbright IE University Master's Award at IE School of Business/IE School of Science and Technology offers one award to pursue a full-time Master's degree in Business Analytics and Big Data Taiwan : National Taiwan University offers a Master’s Degree program award in Global Health or Agricultural Economics . Additionally, National Cheng Kung University offers a Master’s Degree program award in Energy Engineering . These awards enable American students to pursue full-time Master’s degree programs. The programs are taught in English. Master’s Degree Program Awards: Taipei Medical University Awards in Mind, Brain, and Consciousness allows research topics that span across philosophy, cognitive psychology and neuroscience, such as neuro-ethics, attention and memory, sleep, mindfulness, selfhood, circadian rhythms and mood, and social cognition.

Fulbright Graduate Degree Grants

The Fulbright awards below include the standard benefits (monthly living stipend, health benefits and round-trip airfare) and may include tuition coverage for the graduate degree program. Please see the country summary for specific details.

Graduate Research Awards

IRLE provides flexible funds (up to $6,000) to qualified masters and doctoral students to advance student research projects in partnership with a faculty advisor or mentor.

IRLE supports rigorous interdisciplinary research projects on topics aligned with our mission: to understand the dynamics and policies affecting workers, working life, and employment. We are inviting applications from UC Berkeley graduate and doctoral students. The 2024-25 awards cycle applications open on March 20, 2024. Applications close April 12, 2024. Awardees will be notified by May 10, 2024.

IRLE seeks to fund a broad and interdisciplinary range of research areas that intersect with our mission. In recent years, we have funded projects focused on education, public employment, criminal justice, labor markets, racial equity, gender discrimination, and immigration.

The application period is now open. Apply by Friday, April 12 at 6pm PDT

Questions? Refer to our FAQs or contact us at [email protected] .

Awards Program Details

Award types expand and hide .nc-int-show-to-hide{--transition-duration:0.25s}.nc-int-show-to-hide,.nc-int-show-to-hide *{transform-origin:50% 50%;transition:transform var(--transition-duration) cubic-bezier(.77,0,.18,1)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b{transform:rotate(180deg)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b :first-child{transform:rotate(90deg)} function initinticon(i){i.classlist.contains("js-nc-int-icon-loaded")||(i.classlist.add("js-nc-int-icon-loaded"),i.closest("button").addeventlistener("click",function(n){i.classlist.toggle("nc-int-icon-state-b")}))}for(var inticons=document.getelementsbyclassname("js-nc-int-icon"),i=0;inticons.length>i;i++)initinticon(inticons[i]).

IRLE offers two graduate awards that graduate students may apply for:

• Graduate student research award : Flexible funds designed to advance student research projects in partnership with a faculty advisor or mentor. Details below.
• Dissertation fellowship : Students nearing completion of a dissertation related to IRLE’s mission can receive a one time stipend plus resident tuition and fees to support them during the completion of their dissertation.  Learn more about the dissertation fellowship program .

In addition to funding, IRLE will provide grantees with collaborative meeting space, opportunities for publication and promotion of work products, and other research support appropriate to the project.

Graduate student research award amount Expand and Hide .nc-int-show-to-hide{--transition-duration:0.25s}.nc-int-show-to-hide,.nc-int-show-to-hide *{transform-origin:50% 50%;transition:transform var(--transition-duration) cubic-bezier(.77,0,.18,1)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b{transform:rotate(180deg)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b :first-child{transform:rotate(90deg)} function initIntIcon(i){i.classList.contains("js-nc-int-icon-loaded")||(i.classList.add("js-nc-int-icon-loaded"),i.closest("button").addEventListener("click",function(n){i.classList.toggle("nc-int-icon-state-b")}))}for(var intIcons=document.getElementsByClassName("js-nc-int-icon"),i=0;intIcons.length>i;i++)initIntIcon(intIcons[i])

• Up to $6,000

Eligible expenditures Expand and Hide .nc-int-show-to-hide{--transition-duration:0.25s}.nc-int-show-to-hide,.nc-int-show-to-hide *{transform-origin:50% 50%;transition:transform var(--transition-duration) cubic-bezier(.77,0,.18,1)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b{transform:rotate(180deg)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b :first-child{transform:rotate(90deg)} function initIntIcon(i){i.classList.contains("js-nc-int-icon-loaded")||(i.classList.add("js-nc-int-icon-loaded"),i.closest("button").addEventListener("click",function(n){i.classList.toggle("nc-int-icon-state-b")}))}for(var intIcons=document.getElementsByClassName("js-nc-int-icon"),i=0;intIcons.length>i;i++)initIntIcon(intIcons[i])

• Allowable expenses include, but are not limited to, acquiring data, purchasing services (e.g., digitizing documents), or necessary travel.
• Funds may not be used to pay a salary/stipend for the applicant, or to cover university fees. 
• Funds must be spent by May 30th, 2025.

Reporting requirements and expectations Expand and Hide .nc-int-show-to-hide{--transition-duration:0.25s}.nc-int-show-to-hide,.nc-int-show-to-hide *{transform-origin:50% 50%;transition:transform var(--transition-duration) cubic-bezier(.77,0,.18,1)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b{transform:rotate(180deg)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b :first-child{transform:rotate(90deg)} function initIntIcon(i){i.classList.contains("js-nc-int-icon-loaded")||(i.classList.add("js-nc-int-icon-loaded"),i.closest("button").addEventListener("click",function(n){i.classList.toggle("nc-int-icon-state-b")}))}for(var intIcons=document.getElementsByClassName("js-nc-int-icon"),i=0;intIcons.length>i;i++)initIntIcon(intIcons[i])

• We strongly encourage awardees to produce public-facing products such as issue briefs, op-eds, white papers, or legislative testimony related to the project. IRLE offers resources that can be helpful in producing these.
• When IRLE supported work results in academic publications, we ask awardees to inform IRLE of those publications.

Applicant eligibility Expand and Hide .nc-int-show-to-hide{--transition-duration:0.25s}.nc-int-show-to-hide,.nc-int-show-to-hide *{transform-origin:50% 50%;transition:transform var(--transition-duration) cubic-bezier(.77,0,.18,1)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b{transform:rotate(180deg)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b :first-child{transform:rotate(90deg)} function initIntIcon(i){i.classList.contains("js-nc-int-icon-loaded")||(i.classList.add("js-nc-int-icon-loaded"),i.closest("button").addEventListener("click",function(n){i.classList.toggle("nc-int-icon-state-b")}))}for(var intIcons=document.getElementsByClassName("js-nc-int-icon"),i=0;intIcons.length>i;i++)initIntIcon(intIcons[i])

• Masters and doctoral students with a GPA above 3.0 and no incompletes.
• Applicants must be in residence at UC Berkeley and not on leave during the grant period (working remote is permitted).

Application instructions Expand and Hide .nc-int-show-to-hide{--transition-duration:0.25s}.nc-int-show-to-hide,.nc-int-show-to-hide *{transform-origin:50% 50%;transition:transform var(--transition-duration) cubic-bezier(.77,0,.18,1)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b{transform:rotate(180deg)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b :first-child{transform:rotate(90deg)} function initIntIcon(i){i.classList.contains("js-nc-int-icon-loaded")||(i.classList.add("js-nc-int-icon-loaded"),i.closest("button").addEventListener("click",function(n){i.classList.toggle("nc-int-icon-state-b")}))}for(var intIcons=document.getElementsByClassName("js-nc-int-icon"),i=0;intIcons.length>i;i++)initIntIcon(intIcons[i])

To apply, complete this form to submit the following: 

• Short description (1000 words or less) of your research question, methodological approach, and how IRLE funding will be used to advance the project.
• Budget (An optional template is provided here ).
• Current official or unofficial transcript.

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• Complete proposals must be submitted by Friday , April 12, 2024 at 6pm PDT. 
• Awardees will be notified by May 10, 2024.

FAQs Expand and Hide .nc-int-show-to-hide{--transition-duration:0.25s}.nc-int-show-to-hide,.nc-int-show-to-hide *{transform-origin:50% 50%;transition:transform var(--transition-duration) cubic-bezier(.77,0,.18,1)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b{transform:rotate(180deg)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b :first-child{transform:rotate(90deg)} function initIntIcon(i){i.classList.contains("js-nc-int-icon-loaded")||(i.classList.add("js-nc-int-icon-loaded"),i.closest("button").addEventListener("click",function(n){i.classList.toggle("nc-int-icon-state-b")}))}for(var intIcons=document.getElementsByClassName("js-nc-int-icon"),i=0;intIcons.length>i;i++)initIntIcon(intIcons[i])

• No, a letter of support is not required for the Graduate Student Research Award. It is required if applicants are submitting for the Dissertation Fellowship Award. 
• Yes, all our awards can be used for projects conducting international research. 
• Yes. Please list any additional applicants and SIDs in the additional notes section of the form. Each selected application will receive up to $6,000.
• While it is possible to submit two separate applications, please note that it’s unlikely both with be funded simultaneously. If you choose to do so, we suggest including additional context explaining why you believe your project warrants consideration for double funding. 
• Yes, you are allowed to apply for the GSR Award and the DF although it is unlikely you will be accepted in both. Applying to both does not negatively affect your application.
• Works Cited or list of references are not required but are always welcome. If included, it does not count toward your word count.

Current and Past Awardees

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Raheem Chaudry

Ph.D. Candidate in Public Policy

project: Public Housing, Neighborhood Quality, and Children’s Long-Term Outcomes

Raheem is a fifth year PhD student in Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. He is interested in learning about how we can increase access to opportunity for all children, particularly those from disadvantaged and historically marginalized backgrounds.

Broadly, his research examines how public policy and political institutions can work to perpetuate or attenuate economic and racial inequality, with recent focusing on voting rights, land use regulations, and low-income housing policy. This work sits at the intersection of public finance, urban economics, and political economy.

Xavier Durham

Ph.D. Candidate in Sociology

project: When the Policed Become Police: Poverty Governance, Reentry, and Urban Insecurity in California

Xavier Durham is a 6th year PhD Student in the Department of Sociology at UC Berkeley. By and large, he is interested in topics related to punishment, racial inequality, and policing with his current project focusing on the political economy of reentry in California and what that means for contemporary changes in penal and security-based practices within cities. Outside of research, he is a passionate mentor for multiple undergraduate programs at Cal and strives to become a professor of Sociology and Law. He also makes a mean banana bread.  

Richard Jin

Ph.D. Candidate in Economics

project: Human Capital Spillovers and the Role of College Quality: Evidence from Texas

Richard Jin is a PhD candidate in economics at UC Berkeley. His research lies at the intersection of labor economics and urban economics. He is interested in uncovering the factors contributing to differences in worker earnings and productivity across local labor markets, with a particular interest in differences in human capital across space. His current work analyzes how the local concentration of college-educated workers in a city impacts the wages and productivity of the city’s broader workforce.

Sreeraahul Kancherla

project: The Educational Effects of Financial Aid: Evidence from the Texas FAFSA Mandate

Sreeraahul Kancherla is a Ph.D. Candidate in Economics at UC Berkeley. His research agenda generally analyzes ways in which the US tax, transfer, and social insurance system has shaped income, inequality, and labor market dynamics. A key emphasis of this research is to understand the ways in which workers respond to income shocks, with a particular focus on unemployment and job search. His other projects study capital gains taxation, independent contracting, and tax enforcement. Kancherla graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2017 with dual honors in mathematics and economics.

project: China “World Class University” Label and Students’ College Choices

Runjiu’s research focuses on topics in labor economics, development economics, and the economics of education. Her dissertation studies how university labels affect students’ school choices in China. She also examines how education affects son preferences and the gender ratio of the next generation in Indonesia. She came to Berkeley in 2018 after her undergraduate study at Peking University. 

Leila Njee Bugha

Ph.D. Candidate in Agriculture and Resources Economics

project: Spatial Mismatch and Employment in African Cities

Leïla Njee Bugha is a 5th year PhD candidate in the Agriculture and Resources Economics department. She studied at the École Normale Supérieure de Paris-Saclay and at Sciences Po Paris in France, before starting a career in the field of program evaluation of public policies. As a PhD student, she specializes in development and labor economics, with a focus on understanding the barriers to women’s employment in West and Central Africa. Her most recent project focuses on transportation barriers as an informality trap for women working in Nigeria and Ghana.

Daniela Paz Cruzat

project: The Economic Effects of Safe Transportation in Developing Cities

Daniela is a Ph.D. student in Economics at UC Berkeley. Her research interests are broad and include a variety of topics related to applied microeconomics. One of her projects focuses on gender disparities in public transportation. Lack of safe transport can translate into girls missing schools, women not looking for jobs far away from home, giving up their jobs, or being unable to access health or childcare services. In Santiago, Chile, the government will implement “safe bus stops” to reduce the number of crimes and violence women experience in the transportation system. This study aims to study this program and establish if this type of intervention could change women’s commuting decisions.

Jasmine Sanders

project: Partying to Promotion: An Exploration of Extracurricular Work Events and Career Advancement

Jasmine Sanders is a Sociology PhD student at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research centers issues of equity and access with a focus on organizations, culture, and workplace policies and practices. Her dissertation examines the role of extracurricular work activities, like happy hours and holiday parties, in career advancement. Jasmine has contributed to research exploring organizational policies and practices that engender equality in college sports, belonging in the workplace, and gendered conceptions of work-life balance in tech companies. She has a BA in English from Spelman College, and a master’s degree in Sociology and Education from Columbia University. 

Elena Stacy

Ph.D. Candidate in Agricultural and Resource Economics

project: Flooding the Mind: Flood Shocks, Aspirations, and Labor Supply in Nigeria

Elena is a PhD student in the Agricultural and Resource Economics department, focused on environmental economics, climate change, and natural disasters. She and co-authors are conducting a study to examine the effects of natural disasters on households’ aspirations and livelihood decisions in the context of severe floods in Nigeria. Results from the study will be used to evaluate the contribution of psychological pathways to the impacts of natural disasters on labor supply and structural transformation.

Seung Yong Sung

project: The Effects of Labor Market Discrimination on Students’ Educational Choices

Seung Yong Sung is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Berkeley. He conducts applied microeconomics research at the intersection of development, labor, and education economics. His project aims to explore the effects of South Korea’s blind hiring policy on high school and college students’ educational investment and labor market decisions.

2022–2023 Expand and Hide .nc-int-show-to-hide{--transition-duration:0.25s}.nc-int-show-to-hide,.nc-int-show-to-hide *{transform-origin:50% 50%;transition:transform var(--transition-duration) cubic-bezier(.77,0,.18,1)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b{transform:rotate(180deg)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b :first-child{transform:rotate(90deg)} function initIntIcon(i){i.classList.contains("js-nc-int-icon-loaded")||(i.classList.add("js-nc-int-icon-loaded"),i.closest("button").addEventListener("click",function(n){i.classList.toggle("nc-int-icon-state-b")}))}for(var intIcons=document.getElementsByClassName("js-nc-int-icon"),i=0;intIcons.length>i;i++)initIntIcon(intIcons[i])

Carmen Brick

project: Examining Social Inclusion in the Tax-Based Welfare System

Carmen Brick is a sociologist whose research focuses upon low-wage work, stratification processes, and social policy. Her dissertation research uses mixed methods to examine the potential of state-level Earned Income Tax Credits (EITCs) to reduce poverty and inequality by studying the contexts of their adoption. Carmen’s other research projects include a study the effects of firm-level sorting on the gender wage gap. The Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy and the Josephine de Karman Fellowship Trust provide support for her research.

Becky Cardinali

project: Impacts of Teenage Pregnancy on Education and Labor Market Outcomes in Colombia: Evidence Using a Randomized Sexual Education Program

Becky Cardinali is a PhD candidate in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Berkeley. She conducts applied microeconomics research at the intersection of development, labor, behavioral, and health economics. Her project aims to understand the long-term impacts of online sexual education and teenage pregnancy on education and labor market outcomes in Colombia.

Jenae Carpenter

project: Getting into the Club: The Social and Symbolic Structures of the Film Industry

Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Jenae Carpenter is in the third year of her PhD in sociology at UC Berkeley. This research deploys a neo-Bourdieusian framework and combines interview, ethnographic and historical methods to provide a relational portrait of the film industry. It complements  the view “from above”—the social structures that enable social differentiation, closure and reproduction—with the view “from below”—spotlighting the symbolic structures drawing individuals to the industry, filling them with the belief they can “make it.” In this study therefore, I hope to understand the ways films and filmmakers are valued, differentiated from one another (‘acts of classification’) and how they attempt to differentiate themselves from one another (‘classifiable acts’) such that some individuals are able to rise from the pack and become a winning commodity.

Chiman Cheung

project: Doing Business with China: The Impacts of Growing Export Market on Local Labor Markets in Taiwan

Chiman is a PhD candidate in the department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Berkeley. His research centers around China’s rise as a global superpower and its economic and political implications for the rest of the World. His current project supported by IRLE assesses the impacts of increased exports to China on Taiwan’s local labor markets and asks whether these economic impacts contribute or mitigate the trend of rising Taiwanese nationalism observed in the past two decades.

Ph.D. Candidate in Business and Public Policy

project: Selection into Union Membership

Morgan Foy is a PhD candidate in the Business and Public Policy program at the Haas Business School. Morgan is interested in public and labor economics with a particular focus on issues facing local and state governments. For example, his research studies which teachers continue to join labor unions and the effects of declining unionization on local public schools. In a separate project, Morgan examines whether the civil service system shields government workers from the political process.

Cheng Kai Hsu

Ph.D. Candidate in City and Regional Planning

project: Unshielded on the Road: Traffic-related Environmental/Occupational Exposures of Gig Food-Delivery Motorcyclists in Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Cheng-Kai Hsu is currently a doctoral student in the Department of City and Regional Planning. He holds a BS in Urban Planning from National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, and an MSc in Transport from Imperial College London. His research interests include transportation planning and environmental/occupational health. Focusing on on-demand food-delivery drivers, his current project utilizes low-cost, wearable sensing to characterize their environmental/occupational exposure to air pollution, heat, traffic hazards, etc, and aims to explore the relationship between these exposures and driver behavior.

2021–2022 Expand and Hide .nc-int-show-to-hide{--transition-duration:0.25s}.nc-int-show-to-hide,.nc-int-show-to-hide *{transform-origin:50% 50%;transition:transform var(--transition-duration) cubic-bezier(.77,0,.18,1)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b{transform:rotate(180deg)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b :first-child{transform:rotate(90deg)} function initIntIcon(i){i.classList.contains("js-nc-int-icon-loaded")||(i.classList.add("js-nc-int-icon-loaded"),i.closest("button").addEventListener("click",function(n){i.classList.toggle("nc-int-icon-state-b")}))}for(var intIcons=document.getElementsByClassName("js-nc-int-icon"),i=0;intIcons.length>i;i++)initIntIcon(intIcons[i])

Livia Alfonsi

project: The Shecession of 2020: Evidence from Uganda

Livia Alfonsi is an applied micro-economist with research at the intersection of Development, Labor, and Behavioral economics. Her main strand of research focuses on labor market frictions in low-income countries. In separate work, she also studies how human capital investments and social networks affect individual preferences and behaviors.

Keith Brower Brown

Ph.D. Candidate in Geography

project: Solar Power and Worker Power in California’s San Joaquin Valley

Keith Brower Brown is a Ph.D. candidate in Geography at UC Berkeley. Drawing on his past work in California’s clean energy sector and labor organizing roles, his dissertation researches how a boom in unionized solar and high-speed rail jobs in the San Joaquin Valley has shifted labor conditions and worker power. Along with IRLE, Keith’s research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the UC Berkeley Latinxs & The Environment Initiative, and the journal  Human Geography . His prior work has been published in the  Journal of the American Planning Association, New Geographies, Antipode, Climate & Development , and  Labor Notes .

Derek Brown

Ph.D. Candidate in Management of Organizations

project: Equality is Misperceived as Harmful to Advantaged Groups

Derek Brown is a Ph.D. student in Management of Organizations at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. Derek explores the psychological barriers that curb efforts to reduce inequality within organizations and society. In particular, he studies the ways that diversity, prejudice, nonverbal behavior, and hierarchy shape how we interact with others and the increasingly diverse society around us.

Luisa Cefala

project: The Causes and Consequences of Persistent Over-Optimism among Job-Seekers

Combining insights from behavioral economics to labor economics, my research agenda focuses on understanding the determinants of job search in low-income countries, where informal labor markets are widespread. In a current project, I explore the causes of persistent over-optimism in job finding probability among casual workers in India. I hope that my research can contribute to our understanding of how poverty and its interplay with (lack of) institutions can affect workers’ decision-making.

Justin Germain

project: On the Road Again: Spatial Barriers to Employment Among the Rural Poor

Justin Germain is currently a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. Justin’s research centers around the ways that physical space influences social and economic inequality, and is working with IRLE to understand how transportation barriers affect employment opportunities for low-income families living in rural areas.

Arlyn Moreno Luna

project: Migrant Workers’ Attitudes Toward Early Childhood Care

Arlyn Moreno Luna is a doctoral student in the Critical Studies of Race, Class, and Gender program at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Education. Her scholarly interests include access and equity to early childhood education for migrant workers, barriers that migrant workers face as they access early childhood education, and access and equity in higher education for first-generation and traditionally underrepresented students. Arlyn was born and raised in Mexico, migrating to the U.S. as a teen. She received her Bachelor of Science in BioResource Research in 2013 (with Honors) and a Master of Public Policy, with a focus in Social Justice in 2015 from Oregon State University. In 2021, Arlyn received a Master of Arts in Education from the University of California, Berkeley.

Cristobal Otero

project: The Effects of Managers on Public Health Outcomes: Evidence from Chile

Cristóbal is a PhD Candidate in Economics at UC Berkeley. He holds a BA and an MA in Economics from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. He also obtained an MSc in Philosophy of the Social Sciences from the London School of Economics. His fields of interest are labor and public economics, and more broadly public policy. His website can be found  here .

Zabdi Salazar

Ph.D. Candidate in Jurisprudence and Social Policy

project: Immigration Judges & Bureaucracy: The Impact of Case Quotas

Zabdi Salazar is a rising third-year student in the Jurisprudence and Social Policy (JSP) PhD program at UC Berkeley. Her research interests include refugee and asylum law, immigration law, sociology of law, and administrative law. Her current project explores the impact of a case quota policy on US immigration judges. The study will use a difference-in-difference (DiD) approach to examine how the fiscal year (FY) 2019 performance standards, particularly the requirement for judges to complete 700 cases each year, impacted judicial behavior and case outcomes.

Alex Stephenson

Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science

project: The Effect of Knowledge of Racial Covenants on Attitudes towards Present-Day Redistribution

Alex Stephenson is a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science, where he researches the effects of past discrimination on modern political and economic inclusion, order, and violence. He is also interested in developing methods and tools for causal inference. His research supported by IRLE experimentally assesses whether learning about the historical roots of present-day segregation affects respondents’ support for addressing present-day racial inequity in the United States via redistribution.

Enrique Valencia Lopez

Ph.D. Candidate in Policy, Politics, and Leadership

Enrique Valencia López is a PhD student in the Policy, Politics and Leadership cluster at the Graduate School of Education. His research interests relate to three broad areas: the stratification of education by gender, immigration status and ethnicity; the measurement of teacher working conditions and well-being; and education in Latin America. He is currently researching (with Arlyn Moreno) the attitudes of farmworker immigrants towards early childhood care using mixed methods. The research aims to inform the main drivers and constraints Migrant Farm workers face when choosing options for early care for their children.

Liubing Xie

project: Governing Migrant Labor through Rental Housing: Differentiated Rental Housing Schemes for Migrants in China and India

Liubing Xie’s research focuses on social-spatial inequality, living conditions, and lived experiences of migrant workers in Chinese and Indian cities at the intersection of migration, labor, and housing studies. He is especially interested in investigating the recent Chinese and Indian state initiatives to promote market-led but state-mediated rental housing for both skilled/educated and unskilled migrant labor forces in the large cities in China and India. He pursues these topics primarily through the methods of comparative urban studies and urban ethnography.

project: Class-Based Origins of Immigration Attitudes

Alan Yan is a PhD student in the Political Science department. The primary question motivating much of his research is: Why isn’t there a rise in left voting as inequality has risen? His main focus is on class in American politics. Specifically, he is interested in how people conceptualize class, how people connect their class to politics, and how people understand their class interests. He is also interested in questions related to workplace democracy, ideology, and race.

2020–2021 Expand and Hide .nc-int-show-to-hide{--transition-duration:0.25s}.nc-int-show-to-hide,.nc-int-show-to-hide *{transform-origin:50% 50%;transition:transform var(--transition-duration) cubic-bezier(.77,0,.18,1)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b{transform:rotate(180deg)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b :first-child{transform:rotate(90deg)} function initIntIcon(i){i.classList.contains("js-nc-int-icon-loaded")||(i.classList.add("js-nc-int-icon-loaded"),i.closest("button").addEventListener("click",function(n){i.classList.toggle("nc-int-icon-state-b")}))}for(var intIcons=document.getElementsByClassName("js-nc-int-icon"),i=0;intIcons.length>i;i++)initIntIcon(intIcons[i])

Felipe Lobel

project: Effects of Corporate Tax Subsidy to Small Firms in Brazil

Christopher Lowenstein

Health Policy

project: To study labor market conditions and related policies as determinants of health and as tools for improving health among vulnerable populations.

Tatiana Reyes Hinrichsen

project: Higher Education Admission Policy in Chile for High Achieving Underrepresended Students

Alicia Sheares

project: Black Technology Entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley and Atlanta

Felipe Vial

project: Spatial Mismatch and Transit Infrastructure

2019–2020 Expand and Hide .nc-int-show-to-hide{--transition-duration:0.25s}.nc-int-show-to-hide,.nc-int-show-to-hide *{transform-origin:50% 50%;transition:transform var(--transition-duration) cubic-bezier(.77,0,.18,1)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b{transform:rotate(180deg)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b :first-child{transform:rotate(90deg)} function initIntIcon(i){i.classList.contains("js-nc-int-icon-loaded")||(i.classList.add("js-nc-int-icon-loaded"),i.closest("button").addEventListener("click",function(n){i.classList.toggle("nc-int-icon-state-b")}))}for(var intIcons=document.getElementsByClassName("js-nc-int-icon"),i=0;intIcons.length>i;i++)initIntIcon(intIcons[i])

Nicholas Anderman

project: Laboring with Machines: Automation and Socio-Cultural Change in the Maritime Transport Industry

Alexandra Appelbaum

City and Regional Planning

project: Infrastructures of Inequality: Security Guards in Johannesburg, South Africa

Christopher Campos

project: Understanding Parental Preferences for Schools

Joshua Choper

project: Organizational and Demographic Determinants of Manager Bias in Work Scheduling

Caleb Dawson

Graduate School of Education

project: Black Interests, Institutional Commitments, and Sources of Support at UC Berkeley

project: The Dynamics of Wage Differentials: Evidence from the Public Sector

Nina Roussille

project: The Gender Ask Gap

Katherine Savin

Social Welfare

project: “Being on SSI is a full-time Job”: Making Disability Work

Adam Storer

project: How Do Low-Wage Workers Evaluate Their Job Quality Following Changes to Their Employer’s Wage and Benefit Structure?

Matthew Unrath

Goldman School of Public Policy

project: Employer Search and Job Postings

2018–2019 Expand and Hide .nc-int-show-to-hide{--transition-duration:0.25s}.nc-int-show-to-hide,.nc-int-show-to-hide *{transform-origin:50% 50%;transition:transform var(--transition-duration) cubic-bezier(.77,0,.18,1)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b{transform:rotate(180deg)}.nc-int-show-to-hide.nc-int-icon-state-b :first-child{transform:rotate(90deg)} function initIntIcon(i){i.classList.contains("js-nc-int-icon-loaded")||(i.classList.add("js-nc-int-icon-loaded"),i.closest("button").addEventListener("click",function(n){i.classList.toggle("nc-int-icon-state-b")}))}for(var intIcons=document.getElementsByClassName("js-nc-int-icon"),i=0;intIcons.length>i;i++)initIntIcon(intIcons[i])

Zach Bleemer

project: Long-Run Wage Returns by Field of Study

project: Welfare State Development and Low-Wage Labor Markets: Examining Variation in the Adoption of State Earned Income Tax Credits

Angelo Dagonel

Political Science

project: Understanding Parental Employee verification and unauthorized immigrant earnings for Schools

Alinaya Fabros

project: The Making of Transnational Labor Force: An Interngenerational Study of Global Labor Circulation from the Philippines, 1974-2016

Isabel Garcia Valdivia

project: Aging Immigrants: The Effects of Legal Status on Old Age Mexican-Origin Immigrants

Ingrid Haegele

project: Biases in HR Practices and Labor Market Disparities

Anne E. Jonas

School of Information

project: Virtual Hell? The Changing Nature of Teaching in Online Schools

Joe LaBriola

project: Estimating Causal Effects of Employment in ‘Good’ versus ‘Bad’ Industries After Release from Prison

Preston Mui

project: The Aggregate Labor Supply Curve at the Extension Margin: A Reservation Wage Approach

Pablo Muñoz-Henríquez

project: Labor Market Returns to Student Loans

Manaswini Rao

project: Gender Wage Gap in Agricultural Labor Markets in Rural India

Vaishnavi Surendra

Diana Reddy

Jurisprudence and Social Policy

project: Organized Labor as Interest Group, Organized Labor as Social Movement: Framing and Collective Identity in Class-Based Contention after Neoliberalism

Andy Scott Chang

project: Globalization from Below: Migration, Gender, and Cultural Change in Indonesia and Taiwan

Saika Shaolin Belal

project: Does an unpredictable work schedule impede ability to plan?

Sarah Stoller

project: Inventing the Working Parent: Work, Gender, and Feminism in Neoliberal Britain

Clara Turner

project: Economic Impacts of Naturalization on Young Immigrants

Public Policy

project: Evaluation of Trade Adjustment Assistance

Sigrid Willa Luhr

project: Diversity and Inclusion in the San Francisco Bay Area Tech Industry

Paula Winicki

project: Organizing Despite Precarity

Graduate Student Research Awards (SCGSR)

The Office of Science Graduate Student Research Awards (SCGSR) program provides supplemental awards to outstanding U.S. graduate students to pursue part of their graduate thesis research at participating DOE laboratories and facilities in areas that address scientific challenges central to the U. S. Department of Energy Office of Science mission. The research opportunity is expected to advance the graduate students’ overall doctoral thesis while providing access to the expertise, resources, and capabilities available at the U. S. Department of Energy laboratories and facilities.

The SCGSR program is sponsored and managed by the DOE Office of Science’s Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS), in collaboration with the 6 Office of Science research programs and the DOE national laboratories/facilities. Online application and awards administration support is provided by Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Education (ORISE) under Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU).

Open SCGSR calls are listed on the Funding Opportunities page .

Projects by Year

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Outstanding Graduate Student Research Awards

Every spring, the College of Science recognizes and awards outstanding graduate students in three categories -- Scholarship, Service, and Teaching.

This year's award ceremony is Tuesday, April 16, 2024.

Outstanding Scholarship Award

The award is given to outstanding graduate students for their research efforts and publications, presentations at meetings and symposiums, and for scholarships awarded.

2023: Harrison Schmitt 2022: Minghao Yue 2021: Laura Coco 2020: Cristian Roman-Palacios 2019: Michael Goldstein

Outstanding Service Award

The award is given to outstanding graduate students for their attention to broader impacts and involvement in activities outside of academic responsibilities that benefit the department, university and the larger community. For example, this student may represent graduate student interests on councils or committees, organize graduate student events, assist departmental recruitment, participate in K-12 outreach, etc.

2023: Danielle Tadych 2022: Valeria Pfeifer 2021: Chelsea Privette 2020: Nicolas Garavito-Camargo  2019: Hannah Rosenberg Jones

Outstanding Teaching Award

The award is given to outstanding graduate students for their teaching or mentoring that goes above and beyond what is required; positive evaluations or other feedback from students, willingness to help junior graduate students, etc.

2023: Ryan Williams 2022: Alma Tejada Padron 2021: Jocelyn Rios 2020: Jason Quinones 2019: Joshua Scholl

Questions about the Outstanding Graduate Student Research Awards? Please contact Brittany Johnson at [email protected] .

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Graduate College

Award for graduate research.

Fall 2023 recipients were notified Dec 1st.

The Graduate College encourages scholarship addressing discrimination, inequality, and health disparities in communities of color. For the combined AGR/Deiss competition, we are particularly interested in these themes from a biomedical (both clinical and basic) perspective. This competition is NOT, however, limited to the above research areas.

Doing research during a global pandemic: If an applicant's proposed project will require travel (e.g., visiting an archive, conducting interviews) or may otherwise be impacted by travel and/or public health restrictions—whatever those might be—then the applicant should address this fact transparently and demonstrate awareness of contingencies.

Spring 2023 Recipients

Overview heading link copy link.

The Graduate College’s longest-running support for research by graduate students at UIC is the Award for Graduate Research (AGR). Formerly named the Provost’s Award for Graduate Research and the W.C. and May Preble Deiss Fund for Biomedical Research Award, or collectively the Provost/Deiss Award, the name was shortened to avoid confusion with other funding mechanisms. It is one application ; however, the Deiss Fund underwrites research in clinical or basic medical sciences.

Students may apply on a competitive basis for awards of approximately $1000 to $3000 to support their research. Awards will be made in two competitions annually, once in Spring semester and once in Fall semester.  Please note: The awards committee reserves the right to award less in support than the student applicant requests, and frequently does so.

These awards are designed to allow students to take advantage of unique opportunities to further their research, and to aid progress toward their degrees. Effective Fall 2018, the Graduate College is delineating three spending categories–research travel, summer research stipend, and materials/supplies– if not covered by other sources, such as the grant of a major advisor.

The deadline for the student’s academic program to submit to the Graduate College is below.

Agr details and guidelines heading link copy link, eligibility.

While all degree-seeking students in Graduate College programs in good academic standing are technically eligible, the Award for Graduate Research and the W. C. and May Preble Deiss Fund for Biomedical Research are intended primarily for students who are actively engaged in research for a project, thesis, or dissertation. (As explained above, this is a single competition with only one set of forms. The endowment funds clinical and basic biomedical research.) For PhD students, this typically will involve having completed the preliminary exam. Students at other stages of master’s or doctoral work may be competitive if they show exceptional research promise, with justification from the student’s research advisor and program director. A student may receive only one award (e.g., AGR or AGR/Deiss) per graduate degree.

Ineligible programs include (but are not limited to) DMD, DPharm, DPT, DrPH, LLM, JD, MBA, MD, MEng, and MPH (unless in a joint-degree in an eligible program).

**Effective Fall 2023, we have updated the disciplinary divisions wherein we have classified more programs as interdisciplinary and therefore a student in programs such as disability studies, nursing, or public health can choose a review panel more attuned to their specific project. To use these three examples, perhaps “behavioral and social sciences” would be a more appropriate division than the usual “life and health sciences.” In such cases, it is the student’s responsibility to communicate their disciplinary division preference to their program’s submitter.**

Regardless of FTE, an individual with an Academic Professional (AP or BA), a Civil Service (CS), or an Extra Help (HP) position at the time of appointment is ineligible.

The following  selection criteria  that will be used to evaluate all proposals for Awards for Graduate Research:

• Significance:  Extent to which the project, if successfully carried out, will make an original, important, and novel contribution to the field of study;
• Approach:  Extent to which the conceptual framework, design, methods, and analyses are properly developed, well integrated, and appropriate to the aims of the project;
• Feasibility:  The likelihood that the proposed work can be accomplished by the investigator within a reasonable timeframe, given their documented experience and expertise, past progress, preliminary data, requested or available resources;
• Impact:  The likely impact of the award on the successful completion of the student’s academic program.

Applications will be reviewed once each semester by a subcommittee of the Graduate College Awards Committee, which transmits its recommendations to the dean, who will make the final determination of awards. Applications for summer support may be submitted to either the fall or spring competition.

Awards will be made on the basis of scholarly merit and are subject to available funding.

Awards are not necessarily paid directly to the student. Unless funded by Deiss endowment, ICR transfers are made to the student’s department, which will likely require receipts to reimburse the student for allowable expenses incurred.

Deiss awards will be made to 4M gift accounts. 

Post Grant Responsibilities:  The student is responsible for submitting a brief (one page, single-spaced) report to the Graduate College outlining what they have accomplished during the period of their grant, how these accomplishments fit with their original aims, and whether there were any necessary deviations from the proposed budget and research activities. Research award recipients must submit this short report to Benn Williams ( [email protected] ) within six months after the end of the grant period, but not later than the date that all degree requirements are completed. The short report should be copied to their advisor.

The student’s advisor is responsible for submitting a letter or email to the Graduate College certifying that the student completed the funded research and used the awarded funds appropriately within one year of these announcement date and before degree completion.

Applications for the award consist of seven parts. The student must provide the first six:

• Application form with applicant information, including compliance with requirements of the Office for Protection of Research Risks.
• Guarantee of Matching Funds form (when total requested funds exceed $2000). If seeking more than $2,000, the student must obtain written approval and the signature from the research director/advisor, director of graduate studies or department head who will provide the matching funds. The Guarantee of Matching Funds form that the student completes only requests details of this agreement. See “Matching” section of the application for additional information.
• Itemized Budget Proposal form. See the application form for further information.
• Proposal Statement of no more than 1000 words  (including references), written by the student, outlining the proposed research and justifying expenses. Maximum number of images: 2. The statement should be pasted into the application or attached separately. (If the latter, use one-inch margins and 11- or 12-point font.) Students may wish to segment the statement according to the award’s selection criteria.
• Condensed CV, not to exceed two pages. The CV must be typed and pasted into the form provided or attached separately. Extraneous pages will be removed prior to review.
• In addition, the student must arrange to have a confidential endorsement letter for the proposal from the student’s graduate advisor (or research director), on letterhead, submitted to the department. Consult with the department to determine if they would prefer to receive an electronic or hard copy from the author. (Only ONE letter of recommendation.) Also, the student should contact the department to ensure it has arrived in time.
• AGR Application

Documents Required

In addition to the six components above, the department adds the Director of Graduate Studies/Department Head Approval form as the last page of the nomination package.

Some nominators have had issues with the DGS Approval form. A PDF version is now available (below).

• AGR DGS/Dept Approval Form (PDF version)

Documents Submitted by Student to Department/Program

• Application Form
• Guarantee of Matching Funds Form (if total requested > $2000)
• Budget Proposal
• 1,000 word (max) statement explaining/justifying expenses [an earlier version of this page erroneously stated “700”] including references
• Condensed CV, not to exceed two pages

Student requests endorsement  (or letter of recommendation) from the advisor or research director to be sent to the student’s department/program.

The student’s  program/department collates the materials above, in order, and adds the approval form from the Director of Graduate Studies or Department Head/Chair as the final page. The department then submits the application as a single PDF to the Graduate College via Box.

Naming convention: AGR_TermAndYear_Department_NomineeLastNameFirstInitial.pdf

Sample: AGR_Fall2023_Hist_FauciT.pdf

The department/program abbreviation should be the same as the rubric used for your course numbers.

Submit via email to the appropriate division folder in Box . See the “submit” tiles below. If you are uncertain, refer to the list of programs by division in the FAQs.

AGR: [email protected]

BSS: [email protected]

EMPS: [email protected]

LS: [email protected]

frequently asked questions

Eligible Expenses?   Awards are designed to allow students to take advantage of unique opportunities to further their research, and to aid progress toward their degrees. Effective Fall 2018, the Graduate College is delineating three spending categories–research  travel, summer research stipend, and materials/supplies –if not covered by other sources, such as the grant of a major advisor.

Examples of allowable travel expenses are: travel to field sites (domestic or international) where research is to be conducted; travel to archives; travel to confer with collaborators or with distinguished researchers who can make an unusual contribution to the student’s research project; expenses related to attending specialist conference(s) directly in the student’s research area; expenses related to offsite and non- CMEP  specialized coursework directly related to the student’s research project.

Examples of allowable summer research stipend expenses are: expenses of conducting surveys; expenses for performances or exhibitions; summer stipend for uninterrupted scholarship in lieu of taking an off-campus, seasonal employment.

Examples of allowable expenses for materials/supplies: extraordinary laboratory materials; access to databases or libraries; significant and unusual photocopying expenses (e.g., of archival materials); special software essential to research; compensation for focus group respondents, data transcription, and/or research assistance. Note: the graduate student and their department would responsible for all aspects of such sub-payments and appointments.

Examples of expenses which are not allowed? Purchase of routine equipment or software that is already available to students in department labs and facilities, journal subscriptions, books, professional society dues, computers for routine use, travel to professional society meetings or general conferences, visa/permits, immunizations for fieldwork.

Quota per program?  Currently, there is no limit to the number of applications per program or department; however, faculty nominators should keep in mind that their fellow faculty (human beings!) read and evaluate each application.

Payments? Awards are not necessarily paid directly to the student. Unless funded by Deiss endowment, ICR transfers are made to the student’s department, which will likely require receipts to reimburse the student for allowable expenses incurred. Deiss awards will be made to 4M gift accounts. OBFS info .

The deadline was extended. Can we submit new versions of already-submitted applications? Yes. We will use the most recent submission.

Feedback? Due to the high volume of applications, this competition does not provide feedback to students.

• Academic divisions

submissions Heading link Copy link

• Envelope icon Submit Arts & Humanities
• Envelope icon Submit Behavioral & Social Sciences
• Envelope icon Submit Engineering, Math, & PhysSci
• Envelope icon Submit Life Sciences
• AGR Application (PDF)
• Check icon DGS/Dept Approval (PDF version)

deadline Heading link Copy link

Deadline: 4 PM, March 15, 2024

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The College of Arts & Sciences

• College Arts and Humanities Institute
• Funding Opportunities
• Graduate Student Funding

Graduate Capstone Research Awards

The Graduate Capstone Research Award for dissertation or M.F.A. thesis research is a competitive award for IU Ph.D. or M.F.A. students in the arts and humanities. The award can be used either for traveling (to visit archives, for fieldwork, etc.) or for materials and other assistance to help further their research and creative activity agendas. Awards may be up to $2,000.

Please note: The Spring deadline has been extended to Friday, February 9, 2024.

In the interest of supporting as many graduate student scholars and artists as possible, applicants are eligible to receive only one CAHI Graduate Capstone Research Award. Previous recipients will not be considered. If a student does not receive the full amount of the request or the full amount of $2,000, eligibility is still limited to one successful application.

In addition to travel costs, examples of what may be requested for these awards include (but are not limited to): fees associated with locating, accessing, and reproducing materials; research supplies (archival scans, difficult-to-access books, computer programs, equipment); art supplies; technical assistance; and support for digital projects, among others. Proposals and expenses must be oriented toward the completion of a specific project.

Expenses that are not supported include (but are not limited to) typing and duplicating of dissertations, tuition, normal living expenses, and computers, travel to or costs associated with attending conferences.

In the case of requests for equipment, the letter writer must verify that neither the equipment requested nor the funds received are otherwise available to the student in a timely manner. At the completion of the project, any equipment purchased must remain with the department and be made available for future research projects by other graduate students.

Please be specific about the needs and timetable for your research. If you have questions about whether your request is feasible, please contact us.

All awards are subject to university restrictions and regulations.

The Graduate Capstone Research Awards is handled via reimbursement. In the case of travel, expenses are reimbursed only after travel is completed. Award recipients will need to submit itemized receipts showing method of payment for expenses related to the CAHI grant (up to the award amount) and will need to meet with CAHI Operations Assistant Shaina Sanders to process reimbursement requests. Expenditures must follow normal IU policies. Travel expenditures must follow IU Travel Management policies , and per diem is calculated at a set rate ( see Travel Management guidelines ).

Applications should include the following materials:

• 1-page cover letter outlining the research to be done—travel requests should discuss the necessity of the travel; other requests should identify the materials requested, as well as how they are useful to the research
• Short curriculum vitae (no more than 3 pages)
• Brief abstract of the dissertation or thesis project (no more than 200 words)
• Detailed budget showing estimated travel expenses and/or materials requested, showing itemized costs
• Letter of support from a faculty advisor, outlining the student’s progress toward the degree and the significance of the research trip and/or materials in relation to the applicant’s work

* Note: It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the letter of support is submitted to CAHI by the application deadline. Applications that are missing a letter of support will not be reviewed.

Late applications will not be considered for funding.

Eligibility:

Who may apply: IU Ph.D. or M.F.A. students in the arts and humanities. Students must be enrolled in the College of Arts + Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington in order to apply for and receive award funding.

Applicants need to have completed all coursework and qualifying exams, been advanced to candidacy, and be at work on the dissertation. M.F.A. applicants must be within one year of completing their thesis work. M.Arch applicants must have successfully completed their third semester of course work signaling the end of the Core Curriculum. Those students must be beginning work on a faculty approved independent study and/or a final or capstone project in the last three semesters of the program.

If other internal or external funding is received for the same project, CAHI requires notification and reserves the right to adjust or reassign awards in light of this information.

Apply for the award Upload a letter of recommendation

College Arts and Humanities Institute social media channels

• College of Arts & Sciences

Graduate students recognized for academic excellence and research achievements

Two graduate students, Shabnam Etemadi and Ann Song, have each received the Yvonne Danielsen Endowed Graduate Award from the UCR Graduate Division for academic excellence and research achievements. The award offers a stipend of $10,000 and fees/tuition for one academic quarter.

Both students work on research projects with Prue Talbot , a professor of the graduate division in the Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology .

The award allows Etemadi to continue her research to test whether menthol in electronic cigarettes, or ECs, adversely affects human embryonic development by activating “transient-receptor-potential” (TRP) channels — a group of ion channels located mostly on the plasma membrane of numerous animal cell types. 

“Exposure of pregnant women to ECs may influence human prenatal development,” Etemadi said. “It is unknown to what extent individual constituents of EC products, such as flavor chemicals, influence human embryos in pregnant women who vape. Flavor chemicals raise particular concern because they are found in some ECs at high concentrations and can activate TRP channels in cells.”

Etemadi plans to graduate next summer with a doctoral degree in bioengineering.

The award supports Song’s ongoing research investigating the infectability of human embryos by the SARS-CoV-2 virus in pregnant women who have COVID-19.

“Mother-to-fetus transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus is understudied and can possibly lead to developmental defects,” Song said.

Song is also the recipient of an Academic Merit Fellowship from the Graduate Division for Spring 2024 and will receive an additional stipend of $10,000. The award also includes payment of fees during the Spring quarter.

Song expects to graduate next spring with a doctoral degree in cell, molecular, and developmental biology.

Born in Canada in 1925, Yvonne Danielsen settled in Hemet, California, in 1951. She left a generous bequest fund, established in 2005, to benefit UCR students in science.

Related Awards

Ucr chef wins gold medal in cooking challenge, student photographer wins r’card contest for sunset campus overview, ucr winner of 2024 cio 100 award for it excellence, ucr student earns california state assembly resolution award.

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Graduate Students’ Discoveries Shine During Best Research Awards

Each year, the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine’s Medical Faculty Association honors Ph.D. students with Best Research Awards. This year, students researching cancer, HIV and cerebral amyloid angiopathy garnered the awards.

“The annual Best Research Awards highlight the powerful and innovative research our Ph.D. students conduct,” said Ana Fiallos, Ph.D., director of career services for the Office of Graduate Studies. “While we can only have four winners, the recognition is a testament to the hard work and creativity our students and faculty show every day.”

Fighting Brain Tumors

Fourth-place awardee Jiaqi Liu studies gliomas, a type of brain tumor, in the Zhai Lab. Her work has shown that the protein NMNAT, an enzyme crucial in the final step of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) synthesis, plays a significant role in the growth and progression of gliomas.

Experiments with fruit flies which were validated in human glioma cells showed that increased NMNAT activity allowed glial cells with harmful mutations to survive and multiply. This work could offer two advantages. NMNAT could be used as a biomarker to identify patients at high risk for cancer progression. It could also be used as a therapeutic target.

“It’s possible to develop an inhibitor that targets this protein to suppress brain tumors before they become deadly,” said Liu. “We could potentially use such an inhibitor in the brain after surgery to help eliminate residual cancer.”

HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders

Third place went to Oandy Naranjo in the Toborek Lab. Naranjo investigates the consequences of HIV-1 infection and focuses on HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. He is studying cells in the blood-brain barrier (BBB), called pericytes, that harbors HIV and may contribute to cognitive loss.  

Anti-retroviral drugs do not penetrate the BBB as well as other parts of the body. Infected cells produce viral particles, which generate inflammation. Though HIV patients can live almost normal life spans, this long-term inflammation can have a powerful impact on the brain. Naranjo wants to understand how pericytes behave differently when infected and hopes these insights will lead to treatments.

“We created a big database of latent, active and uninfected cells and how they’re different from each other,” said Naranjo. “This could give us insights into how specific genes could be used to treat HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders.”

Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy

Olivia Osborne, who placed second, also works in the Toborek Lab, studying the molecular mechanisms that affect post-stroke neurogenesis (brain tissue growth) in people with cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). Osborne was awarded an F31 fellowship from the National Institutes of Health to advance her dissertation on “Ischemic Stroke in Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy: Microvascular Injury and Recovery.”

In CAA, amyloid beta (Aβ) proteins, which have been linked to Alzheimer’s disease, weaken small blood vessels, sometimes causing bleeding. Osborne wants to understand how these mechanisms affect people who have suffered a stroke.

“My central hypothesis is that Aβ accumulation in cerebral vasculature exacerbates ischemic stroke outcomes and delays post-stroke recovery,” said Osborne. “My work focuses on the blood vessels after damage occurs. There’s some sort of dysregulation that might disrupt signaling to other cells in the area and delay recovery. If we can find that signaling pathway, we could potentially target it therapeutically.”

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Skye Montoya from the Taylor Lab won top Best Research Award honors. She studies mutations in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), focusing on Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK), an enzyme that drives cancer growth.

Montoya wants to identify small molecules that could regulate BTK and slow or even stop CLL. Cancers have a bad habit of learning how to resist targeted therapies, and Montoya and colleagues are trying to figure out ways to overcome that resistance. Montoya was first author on a recent paper, published in the journal “Science,” that identified previously unknown BTK mutations and showed a potential therapy (NX-2127) could be effective.

“Each BTK mutant we study can cause resistance to multiple BTK inhibitors, which can really limit therapeutic options for patients harboring these mutations,” said Montoya. “We were all excited to see positive responses in both cell lines and patients, regardless of BTK mutational status.”

Tags: Best Research Awards , Medical Faculty Association

Graduate Student Creates App to Aid Brain Recovery

Olivia Osborne created a mobile app that tracks cognitive function and dovetails with her research on stroke and the brain.

Mentor and Mentee: A Win-Win

With several collaborative studies behind them, Justin Taylor, M.D., and mentee Skye Montoya look forward to even more promising research.

Ph.D. Students Receive Research Internships at Eli Lilly, Merck

Three Miller School of Medicine Ph.D. students will be extending their training after accepting internships at the prominent companies.

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This article was printed from The Miller School of Medicine Medical News at the following URL: https://news.med.miami.edu/medical-faculty-association-best-research-awards/

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Graduate student research award (gsra).

The Graduate Student Research Award (GSRA) is a competitive award for students who are pursuing doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis research. Proposals must focus on dissertation or thesis research that requires funding in excess of what can be supported through normal academic program operating budgets. Review the guidelines below for more information.

GSRA Guidelines & Cover Page

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Previous Award Recipients

• 2024-2025 Graduate Student Research Award (GSRA) Award Recipients
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• 2018-2019 Graduate Student Research Award (GSRA) Award Recipients
• 2017-2018 Dissertation Research Award (DRA) Award Recipients
• 2016-2017 Dissertation Research Award (DRA) Award Recipients
• 2015-2016 Dissertation Research Award (DRA) Award Recipients
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• 2008-2009 Dissertation Research Award (DRA) Award Recipients

DRA Success Story

Congratulations to Erick Butler, 2012-2013 recipient of a Dissertation Research Award . Dr. Butler, now an Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering at West Texas A&M University, received a grant from the Ogallala Aquifer Program, part of the Department of Agriculture, for work based on his DRA grant. He also has three publications based on work from his DRA grant.

1. "The effects of chemical coagulants on the decolorization of dyes by electrocoagulation using response surface methodology (RSM)," Applied Water Science , accepted for publication 2. "Effect of Fe-doped TiO2 photocatalysts on the degradation of acid orange 7," Integrated Ferroelectrics , accepted for publication 3. "Treatment and management of industrial dye wastewater for water resources protection," in Handbook of Environmental Engineering Vol. 17: Natural Resources and Control Processes , 2016

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Dean's Research Award for Master's Students 2023–2024

For the 2023–2024 academic year, the Duke Graduate school awarded 65  Dean's Research Awards for Master's Students . Each award provides up to $1,000 to support a master's student's research and professional development. Here is a look at some of the recipients and their current projects. ( Complete list of recipients )

Shiraz Ahmed

Mfa in experimental and documentary arts.

I am a documentary filmmaker making a film about the local Muslim community in the Triangle Area. My work involves community engagement through focus groups and participatory arts exercises.

The Dean's Research Award for Master's Students allowed me to host an event with a local nonprofit where I led a group of young adult Muslims through a "journey mapping" exercise developed by the Center for Documentary Studies' Literacy Through Photography program. The award also funded several trips out to Cary, Apex, Morrisville, and Fuquay-Varina to film at various events hosted by the local community. 

Sara Alghesheyan

My thesis, titled "Between Memories and Dreams," delves into the intersection of visuals and the narratives I convey. This exploration is centered around the concept that our memories play a significant role in shaping our identity.

The Dean's Research Award for Master's Students has been instrumental in facilitating the development of my video installation. It has supported the creation of essential materials such as building panels and fabric, making it easier to transport them to and from campus. Additionally, the award has played a crucial role in covering film and processing costs, contributing significantly to the overall production.

Given the emphasis on audio in my thesis show, particularly in highlighting the memories of children through folk songs and rituals, the award has enabled collaboration with audio producers. This collaboration has proven invaluable in addressing the technical aspects of the audio component, enhancing the overall quality of the project.

Statistical Science

In computational advertising, optimizing the use of new and under-tested apps in marketing campaigns remains a significant challenge. We seek to derive an optimal computational advertising strategy for allocating advertisement impressions across apps with varying degrees of prior utilization and known effectiveness in a dynamic environment. This award will be used to purchase access to academic journals and computational resource.

Lindsey Bloom

Medical physics.

My thesis project is centered around the idea of taking pre-existing prostate biopsy needle-tracking technology and developing techniques to apply it for GYN brachytherapy; these cases will use real-time transrectal ultrasound image guidance and fusion with MRI to assist physicians with insertion of interstitial needles during high-dose-rate brachytherapy treatments. Due to the importance of accurate source placement in brachytherapy, these GYN patients undergo various imaging modalities- including CT, ultrasound, and MRI. Our industry partner, Eigen Health, has commercially available technologies that are applicable for prostate biopsy procedures, but with the use of our optimized female pelvic phantoms, we can translate these image-guidance technologies into GYN brachytherapy treatments.  Our previous phantom studies have demonstrated that it is feasible for this prostate biopsy system to be translated into a GYN system, and our team has recently received IRB approval to begin patient studies. Now, we are verifying various components of the system, such as the MR/3DUS deformable registration that drives the needle tracking system to ensure accuracy and reliability.

Hutton Chapman

Global health.

Despite years of improvements made in the care for children with cancer in high resource countries, outcomes for children who live in low resource countries remains incredibly poor. These disparities are multifactorial in nature and need significant research and work to address. In a portion of our work in Northern Tanzania, we explored the association of nutrition status and outcomes for patients with a type of lymphoma known as Burkitt lymphoma. This award gave me the opportunity to travel to an international conference, the American Society of Hematology annual conference, to learn from other experts in this field and to have the opportunity to talk about our work. It proved to be a highly valuable experience in getting to discuss my research and network with other investigators. I am very appreciative to the Graduate School for this award which helped facilitate this opportunity. 

Andie Z Chen

I am a first-year master's student interested in documenting religion, immigration, and family dynamics.

I will use the Dean's Research Award for Master's Students to purchase video and audio equipment and to fund travel relevant to my research project.

Purity Chepkoech

Cervical cancer remains a significant threat to the well-being of women in low and middle-income countries.  With help from Dr. Megan Huchko and her team, we designed a stigma-sensitive training curriculum for Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) focused on client-centered care in the delivery of cervical cancer prevention in Kisumu, Kenya. The objective of this training is to empower CHVs with the knowledge, skills, confidence, and self-efficacy needed to educate and counsel women in their communities about the advantages of HPV screening and treatment of pre-cancers, ultimately contributing to the reduction of the cervical cancer burden.  I am grateful for being selected as a recipient of the Dean's Research Award for Master's Students. I intend to utilize the funds to acquire necessary supplies and tools that will aid in the successful completion of my thesis.

I am planning to study the moderating effect of moral cost in the uncertainty-affect-morality process. I believe that this research has the potential to make a valuable contribution to our understanding of human decision-making and ethical behavior.

To facilitate this research, The Dean's Research Award for Master's Students will assist in conducting lab experiments. In the laboratory setting, I will be able to carefully control variables and ensure the accuracy and validity of my findings.

This research can have significant implications in psychology and decision sciences, as it explores the intricate relationship between uncertainty and moral judgments.

Avinno Faruk

Economics and computation.

My degree program places me in a unique position to learn deeply about both disciplines and venture into the realm of interdisciplinary work with both the underlying foundations and technical know-how. I intend to use the Dean's Research Award for Master's Students to support my research, with Prof. Erica Field as my faculty advisor. This is a study based on Bangladesh that will combine very granular, high-frequency financial data and the open-entry responses of the economically disadvantaged. This will be a perfect blend of displaying my trajectory over the courses I have taken at Duke, and a culmination of my degree focusing on interdisciplinary research between Economics and Computer Science. It will also help in my professional development since it perfectly aligns with my current research interests.

Computer Science

I am currently a first-year master's student specializing in computer science. The Dean's Research Award for Master's Students covers my travel expenses to the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computingconference. This conference serves as a valuable platform for women engineers seeking employment opportunities.

My interest lies in backend development, and I intend to pursue a career as a software engineer in the industry upon completing my degree.

Population Health Sciences

I'm focused on health economics and statistical methods in healthcare. I hope that my research can help improve healthcare delivery and policy-making.  I seek the Dean's Research Award for Master's Students to attend the Academy Health Annual Research Meeting 2024. This conference is crucial for gaining insights into the latest developments and networking with experts in my field. The award will also be used for memberships in Academy Health and the American Statistical Association, which is essential for developing statistical methods.

Nikhita Gopisetty

Diabetes is a global epidemic, and by 2045, it is predicted that over 700 million adults will be living with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). To address the knowledge gap and emotional burden attached to T2D, the research team (myself, my mentors Dr. Eve Puffer and Dr. Sumi Ariely, and researchers at the Public Health Research Institute of India) developed an education and goal-based peer support model for young adults living with T2D in Mysore district, Karnataka, India. My study piloted a peer support intervention, Kanasina Gulabi (Kannada: My Dream Rose), designed to improve quality of life and diabetes management among young adults living with T2D. Participants were assigned to an intervention group, connected 1-1 to non-specialist providers—trained young adult peers who are also managing T2D—and developed action plans to improve their physical and mental health outcomes. Feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of the intervention were assessed over 3 months. The Dean's Research Award for Master's Students will help support the dissemination of the research findings at the American Diabetes Association's 84th Scientific Sessions.

Ayush Gupta

Interdisciplinary data science.

Given my extensive experience in the oil and gas industry, winning the Dean's Research Award for Master's Students marks a significant milestone for me. Armed with expertise in this sector, I'm poised to channel my understanding of data science and prior industrial experience to work on a more sustainable future by aiding industries in reducing carbon emissions and advancing global efforts toward achieving carbon neutrality.

With access to cutting-edge resources like high-performance computing, I'm ready to leverage data-driven insights to drive meaningful change. Through meticulous analysis, I aim to uncover actionable strategies that not only optimize industrial processes but also significantly reduce carbon footprints.

Moreover, this award opens doors to top-tier conferences and workshops, where I'll connect with fellow innovators and exchange ideas on sustainable practices. By forging collaborations and sharing best practices, I'm confident that we can collectively redefine the future of carbon emission reduction. I'm excited to embark on this journey and make a lasting impact in advancing global sustainability efforts

Seulbin Han

East asian studies.

My research project focuses on analyzing the global success of Korean popular music, or K-Pop, with an emphasis on the phenomenon's consumers. Particularly, I'm interested in finding out if diasporic consumers of K-Pop in the United States play an important role in bringing attention to the K-Pop phenomenon as a globally profitable music industry. The success of K-Pop in recent years has not only drawn increased attention to the Korean music industry, but has contributed to the rapid expansion of South Korea's economic, social, and cultural "soft power" across unconventional boundaries. Against this background, my study begins by posing the simple question: Who are the consumers of K-Pop? I then follow up with my primary research question: What percentage of K-Pop consumers in the US can be categorized as members of Asian diasporic communities? Building on the quantitative nature of my second question, my research also poses a third, qualitative question: How do diasporic K-Pop consumers impact the transnational flow of global cultural goods and products? As a part of this research, I intend on conducting a demographic survey of live K-Pop event attendees in early 2024. This data will be used to categorize K-Pop consumers into diasporic communities, which will help answer my second research question. I'm honored to have been selected for the Dean's Research Award for Master's Students, which will cover expenses related to the survey component of my project. 

Kyungeun Jeon

I am currently working on a research project that delves into causal inference and external control studies within clinical trials targeting idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. This project is in collaboration with Dr. Hwanhee Hong and Dr. Laine Elliott Thomas. Our objective is to assess the performance of estimators in estimating treatment effects when combining Randomized Controlled Trials with other external controls, such as historical and Electronic Health Record data. I am preparing to present an oral summary of this project at the 2024 Eastern North American Region (ENAR) conference, a renowned gathering for biostatisticians.

Receiving the Dean's Research Award for Master's Students has opened a significant opportunity for me at ENAR. I anticipate engaging with a diverse group of biostatistics experts and gaining valuable feedback on the project and its practical implications in clinical settings. I am also excited about the prospect of connecting with professionals in the field of biostatistics, exchanging insights on their research, and discussing innovative statistical methods that enhance the efficiency and accuracy of estimating treatment effects. Additionally, the series of short courses offered at the ENAR conference promises to be immensely beneficial, providing informative sessions that will not only aid my current research but also offer practical advice for analyzing clinical data.

Layan Kaushik

My research is centered on refining data science models, particularly those challenged by measurement errors and outliers. A notable project of mine is the enhancement of a flood insurance data set. This involves incorporating new, relevant data and rectifying anomalies in critical variables. The aim is to make this improved and trustworthy data set publicly available, serving as a resource for more accurate flood damage modeling, vital for insurance assessments and cost-benefit analyses.

The support from this award is crucial for my academic progress. It facilitates my participation in machine learning and data science conferences, where I can learn advanced concepts, present my findings, and connect with industry experts.

My research explores the intersection of neuroscience and artificial intelligence, specifically focusing on how electroencephalogram (EEG) technology can interface with AI to interpret human brain waves. This study, known as "NeuroComm: Bridging EEG and AI for Cognitive Insight," seeks to understand the underlying patterns of brain activity and apply AI to analyze these patterns, offering insights into human behavior and cognition.

The prestigious Dean's Research Award for Master's Students will be instrumental in advancing this work. It will primarily fund the purchase of sophisticated EEG equipment, which is crucial for accurately recording and analyzing the electrical activity in the brain. Access to this technology will enable a deeper analysis of cognitive processes and foster advancements in AI applications related to brain-computer interfacing.

This research stands at the cutting edge of technology and psychology, with the potential to revolutionize how we interact with machines, understand mental processes, and even predict behaviors. The support from the Duke Graduate School is not only a testament to the project's potential impact but also a crucial enabler of the exploratory steps this study will undertake.

Natasha Lehner

I have spent the last year and a half researching my recently discovered biological grandfather, Harvey Karman. Harvey was a fierce advocate for women's rights and the inventor of an abortion tool called the Karman cannula. This cannula is still used today around the world and hailed as being one of the greatest innovations within the abortion community. In addition to this, Harvey was also a sperm donor who gave women, such as my grandmother, a chance at motherhood that they would not have otherwise had. I have since discovered at least 13 children that Harvey has fathered and had the incredible privilege of meeting with many of these (now grown) children in person. Mysubsequent project, "More of Everything," presents images and text made by three generations that never existed as one. This imaginative union interweaves my work with that of my father and grandfather, to be exhibited together for the first time with the help of the Dean's Research Award. 

I am currently a second-year master's student and am interested in Explainable AI (XAI). I believe it's essential for AI systems to provide clear and understandable explanations for their decisions. I believe XAI could also help us to use data science to combat the problem of Truth Decay, which is closely linked to data science challenges. In today's world, where misinformation and disinformation are widespread, it's crucial to present trustworthy and easily comprehensible information. I am grateful for the Dean's Research Award for Master's Students. I will use this grant to cover my conference travel.

I hope that through my movable music box space, I can connect people who love music. The space is used to uncover people's stories and to learn more about the deeper meaning of musical healing. My final work will be composed of photos, sounds, and videos of people and will be presented in the form of a documentary. In order to minimize "my" subjective thoughts and participation, I would like to leave the camera and notebook in the space for those who would like to leave a sound or a trace to take a photo or video of themselves. They can also write down what they want to say. These photos and videos can be put directly on the TV screen in the space. In this way, a direct interaction between subjects is reached, with the possibility of discovering people and stories for further interviews and filming.

Stanysha Lowery

Currently, I am working at the Durham Veteran Affairs Health Care System on the evaluation and implementation of Complimentary and Integrative Health (CIH) interventions for veterans.

The Dean's Research for Master's Students will support my travel for research to an annual conference this spring, where I will be presenting a manuscript assessing the acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility of auricular acutherapy among nurses who were trained to deliver CIH treatments. 

Biomedical Engineering

I am a second-year master's student, and my research interest lies in the intersection between machine learning and neuroscience. I work in Dr. John Pearson's lab in the Neurobiology Department.

My project focuses on building multimodal variational autoencoders (VAEs) to analyze the behavioral patterns of mouse social communication. I apply the model to learn the shared information between the mouse ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) and orofacial movements. The model helps provide evidence for underlying neural mechanisms.

The Dean's Research Award for Master's Students provides me an opportunity to attend academic conferences and communicate with other researchers to learn more about the field.

I am deeply engaged in research on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), human-AI teaming, and software engineering. My current research activities are centered at the General Robotics Lab, in collaboration with Duke-Raleigh Hospital. Here, I am dedicated to creating innovative algorithms and methodologies aimed at enhancing hospital workflow efficiency. Over the past year, my research has delved into exploring the intricate dynamics between interruptions, objective metrics, and subjective experiences within the realm of software development. Receiving the Dean's Research Award for Master's Students is a significant boon, as it will not only facilitate the dissemination of my research findings to a broader academic audience at an upcoming conference, where my paper has been accepted, but also provide financial support for my ongoing research endeavors.

Wafiakmal Miftah

I am a second-year master's student, and I am interested in utilizing data science and machine learning to help provide insights and automate repetitive processes. My current research focuses on using computer vision for satellite image recognition in the energy field. Building a machine learning model for computer vision will require abundant computing power. The Dean's Research Award for Master's Students allowed me to purchase supporting equipment with better-powered processors and GPU, which will supplement my study and research.

Victoria Parker

Radiation therapy is a necessary component of current treatment for many brain tumors. However, improvements are needed to reduce radiation effects on the normal brain such as radiation necrosis and neurocognitive dysfunction. FLASH Radiation Therapy is a novel cancer treatment method that involves delivering radiation at ultra-high dose rates. Although the precise mechanisms are not well understood, multiple models have demonstrated FLASH can provide tumor damage/control comparable to conventional therapy, with reduced toxicity to healthy tissue. The FLASH effect has clear potential to improve radiation therapy treatments, with reduced side effects, for many patients.

Duke has a unique research facility through the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory (TUNL), which has a High Intensity Gamma-ray Source (HIGS) linear accelerator capable of providing FLASH dose rates. Our previous work with TUNL has demonstrated tumor control comparable to conventional therapy. This platform provides Duke with the opportunity to continue exploring the FLASH effect and its potential clinical applications. 

I will use this grant to aid in travel expenses and computer expenses for my thesis presentations, conferences, or research.

Fariha Rahman

I plan to use the Dean's Research Award for Master's Students to travel to Geneva, Switzerland, in order to take an intensive course on global health policy over the summer.

By participating in this course, I hope to develop a better understanding of global health policy, build connections with like-minded peers and health policy professionals, and work toward the completion of my Graduate Certificate in Global Health.

Ryan Sanford

High dose rate (HDR) gynecological brachytherapy is a form of radiation cancer treatment in which a sealed, radioactive source is placed inside the body, near the tumor, to provide the necessary dose to the diseased tissues, while sparing nearby healthy ones. My advisors, Oana Craciunescu, Ph.D., and Julie Raffi, Ph.D., and I submitted a proposal centered around our continued work towards implementing real time interstitial and intracavitary needle-tracking technologies into the clinic. We are partnered with Eigen Health, who provided this needle-tracking software. Throughout the course of this work, we have developed multi-modality and anatomically accurate imaging phantoms in order to be able to experimentally validate the needle-tracking software. These phantoms will also help me to design and implement the necessary quality assurance (QA) protocols to transition the hardware and software to be used for gynecological cases. The funding from this award will go towards material costs for the construction and further development and optimization of these phantoms, as well as the further optimization of the Eigen system. 

Yicheng Shen

My project with Professor Alexander Volfovsky started in my first semester at Duke. As a two-time recipient of the Dean's Research Award for Master's Students, I graciously appreciate how the Graduate School has supported my research over the past two years. Previously, the award provided me with help to purchase essential equipment for computation tasks in my work.  

This time, I have used the research award to attend academic conferences to present our methods and findings. Currently, we are in the stage of summarizing the findings and finishing write-ups. The abstract of our manuscript, titled "Exploring New Ideal Point Estimation Strategies with Twitter Social Networks and Text Data," was accepted by TADA 2023: New Directions in Analyzing Text as Data conference. 

The annual TADA meeting is a leading forum for interdisciplinary research on the study of politics, society, and culture through computational analysis of documents. I am proud to be invited to their research presentations on new work related to text-as-data methods and applications, specifically in this year's in-person conference and the poster presentation session at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.  

Shuvan Shrestha

Religious studies.

My research emphasizes the need to pay closer attention to fruits in religion—the religious practices, texts, and narratives that make use of fruits in perhaps unseen ways because we rarely care to take notice of them. My own ethnography is about mangos in ashram communities across South Asia. This work has major influences from Joyce Flueckiger’s material construction of the sacred, as well as Sophie Chao’s recent ethnography about oil palm. So often things that seem inherently religious—Gods, guru, or sacred texts—inform our understandings of religion. A piece of fruit like mango is consumed and thrown away, without much thought about its entanglements with ashram-specific rituals, conceptions about guru, bhakti, seva, gender, caste and class dynamics, Islamophobia, climate change, colonialism, and South Asia. Overall, my intention is to allow fruits to unfurl religious life, without allowing the most dominant voices to constitute the overarching narratives about religion.

Paavana Srinivas

Mechanical engineering and materials science.

Inspired by my upbringing in India, where agriculture is a lifeline, my research at Duke aims to help farmers globally. I'm developing a robotic system to automate the harvesting of delicate fruits like raspberries and blackberries. Traditionally, this task is labor-intensive and costly, often limited by the availability of seasonal workers. My goal is to streamline this process with technology.

The project involves designing a robotic arm with a soft, flexible gripper, akin to a gentle hand, which can pick berries without damaging them. This robot will use a camera to identify ripe berries and delicately pluck them, combining human-like precision with robotic efficiency.

The Dean's Research Award for Master's Students will be instrumental in advancing my research. It will fund materials for the robotic gripper, sensors, and a camera system. Additionally, it will allow me to visit berry farms for practical insights and real-world testing.

This work transcends academic pursuit; it's about creating a tangible impact on agriculture worldwide. 

Analytical Political Economy

My research is inspired by the different flows of foreign direct investment in authoritarian or democratic countries. Beyond the content differences in policies, I believe there are inherent structural nuances that play a significant role in shaping these policy patterns. Such thoughts have been the motivation for my research project. My research aims to examine the policy stability and time horizon associated with policy designs and their implementation in authoritarian regimes. How could different institutions, central-local relationships, and the structure of power-sharing contribute to distinct political paradigms? Such questions are key for my research through theoretical development and data analysis. This award will be instrumental in advancing my research project by helping me cover some conference travel expenses. This will enable me to seek feedback from researchers and gain insight from related research work. 

Brenda "Bren" Vienrich-Felling

I'm researching documentary mediums and stories tied to my family that live in the rainforest of Peru. I'm a graduate student as well as a printmaker and photographer with a background in creative direction and graphic design. I'm researching different forms of natural pigment-making in combination with printmaking and analog photography, as well as documentary filmmaking.

I intend to experiment with these mediums to document stories centered around immigration and cultural identity, as well as topics related to the human condition. With the Dean's Research Award for Master's Students, I plan to use the grant money towards travel and equipment expenses when I travel to Peru. I plan to gather footage about my family and topics related to the social constructs within Peru, through analog photography and digital film. I also hope to seek inspiration and knowledge about natural pigment-making that is traditionally done in the rainforest of Peru by native communities. I'm very grateful for the opportunity this grant will provide me to continue my research centered around culture and identity.

Zoe Waddell

North Carolina Project AWARE grants are designed to improve school systems' capacity to respond to students' mental health needs. There are 60 grantee sites nationally, with two in North Carolina. Despite promising initial data, funding for the sustainability and expansion of Project AWARE is not guaranteed, making a rigorous economic evaluation of this program necessary to garner political support and secure ongoing state and local funding. This benefit-cost analysis aims to transform the educational system in North Carolina and beyond by using rigorous economic methods to calculate the true costs of implementing comprehensive, school-based Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) programs and quantifying the benefits in real economic terms. With this data, we aim to enhance policymakers' decision-making regarding the tangible value of investing in and sustaining school-based programs like Project AWARE and increasing equitable access to children's mental health supports. The Dean's Research Award for Master's Students will allow me to present our team's findings at the 2024 Southeastern School Behavioral Health Conference, where we can disseminate our team's preliminary findings. During this trip, I also hope to connect with other academics in my field to form collaborative relationships for future projects of shared interest.

Wenjia Wang

My research interest lies in the intersection of health economics and industrial organization. I am motivated to explore how market structure accounts for the complexity in the healthcare market and to study the role of government in improving social welfare through policy intervention in the health field. 

I am currently conducting research on the impact of government procurement on pharmaceutical firms' innovation in the context of the Chinese pharmaceutical market. China has emerged as the second largest pharamectical market in the world. In 2020, the nation's total pharmaceutical market reached 300 billion dollars. The national government procurement implemented in 2018 escalates the bargaining power of hospitals, which leads to a sharp decrease in generic drug price. Our research focuses on how the increase in expected return of innovative drugs and the reduction in cash flow influence firms' innovation investments and outcomes. With the help of the Dean's Research Award for Master's Students, I can obtain detailed drug sales data and clinical trial application records and extend my sample period to 2022. 

Haoxuan Wang

I am passionate about the intersection of Statistics and Ecology. In today's data-driven world, we face a deluge of real-life data that offers immense potential for research and analysis. Over the past year, I am fortunate to work with Professor David B. Dunson on an intriguing research project.

Our project involves the processing and exploration of extensive bird species annotation data collected from the Finnish Kerttu web portal. This initiative harnesses the expertise of birdwatchers to annotate the species of birds vocalizing in audio recordings. Our overarching objective is to build a Bayesian hierarchical model capable of effectively aggregating these annotations and evaluating the birdwatchers' bird song identification skills.

One key aspect of our research involves posterior inference for model parameters. To accomplish this, we intend to utilize Gibbs samplers to draw samples from their full conditionals. However, this computational method demands significant hardware capabilities and computing power.

The Dean's Research Award for Master's Students will help address this crucial need. Specifically, I plan to allocate the award funds towards upgrading my current computing device to one equipped with multi-core processors. This upgrade will empower me to conduct our research more efficiently, accelerate progress, and contribute meaningfully to the field.

Yicheng "Catherine" Wang

I am a first-year statistical science master's student, and I appreciate receiving the Dean's Research Award for Master's Students to focus on climate change research. My current focus involves analyzing the resilience of power infrastructures, specifically examining the transition from steam to renewable energy sources and the integration of microgrids in disaster settings. I utilize an optimization model and apply multiple-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) within geographic information systems (GIS) to enhance my insights. Additionally, I explore risk analysis in insurance sectors using machine learning methods. The award would greatly support my research endeavors by potentially covering expenses related to research travel and attendance at conferences focused on climate change and energy.

Shurui Wang

I would like to research antimicrobial management in resource-limited settings, including determining the prevalence of antibiotic use, indications for use, and the factors associated with inappropriate use. The Dean's Research Award for Master's Students will allow me to purchase professional books, register for conferences, and support part of my flight expenses, enabling me to improve my skills and knowledge, stay updated with the latest developments, and network with experts and peers.

Jordan Woltjer

I am honored to have received the Dean's Research Award for Master's Students, supporting my research in flood damage modeling, a field traditionally limited by data availability. This scholarship enabled me to present at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) fall conference, and I plan to attend further significant conferences in this field.

My research is centered on enhancing FEMA's flood insurance claims data set, updated in 2023, which includes vital data on flood damages from 1978 to 2023. We are enriching this data set by integrating additional census and weather data, such as wind speeds, and improving geographic data accuracy. This enhanced data set, which will be made publicly available, aims to facilitate more precise flood damage predictions using machine learning techniques.

The goal is to develop a robust tool for better understanding flood impacts, contributing to effective flood management and insurance studies. This award is crucial in advancing this research, allowing me to share and refine our work through academic collaborations and conferences.

Yanjiao Yang

Missing data has been a persistent and multifaceted challenge for data analysis. Multiple imputation is a powerful technique that replaces missing values with multiple potential values to account for the uncertainty about imputation.

I have been working with Professor Jerry Reiter on a research project regarding multiple imputation to handle missing data. We intend to use the auxiliary margins on population distributions to develop a novel imputation approach that is less vulnerable under model misspecification and adaptable to real-world datasets. The Dean's Research Award for Master's Students is an invaluable opportunity to facilitate my research journey. I plan to use this award to update my electronic device to conduct my research more efficiently.

Ruixin "Edna" Zhang

I am a first-year master's student concentrating in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Over the past three years, my research in computer vision has spanned various projects. These include constructing a multilayer perceptron model to simulate the neural network in the cerebellum, developing a 3D U-Net convolutional neural network for segmenting active neurons in zebrafish whole-brain imaging videos, and curating a substantial pre-training data set for climate analysis containing 10 million satellite images that capture geospatial and temporal diversity in remote sensing data. Additionally, I have contributed to the development of natural language processing applications and models, such as creating a context-aware chatbot for Duke OIT and extracting named entities from listing titles on eBay's German website. Currently, my research focus lies in the development of interpretable computer vision and natural language processing algorithms.

Chenyu Zhang

The primary objective of my research is to produce quality political economic research on the topic of how availability cascades influence environmental policy. The term "availability cascades" refers to the phenomenon where an idea gains traction and becomes widely accepted, not necessarily due to its inherent truth or value, but because of its repeated exposure and emotional resonance. In the context of environmental policy, understanding these cascades can shed light on the often complex interplay between public perception, media influence, and policy formulation. By gaining a comprehensive grasp of these dynamics, my research aims to contribute meaningfully to academic discussions and policymaking considerations in the realm of environmental strategies and their socio-political implications.

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Funding accelerates R&D and supports workforce development in essential STEM fields

WASHINGTON, D.C. —  The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced more than $19.1 million to support nuclear energy research and development, university nuclear infrastructure, and undergraduate and graduate education. Projects will help expand access to nuclear energy, moving the nation closer to meeting the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. 

"U.S. universities and colleges are critical incubators of groundbreaking ideas that can move us toward a clean energy future,” said Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Dr. Kathryn Huff . "These awards invest in the next generation of nuclear scientists and engineers who will continue to advance nuclear energy as a solution to tackling the climate crisis."

Since 2009, DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy has awarded almost $1 billion to advance nuclear energy research and support the education and training of future nuclear energy visionaries and leaders. Awards being announced today include: 

Distinguished Early Career Program ($2.5 million) - Invests in the innovative research and education programs of four outstanding early career university faculty poised to pave new lines of inquiry and advance mission critical research directions in nuclear energy.

University Nuclear Leadership Program ($6.6 million) - Provides scholarships and graduate fellowships to students pursuing nuclear engineering and other degree programs relevant to nuclear energy. The awards include 93 scholarships and 34 fellowships for students at 42 U.S. trade schools, colleges and universities. 

The Innovations in Nuclear Energy Research Development Student Competition ($34,500) - Recognizes 11 graduate and undergraduate students for their innovative nuclear energy research publications. 

Consolidated Innovative Nuclear Research (CINR) Phase II Research and Development ($4.7 Million) - Six awards enable established teams to extend and build upon previously funded nuclear energy research and development projects.

Scientific Infrastructure Support for CINR ($5.2 Million) - 18 awards will assist universities with acquiring the best resources and equipment available to educate the next generation of nuclear energy leaders.   

To learn more about these awards, visit the Nuclear Energy University Program website. CINR R&D awards will be announced later this spring. 

Media Inquiries: (202)-586-4940 | [email protected]

• GradPost Blog

Don't miss our Spring 2024 Funding Forecast

Spring Quarter usually marks the end of the academic year, but finding funding is a continuous process! Check out this sample of upcoming deadlines of funding opportunities for postdoctoral, doctoral, graduate, research, and other short-term awards or travel grants. Various deadlines listed. Consult websites for current details and application information.

Spring quarter usually marks the end of the academic year, but finding funding is a continuous process! So, if you are looking for financial support for the coming year or next, remember to routinely look at funding postings so you get an idea of what topics or issues are getting funded. Spring and summer are also great times to prepare your fellowship application materials - personal statement, research statement, and academic CV.

Below is a sample list of upcoming deadlines. Regularly inform your faculty adviser about your current research ideas and progress as this is very important when requesting letters of recommendation. Also, be sure to check the program websites regularly for the most updated information on important dates and submission details. Good luck!

NOTE: Please report any broken links to Funding Peer Liliana Garcia

Jump to information about: Postdoctoral Fellowships Dissertation Support Graduate and Doctoral Support Research Support Other (Travel, Short-Term, Award, Summer, etc.)  

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS

Mar 15  The Hindle Postdoctoral Fellowship (history of technology)

Apr 1 German Historical Institute Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships

Apr 1 SHOT- NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship (history of space technology)

Apr 1 Postdoctoral Fellowship in Aerospace History

Apr 1 American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowships

Jul 15 David B. Larson Postdoctoral Fellowship in Health and Spirituality

Sep 15 Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowships in Israel for U.S. Citizens 2020/2021

Sep TBD American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowships

Oct 1 National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) International Program INVEST Drug Abuse Postdoctoral Research Fellowship

Oct 15 American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowships

Oct 18 NSF Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships

On-going Incorporating Benefits & Costs of Environmental Regulation in Computable General Equilibrium Models Research with the US Environmental Protection Agency

Various deadlines Funding Opportunities for Postdoctoral Scholars - list via Harvard website

Various deadlines Postdoctoral opportunities in medical research - via Stanford website

Various deadlines Minority Postdoctoral Opportunities List

Various deadlines Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Postdoctoral Fellowships

Various deadlines Special Programs for Postdoctoral Fellows - via National Science Foundation

Various deadlines Post-doctoral Opportunities List - from the National Institute of Health

Various deadlines - Postdoctoral Positions at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory  

DISSERTATION SUPPORT

Feb 25  Melvin Kranzberg Dissertation Fellowship (history of technology)

April 1 Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations Marilyn Blatt Young Dissertation Completion Fellowship

Apr 1 Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) Dissertation Research Grants

May 1 North American Conference on British Studies Dissertation Research Fellowship

May 1 Grants for Health Services Dissertation Program (R36)

Jul 17 Linguistics Program Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement - grant application must be submitted with your advisor and through Office of Research

Jul 20 Biological Anthropology Program Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement - grant application must be submitted with your advisor and through Office of Research

Aug 1 Grants for Health Services Dissertation Program (R36)

Aug 15 Cultural Anthropology Program Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement - grant application must be submitted with your advisor and through Office of Research

On-going Research Opportunities at the US Forest Service Research and Development (R&D)

On-going Archaeology Program Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Awards (Arch-DDRI) - grant application must be submitted with your advisor and through Office of Research

On-going Documenting Endangered Languages Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants - grant application must be submitted with your advisor and through Office of Research

On-going Geography and Spatial Sciences Program Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants (GSS-DDRI) , National Science Foundation (NSF)

Various Deadlines Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Research Opportunities  

GRADUATE & DOCTORAL SUPPORT

Apr 1 Batten, First Union, and Peter Nicolaisen International Fellowships

Apr 1 SHOT- NASA Predoctoral Fellowship (history of space technology)

Apr 10  National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Fellowships

Apr 15 Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society Graduate Fellowship (National Deadline; local chapter deadline is usually 2 weeks earlier)

Apr 15 BHW Group Women in STEM Scholarship

Apr 30 Government of the Slovak Republic approved the establishment of the National Scholarship Programme

May 8  Google India PhD Fellowships

May 8  Google China/Hong Kong/Japan/South Korea Phd Fellowship Program

May 11 American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation (ASHFoundation) New Century Scholars Doctoral Scholarship

Jun 15  American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Fellowship for Minority Doctoral Students

Sep 7 American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowships

TBD American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation (ASHFoundation) Graduate Student Scholarship

TBD PEO International Peace Scholarship (IPS) - also open to international students studying in the US

Various Deadlines Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations Fellowships and Grants  

On-going Gerda Henkel Foundation Ph.D. Scholarships in the Historical Humanities   

RESEARCH SUPPORT

Apr 1 Research Fellowships in Aerospace History

Apr 1 Harry S. Truman Library Institute Research Grants Program Apr 10  National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships Apr 12 Horton Hydrology Research Grant from American Geophysical Union

Apr 13 Project Management Institute's Research Grant Program for the study of project, program or portfolio management

Apr 15 Emerging Crises Oral History Research Fund

Apr 19 American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation Student Research Grant in Early Childhood Language Development

Apr 19 American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation Student Research Grant in Audiology

Apr 24  Japan-US Friendship Commission and the National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships for Advanced Social Science Research on Japan

Apr 30 International Foundation for Ethical Research (IFER) - Graduate Fellowship Program

Apr TBD Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program

May 1 NRC Research Associateship Programs (RAP)

May 1  US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science (SC) Graduate Student Research Program

May 2 National Institute of Justice Graduate Fellowships in STEM

May 15 Deutsches Akademisches Austaauschdienst (DAAD) Short-Term Research Grants (for research in Germany)

Jul 15 The Leakey Foundation Grants for Research Related to Human Origins

Aug 1 NRC Research Associateship Programs (RAP)

Sep 15 Fulbright Canada-American Scholars Awards

Sep 15 Kluge Fellowships (humanities and social science research)

Oct 15  Harry S. Truman Library Institute Research Grants Program

TBD UCHRI Grants and Fellowships

TBD Graduate Fellowship for Research in Japan

TBD Merck KGaA Research Grant Competition

Various Opportunities New York Public Library Research Fellowships

Various Deadlines Smithsonian Institute Fellowships

Various Deadlines Metropolitan Museum of Art Research Fellowships

Various Deadlines Center for Disease Control (CDC) Fellowships

On-going Dirksen Congressional Research Grant

On-going The Spalding Trust Grants for the Comparative Study of Religions

On-going Statistics Fellowship with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

On-going OCS ORISE Fellowship with the Food and Drug Administration

On-going Digital/New Media Fellowships with Dept of Health and Human Services

On-going Dept of Energy Opportunity in Fuel Cell Research

On-going National Institute of Health Individual Graduate Partnerships Program

On-going Title VIII Research Scholar Program American Councils - in-country, independent research for three consecutive months to nine consecutive months in Russia, Eurasia, and Eastern Europe  

OTHER (Travel, Short-Term, Award, Summer etc.)

Mar 31 Sara Finney-Johnson Scholarship - Delta Sigma Theta Sorority

Apr 1 Digital Archaeological Archive of Comparative Slavery

Apr 7 Short-Term Carter Center Graduate Assistantships in Atlanta

Apr 8 Charles Koch Institute Summer Internship

Apr 10  National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships

Apr 28 Mary Murphy Graduate Scholarship - Delta Sigma Theta Sorority

Apr TBD Interfaces Graduate Training Program at UCSD - in biological, engineering, physical and health sciences

Apr TBD Lupus Foundation of America Summer Fellowships

May 1  Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting (no citizenship requirements)

May 1 James P. Danky Fellowship in Print and Digital Culture

May 15 Catherine Prelinger Award (women's history)

May 31 PSA/Journal of Postcolonial Writing Postgraduate Essay Competition

Jun 5  SACNAS Travel Fellowships

Jun 26  LGBT Studies One-Month Research Fellowship at Yale University

July TBA  National Air and Space Administration (NASA) Internships *NOTE: Select opportunities are also open to citizens from countries participating in the NASA International Internship Program.

Sep 1 Samuel H. Kress Foundation Conservation Grants Programs

Sep 1 Samuel H. Kress Foundation Art History Digital Art History Grant Programs

Fall TBD Presidential Management Fellows Program US Office of Personnel Management

Rolling Deadline - Veteran Research Supplement with the Center for Integrated Access Networks

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2024 Graduate Student Awards

Graduate student excellence-in-teaching awards.

The Excellence-in-Teaching Award was established by the Graduate School to recognize those students who have demonstrated superior teaching skills and have contributed to teaching beyond their own classroom responsibilities, making a significant contribution to the instructional mission of the university.

Jean Costa-Silva (Submitted photo)

Jean Costa-Silva is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Linguistics in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. His major professors are Paula Jean Mellom and Bera Lee-Schoenfield. His primary interests pertain to second language acquisition, syntax and cognitive linguistics.

His work focuses on the acquisition of English and Portuguese as foreign languages. In essence, he is interested in how learners begin to employ different linguistic strategies to describe movement through space.

Costa-Silva has a B.A. in English Linguistics, Literature, and TESOL from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, as well as teaching certificates from the University of Oregon and the University of Cambridge.

Prior to coming to UGA, he taught English in Slovakia and Brazil for over 10 years. In 2017-2018, he received a Fulbright scholarship and worked in the Department of Romance Languages at UGA. Upon starting his Ph.D. at UGA, he was awarded a Goizueta Foundation Fellowship from 2019 to 2023. During his tenure in linguistics, he taught Generative Syntax and Study of Language. Costa-Silva is currently a teaching assistant for the Franklin College Writing Intensive Program, where he supports students in the Generative Syntax courses.

He also serves as the executive editor of UGA Working Papers in Linguistics , the social chair of the Linguistics Society at UGA, and the coordinator of the SLAC Research Group. In his free time, Costa-Silva likes to spend time with his friends, to watch TV series, hockey, and movies, and to travel the world.

Carolyn Cummins (Submitted photo)

Carolyn Cummins is a Ph.D. candidate in the Odum School of Ecology. Her major professor is Amy Rosemond. Her dissertation research focuses on how temperature affects carbon cycling, aquatic insect physiology and organismal community structure in southern Appalachian headwater streams.

Cummins is passionate about effective and inclusive undergraduate education, and she has pursued various on- and off-campus teaching roles during her time at UGA. She traveled to Costa Rica as the teaching assistant for the UGA Costa Rica Tropical Sciences Study Abroad Program in 2021, and she served as an instructor-of-record on the UGA Interdisciplinary Field Program in 2022. She has also contributed to course design in the Odum School, helping to design and teach a new ecosystem ecology lab during the 2022-23 academic year.

Cummins is a candidate for the UGA Interdisciplinary Certificate in University Teaching, through which she has completed teaching-related coursework and a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning project focused on effective strategies for helping students understand scientific literature. Cummins will defend her dissertation in April, and she hopes to pursue an academic career that centers on teaching and mentoring. In her free time, she enjoys outdoor activities including hiking and rock climbing, cooking, reading and spending time with her partner, Zeb, and their dog, Lula.

Rebekah Maynard (Submitted photo)

Rebekah Maynard is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Horticulture in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Her major professor is Leonardo Lombardini. Her research focuses on increasing production of the biopharmaceutical compound, apigenin, in chamomile and parsley grown in controlled environments.

In addition to her dissertation research, she conducted teaching-related research in her department to determine faculty opinions about implementing a new, online master’s degree.

Maynard’s commitment to teaching started as an undergraduate student serving as a TA in introductory chemistry courses, and she has since taught in many upper-division horticulture classes at UGA. Her passion for teaching was inspired by faculty who cared deeply about creating meaningful learning experiences for their students.

Most recently, Maynard created an online fruit production course that prioritizes inclusive teaching practices. She completed the Interdisciplinary Certificate in University Teaching in 2021 and was selected as a Future Faculty Fellow in 2023. Ultimately, Maynard plans to become a professor of horticulture with a significant teaching appointment.

Margot Popecki (Submitted photo)

Margot Popecki is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Genetics in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences studying the evolution of light signaling in fireflies. Her major professors are John Wares and Kathrin Stranger-Hall.

Growing up, she was an avid reader and creative writer, so the Writing Intensive Program has given her the opportunity to unite her passion for writing, teaching and evolutionary biology.

At UGA, Popecki has been involved with science outreach, from STEMzone to developing content and activities related to her research on fireflies.

After graduation, Popecki plans to pursue postdoctoral research to study conservation genomics. She is from Durham, New Hampshire, and has two dogs, Axel and Orla. Her hobbies include hiking, furniture restoration and sewing.

Jeongah Shin (Submitted photo)

Jeongah Shin is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Interiors in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. She joined the program as a master’s student in 2018. Her research focuses on consumer emotion, attitude and behavior in computer-mediated environments.

Shin has expanded her research interests to the classroom under the theme of “bringing the technology into the classroom.” She consistently strives to integrate new technologies into the learning experience for fashion merchandising students.

Shin completed three innovative teaching projects (Wear Your Magic Box, Eye Tracking App Development, and Talk in Metaverse) under the direction of Yoo-Kyoung Seock. Shin has assisted several classes, including Trend Analysis and Forecasting, Fashion Product and Brand Management, UX/UI Design Application in Fashion Branding, and Fashion Meets Technology as a teaching assistant, co-instructor and instructor-of-record.

Additionally, she served as a graduate assistant for the FACS London Study Abroad Program in summer 2022. She was selected as a Future Faculty Fellow for the Center of Teaching and Learning and received the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award in 2023. Shin expects to earn an Interdisciplinary Certificate in University Teaching in Spring 2024. She desires to become a researcher and instructor who constantly brings new technologies and industrial insights into the classroom.

Graduate Student Excellence-in-Research Awards

Graduate Student Excellence-in-Research Awards were initiated in 1999 to recognize the quality and significance of graduate-student scholarship, these awards may be given in five areas: Fine Arts, Humanities and Letters, Life Sciences, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and Applied Studies.

Anna Doner (Submitted photo)

Anna Doner is a postdoctoral associate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Doner earned her Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Georgia in May 2023. Her dissertation research explored chemical kinetics of alkyl-substituted cyclic ethers, an important class of combustion intermediates.

During her time at UGA, she contributed to method development for experimental diagnostics, built machine learning models to help identify combustion intermediates from experimental measurements and performed hundreds of theoretical chemical kinetics calculations with automated methods.

Doner is the lead author of seven journal articles from her graduate research. In 2021-2022, she collaborated with Judit Zádor, Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, CA, with funding from the DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research Fellowship. Her resulting work was published and presented at the Faraday Discussions on Unimolecular Reactions in June 2022 at Keble College in Oxford, England. Doner was also awarded the Georgia Research Education Award Traineeship and the Graduate Education Advancement Board Fellowship from the Graduate School for her research efforts.

Katie Foster (Submitted photo)

Katie Foster is an environmental anthropologist based at the University of Georgia. In 2023, she earned her Ph.D. in integrative conservation and anthropology from the University of Georgia. Her major professor was Laura German. Broadly, her research focuses on issues of environmental governance, justice and policy related to complex multi-scalar social-ecological challenges like changing climates, biodiversity loss and natural resource conflicts.

Foster recently joined the Network for Engineering with Nature as a postdoctoral researcher where she studies equity in decision making for water management (related to flooding, drought, sea level rise, etc.) to better understand how to incorporate local needs and knowledge systems into natural infrastructure planning in the US.

Her dissertation research focused on mining conflicts in the Peruvian Andes and the implementation of international Indigenous rights laws on free, prior and informed consent. She also holds a B.A. from Southwestern University, where she studied the behavioral ecology of aquatic invasive species in Uruguay and the southern U.S. She has written on a variety of conservation issues including global agricultural value chains, third-party environmental certifications and the illegal wildlife trade.

Outside of her academic pursuits, Foster has been involved in policy advocacy at the UN climate negotiations (COP 20, 21, and 28) and worked for several years in the non-profit sector in sustainable urban agriculture, native plant conservation and environmental education. Her abiding appreciation for gardens, soils, native plants and wildlife informs her academic interest in ecological restoration and commitment to teaching about sustainability in its many facets.

Mark Garren (Submitted photo)

Mark Garren is a limited-term clinical assistant professor with UGA’s College of Engineering. He graduated with a Ph.D. from the College of Engineering’s Biomedical Engineering Program in spring 2023 and was mentored by Hitesh Handa.

His graduate work focused on developing novel material and surface design strategies for controlled delivery and catalysis of reactive species to mediate biological interactions at medical device interfaces.

To date, Garren’s work has led to more than 22 peer-reviewed journal publications and four provisional patent applications. During his Ph.D. studies, Garren was a recipient of the Georgia Research Education Award Traineeship as well as the Innovative and Interdisciplinary Research Grant and several travel fellowships from the UGA Graduate School.

In his clinical appointment, Garren is continuing to expand his work on reactive species technologies towards the improvement of therapeutic platforms and medical device technologies against infection, inflammation and thrombosis.

Matt O’Neal (Submitted photo)

Matt O’Neal is a visiting assistant professor of history and study of southern culture at the University of Mississippi. O’Neal earned a Ph.D. in history from the University of Georgia in 2023, where he completed his dissertation, “Home and Hell: The Great Migration and the Making of Sundown Towns in Appalachia” under the direction of Scott Reynolds Nelson.

O’Neal is a historian of race, labor and migration in the U.S. South. He has authored publications in the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society and the New Georgia Encyclopedia, in addition to a forthcoming piece in the Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era .

O’Neal has also been featured in a documentary produced by Black in Appalachia and has participated in public conversations on the legacies of racial violence.

In 2022, he received the Robert H. Zieger Prize from the Southern Labor Studies Association for the best unpublished essay by a graduate student or early career scholar.

Nate Tomczyk (Submitted photo)

Nate Tomczyk is a research associate at the New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute at New Mexico Highlands University. Tomczyk earned his Ph.D. in ecology at the University of Georgia in 2023.

Tomczyk grew up in Maine and pursued his undergraduate studies in ecology and environmental sciences at the University of Maine. The most formative parts of this experience were conducting research in wetlands and participating in a Research Experience for Undergraduates program that allowed him to conduct ecological research in the Arctic.

Following this he earned his master’s degree in ecology at the University of Georgia, studying heavy metal pollution of freshwater ecosystems, under the direction of Krista Capps.

After that, he walked home to Maine via the Appalachian trail before returning to UGA to work as a research professional in Amy Rosemond’s lab. From there, Tomczyk transitioned back into graduate school, working with Rosemond as his Ph.D. advisor. His doctoral research focused on the role of small freshwater streams in carbon and nutrient cycling and how these important functions are altered by warming and nutrient pollution. His field work was primarily conducted at the Coweeta Hydrologic Lab in North Carolina.

His research projects have used a wide range of methods to test questions at different scales and include laboratory studies of individual microbial taxa, experimental manipulations of sections of streams, and comparisons of environmental conditions on the conterminous United States.

Engaged Scholars

The inaugural Engaged Scholarship by Graduate Students Award recognizes extraordinary community-engaged scholarship and public service by graduate students. Such as endeavors that advance the public service, outreach, and engagement mission at UGA. This award is established by the Graduate School in connection with the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach and the Office of Service-Learning.

Three awards of $1,000 will be presented annually. Each graduate department may nominate one student. Recipients will be selected by a committee drawn from Public Service and Outreach-affiliated administrators and graduate faculty

Alyssa Quan (Submitted photo)

Alyssa Quan is an interdisciplinary ecology Ph.D. candidate in the Odum School of Ecology and in the integrative conservation program run by the Center for Integrative Conservation. Her major professor is Catherine Pringle. Her general interests include aquatic ecology, ethnobotany and animal behavior. She is originally from Southern California, and she graduated from the University of California Los Angeles in 2019 with a B.S. in ecology, behavior, and evolution.

Quan has conducted field science projects in various locations around the world, including Singapore, Malaysia, French Polynesia, the California coast and the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Her work on fish behavior in Mo’orea, French Polynesia, is published in the scientific journal Current Zoology .

Currently, her doctoral dissertation research focuses on the ecological and cultural intersections of rivercane, which she is co-producing with partners from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Overall, they are interested in the process and outcomes of research co-production with indigenous knowledge and are studying how the impacts of cultural relationships with rivercane can inform restoration.

Ammy Sena (Submitted photo)

Ammy Sena is a Ph.D. candidate in counseling psychology at the University of Georgia. She is an immigrant of Dominican Republic, raised in Providence, Rhode Island. She received her master’s degree in mental health counseling from Boston College with a certificate in human rights and international justice. Additionally, Sena received her bachelor’s degree from Suffolk University, double majoring in psychology and Latin American and Caribbean studies with a minor in education.

Sena’s research interests include the mental health and wellness of marginalized communities with a primary focus on Afro-Latinx and Afro-Caribbean persons. Additionally, she is interested in exploring decolonized and liberatory forms of healing as well as racial identity development. Her clinical interests include bilingual (Spanish) counseling, anxiety, stress and trauma-related disorders. She is a member of the Bienestar Research and Outreach Team under the direction of Edward Delgado-Romero as well as a member of the Sankofa Research and Outreach team under the direction of Collette Chapman-Hilliard.

Sena served as co-coordinator of La Clinica in LaK’ech, a student-run mental health clinic under the direction of Delgado-Romero that provides free counseling to the Latinx community of Athens. Currently, she supervises student trainees seeking to enter the counseling field at La Clinica in La K’ech and at the Center for Counseling and Personal Evaluation. Sena is the instructor-of-record for ECHD 3030- Diversity and Helping Skills course and is a TA for ECHD 4660/6660 U.S. Latinx Mental Health: An Introduction.

Cydney Seigerman (Submitted photo)

Cydney Kate Seigerman is a Ph.D. candidate in the Integrative Conservation and anthropology program. Their major professor is Don Nelson. Seigerman is an NSF Graduate Research Fellow and was a research fellow at the Research Institute for Meteorology and Water Resources in Ceará, Brazil, from 2021 to 2023. They earned their B.S. in chemistry and Spanish language and literature from the University of Michigan, graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the Residential and Honors Colleges. They then relocated to Madrid, Spain, where they served as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant and studied acting at the theater school La Lavandería.

Seigerman is a transdisciplinary water scholar guided by the premise that equity and justice are fundamental to creating more sustainable futures. Their research examines the interactions among human behavior and the cultural, political, technological, and environmental factors that shape water governance. Seigerman works across the sciences and arts to develop more equitable solutions to water challenges.

Seigerman’s dissertation work examines how socionatural (i.e., interrelated sociopolitical, environmental and technological) processes shape and are shaped by the lived experience of water insecurity in Ceará, Northeast Brazil. Among their work across disciplines, Seigerman is a contributing author of “Chapter 4: Water” of the 2022 IPCC Report and collaborated with members of Quilombo Mearim, a rural community in Ceará, Brazil, to produce the play Mudanças na água do Quilombo Mearim ( Hydrological Changes in Quilombo Mearim ), which tells the story of the community’s water past, present and possible futures.

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Virginia Tech graduate students earn awards for weed science research

• Tyler Bauguess

10 Apr 2024

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A diverse group of Virginia Tech graduate students from across the globe – Honduras, India, South Korea, and the United States – earned international and national awards for turfgrass research under the leadership of Shawn Askew , professor at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences .

Askew manages the Turfgrass Weed Science Lab, where he leads the development and evaluation of new herbicides, organic and cultural weed control, diagnostic and application technology, and environmental effects of weed management in turfgrass.

Graduate students in Askew’s lab work on research projects including using lasers to eliminate weeds, determining how herbicides change the way insects behave, and measuring the force it takes to eliminate weeds with specialized tools.

Four School of Plant and Environmental Sciences graduate students who work in Askew’s lab were recently honored with the following awards:

John Peppers, a postdoctoral researcher from Snead, Alabama, received the 2024 Award of Excellence from the Musser International Turfgrass Foundation. This international honor, granted to only one student per year, was accompanied by a $45,000 honorarium.

Navdeep Godara of India received second place at the Tri-Societies International Meeting in St. Louis for his research poster on glyphosate residues within zoysiagrass turf canopies during rainfall. Godara also earned second place for his oral presentation on turf protection product impacts.

Daewon Koo of South Korea claimed second place at the Northeastern Weed Science Society annual meeting in Boston in the scientific poster competition.

Juan Romero of Honduras took first place at the Southern Weed Science Society and Weed Science Society of America Joint Meeting in San Antonio for his poster on the use of thermal energy and organic chemicals for weed control in turfgrass.

This team of four students has completed over 200 research trials; delivered approximately 30 Extension presentations; published 53 abstracts from scientific presentations at 12 scientific conferences in Canada, Denmark, India, Thailand, and the U.S.; and contributed to 18 peer-reviewed publications. Collectively, they have won over 60 awards, scholarships, or travel grants since 2022.

“Each student brings their own unique skills and disciplinary focus to enhance the diversity of outcomes in my lab," Askew said. "I’m very proud of what our team has accomplished.”

Tom Soladay

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• School of Plant and Environmental Sciences

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Paul Hand Award for Graduate Student Research Achievement

The purpose of this award is to recognize graduate students who are excelling in research and scholarly accomplishments. These may include the quantity and quality of research output; potential impact and importance of their research output; the leadership role the student played in their research activities; communication of research through scholarly publications and presentations; mentoring of others in related research activities; and the leadership role the student played in their research activities (original research idea, leadership in the lab, success in securing own grant funding, etc.). Note: MS nominees do not need to have a publication record at the time of nomination. Applications are due November 1.

Eligibility

Full-time graduate students, advised by faculty in the College of Agricultural Sciences, with research and scholarly accomplishments. Previous recipients of this award are not eligible.

$2,000 deposited into student's bursar account.

Selection Process

An award committee will be appointed by the Assistant Dean for Graduate Education to select the recipient.

• Complete the nomination and upload nominee CV via InfoReady by Wednesday, November 1, 2024. Submissions that are received by the deadline will be considered; late submissions will not be accepted.
• Nominating faculty must complete the Statement of Support in the nomination submission that highlights the nominee’s engagement in research and scholarship accomplishment. Consider impact, effectiveness, innovation, and/or significance of contribution. Please be sure to relate your comments to the award criteria and highlight specific examples.
• The nomination may include the optional Additional Support field in the nomination submission should describe any other reason(s) why this student is deserving of this recognition not noted above.
• Faculty Advisor Certification must be completed, regardless of the nominator, by Monday, May 6, 2024, for nomination to be considered by the award committee.

Cratis D. Williams School of Graduate Studies

• Domer Research Award
• Financial Support
• Graduate School Awards

This award was established to provide assistance for thesis research/scholarly activities expenses or for travel expenses incurred by graduate students who wish to attend a conference to present their research.  Awards for currently enrolled students will be processed via Student Accounts. Students who have graduated will receive a check in the mail. For Spring 2024, we anticipate making up to SIX Domer Research Awards in amounts up to $800.

Nomination by Monday, February 12, 2024 Materials by Wednesday,  March 6, 2024

Email Nominations to:  Dr. Ross Gosky with SUBJECT LINE: Domer Research Award

Application Information

This award provides research supplies or supports research activities including travel to a professional meeting related to the student's research. To qualify for this award a student must prepare the following:

• A statement from the graduate student describing the research project and outlining in detail how the funds will be used.
• A letter of nomination and/or endorsement from the faculty mentor

Selection Criteria

When reviewing applicants for this award, reviewers will consider the following:

• Evidence of scholarly excellence on the part of the student (e.g., recipients of prior awards)
• The quality of the proposal submitted (e.g., clarity of presentation, significance of work/professional development proposed, creativity and originality in the proposal)
• The impact of this award on the recipient's career (i.e., will receipt of the award make a real difference?)

Judith E. Domer (Dean of the Cratis D. Williams School of Graduate Studies, 1997-2004) and Floyd R. Domer

Past Recipients

• 2022-2023: Melinda Frank, Educational Leadership; Elizabeth Pearce, Experimental Psychology; Brian London, Experimental Psychology; Bailey Chenevert, Experimental Psychology; Sophie Ryan, Geography & Planning; Shawn Roberts, Exercise Science
• 2021-2022: Bronwyn Harris, Reading Education; Riggs Matthews, IO Psych; Shawn Roberts, Exercise Science; Jay Harrell, Exercise Science
• 2020-2021: Daniel Jeffries, Computer Science; Tyree Wilmoth, Sustainable Technology & the Built Environment
• 2019-2020: Jasmine Cash and Jessie Morgan, Exercise Science; Ashley Hull, Biology; Peaches Hash, Educational Leadership
• 2018-2019: James Hedrick, Dual Degree: Appalachian Studies and Government and Justice Studies (Political Science)
• 2017-2018: Laura Johnston, Appalachian Studies
• 2016-2017: Reed Gurchiek, Exercise Science
• 2015-2016: Justin A. Stewart, Exercise Science
• 2014-2015: Luke Tunstall, Mathematics
• 2013: Michael Thomas, Biology
• 2012: Rebecca Hobden, Technology
• 2011: not given
• 2010: not given
• 2009: Serena Heinz, Biology
• 2008: Ashley S. Williams, Biology
• 2007: Michael Denslow, Biology
• 2006: Jason H. Windett, Political Science
• 2005: Susan Pepper, Appalachian Studies
• 2004: Alice Wilson, Appalachian Studies

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Graduate Students Win Research Prizes

The Graduate Group in Religious Studies is pleased to announce the recipients of several annual prizes.

Rushnae Kabir , a PhD student in Religious Studies, received the Ibn Sina Prize for “Pious Registers: Interrogating the Elite/Popular Divide Through the Milād.” Reviewers described the paper, which examines the mīlād ritual that commemorates the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, as “theoretically sophisticated” and as a “key intervention in the study of South Asian Islam.”

Shrinidhi Narasimhan , a PhD student in South Asia Studies, received the Ibn Sina Prize for her paper, “ The Story of Ḥasan Bey : Print, Reform, and Colonial Modernity in the Indian Ocean World.” One reviewer described the paper as “an innovative exploration of the poorly studied place of Islam in Sri Lanka,” and another praised its “incisive analysis of the intersection of colonial modernity, emergent transnational Islam (or Islams), and local currents in the context of the rise of modern Tamil prose literature.”

Jeremy Steinberg , a PhD candidate in Religious Studies, received the Merle Saunders Schaff Prize for his paper, "Josephus, Historiography, and the Nature of the Bible.” A reviewer wrote that "Steinberg’s ... claim that Josephus treated the Hebrew Bible as history in order to align it with Greek methods of composition and literary categories was compelling and clear. Additionally, his description of Josephus’s theory of translation .... provided opportunity for reflection on broader humanistic questions about conceptions of accuracy in both 'history' and 'translation.'” 

Recipients will receive their awards at the Religious Studies End of Year Celebration on May 2, 2024.

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Grady College graduate students earn recognition

It’s been an active spring of recognition for the outstanding work of graduate students at Grady College.

Several students from the Grady College Graduate Studies program have been recognized for their early research contributions to the industries they will serve.

“Our Ph.D. students consistently receiving awards and recognition for their teaching, research, and scholarship illustrates the strength of our doctoral program,” said Glen Nowak, associate dean for research and graduate studies. “At Grady, Ph.D. students are mentored by top scholars and researchers, and graduate well prepared to teach college students and undertake high quality research that informs communication practices and scholarship.” 

Anne Perera , a Ph.D. student studying public relations, received the Best Paper Award at the 27 th International Public Relations Research Conference in March.

The paper, “Adoption of Generative Practices: Individual and Organizational Implications from the Perspective of Communication Professionals,” explored how the adoption of Generative AI could impact communication professionals by looking at their interest, usage, perception and challenges. The paper was recognized for the best paper that reflected the theme of the conference, “Connecting Insights to Impact with Al, diversity, sustainability and trust: Research that matters to the practice.”  It was co-authored by Juan Meng, UGA Athletic Association Endowed Professor and head of the Department of Advertising and Public Relations, and Michael Cacciatore, co-director of the Center for Health & Risk Communication.

In addition to Perera, several other graduate students have recently been recognized for their work.

Grace Adams  , a Ph.D. student, and  Leslie Klein , who just defended her doctoral dissertation and is going to graduate in a few weeks, received the UGA Center for Teaching and Learning Outstanding Teaching Assistantship award. This annual award, which is sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Instruction, recognizes graduate students who demonstrate superior instructional skills while serving in the classroom. Adams and Klein were recognized at the CTL Spring Teaching Celebration on April 3.

Ja Kyung Seo  , a Ph.D. candidate, received a $750 American Academy of Advertising 2024 Graduate Student Conference Scholarship for her lead-authored paper in collaboration with the Grady College Health and Environmental Advertising Research Team (HEART). Seo was selected to receive a 2024 Summer Doctoral Research Assistantship from the UGA Graduate School .

Jaemin Kim  , aPh.D. student, received an American Academy of Advertising 2024 Student Travel Scholarship, which is offered to a limited number of applicants, for the paper titled “I Don’t Like the Ad Sponsoring My Pain: The Gluckschmerz Effects of Instant Replay Video Review on Sponsoring Ad and Brand.”

Emily Barske Wood , a student pursuing an MFA in Narrative Nonfiction , is the recipient of a scholarship, from ACES: The Society for Editing . Wood is currently special projects editor at the Des Moines Business Record weekly newspaper. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wood led the newsroom’s print publications, digital products, and events. The scholarship recognizes excellence in critical thinking about written materials in any field and is awarded to those who aspire to a career involving editing.

Author: Sarah Freeman, [email protected]

Doctoral student in Hispanic Linguistics awarded research grant

María González-Ferrer has been selected as a recipient of a 2024 Sigma Delta Pi (SDP) Graduate Research Grant Award among a very competitive pool of applicants nationwide. This will be a huge help in funding María's dissertation research project on clitic doubling in the Spanish of Spain, Argentina, and Mexico. ¡Enhorabuena, María!

Personnel in this Article

María gonzález-ferrer.

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Phillips receives prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) award

Montana Technological University graduate student Baylie Phillips has been awarded two prestigious research fellowships.

Phillips has been selected to receive the 2024 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship and the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) from the ARCS Foundation Seattle Chapter.

Phillips’s legacy at Montana Tech includes her academic and research achievements, along with her many volunteer activities that deeply enriched the Butte community. Montana Tech’s National Student Awards Committee (NSAC) worked closely with Phillips since Fall 2021 to support her applications for the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, Rhodes Scholarship, and NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.

“Baylie is recognized among America’s top research students, and she will contribute to advancements in both biomedical and materials engineering throughout her career,” said NSAC member and Professor of Biology Dr. Marisa Pedulla. “Congratulations to Baylie on her well-deserved national awards!”

Vice Chancellor for Research and Dean of the Graduate School Dr. Angela Lueking added, “Every once in a while, a student comes along that reminds faculty and administrators what is possible, and why they went into academia. For me, Baylie Phillips is that student.”

The National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship is a five-year award with three years of financial support with an annual stipend of $37,000. The National Science Foundation makes the awards to ensure the quality, vitality, and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States.

“I’m humbled to receive this award,” Phillips said. “It is extremely competitive, and it is one of the top awards for scientists, not just engineers. I hope to make people proud with my work for my Ph.D.”

Phillips is a Butte native who graduated with her B.S. in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering in 2023. She will graduate with her M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering in May. After gaining acceptance to several Ph.D. programs nationwide, Phillips chose to attend the University of Washington.

During the application process, she was selected by admissions staff to compete for three significant award programs.

“I was humbled that they flagged my application for consideration for not only one, but three different award programs,” Phillips said.

The prestigious ARCS award comes with an unrestricted gift of $22,500, dispersed over three years. The ARCS Foundation is a national organization of 15 chapters serving 49 of the nation's premier research universities. Nationally, more than 11,500 students have received over $131 million in financial support. ARCS Foundation Seattle Chapter, founded in 1978, currently supports Ph.D. scholars at the University of Washington and Washington State University. Recognized as a University of Washington Presidential Laureate, ARCS Foundation Seattle Chapter has contributed more than $23 million to over 1,500 talented scholars in science, engineering and medical research.

Phillips plans to continue her research into biomaterials at the University of Washington. As a master’s student, Phillips researched coatings that could be applied to vascular stents deployed in the human heart.

“Tentatively, I would like to go into the cardiology field to try to make stents for the cardiovascular system, to lower the failure rates,” Phillips said.

Phillips learned that stents had a significant failure rate when she received one during her junior year. The stent crimped, and Phillips had to undergo a second procedure to replace it.

“I saw where this is a problem, and did a deep dive into the field,” Phillips said.

Her proposal to research stents is what won the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship. Because Phillips’s research involves human subjects, the path to testing any stent improvements is likely to be long, but she is determined to make a difference.

“It can take 10 plus years to implement something, but what I’m trying to do now is do the research, and show that there’s a problem by writing papers,” Phillips said.

Phillips has been a standout student at Montana Tech. She was a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship in 2022, and was awarded the 2022 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, which is the most prestigious undergraduate scholarship awarded in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering in America. She was also recognized as a Local Hero in December for her many contributions to Montana Tech and the wider Butte community.

Amanda Badovinac Executive Director, Marketing & Communications (406) 496-4828

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