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Awards, Fellowships, and Scholarships

The Graduate School administers these awards Students must be nominated by their departments or colleges and enrolled in classes Fall 2025 for the following awards listed below. Department/colleges should use the Nomination Form to verify that all required documentation is included (see the Documentation Table).

  • Van Vleet Memorial Doctoral Award: Incoming doctoral students in the designated science fields of School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Geological Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Microbiology and Molecular Cell Sciences, Psychology, Biomedical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Public Health, Nursing and Applied Physics  are eligible for this award and must be nominated by their respective department chair.  The $16,000 stipend plus tuition scholarship is renewable for four years.  The deadline for nominations to be submitted  to the Dean of Graduate School is February 14, 2025.
  • Morton Thesis/Dissertation Awards are a result of a generous donation by S. Morgan Morton ('63). The awards honor an outstanding master's and doctoral student whose thesis or dissertation prospectus has been approved by their committee. The thesis award is up to $750 and the dissertation award is up to $1000. Department Chairs should submit nominations to their College Graduate Director or College Dean by February 12, 2025. College Graduate Directors or Deans should nominate students to the Graduate School by March 17, 2025.
  • Graduate Assistant Meritorious Teaching Awards are given to two outstanding teaching assistants. Candidates are nominated by faculty, students, alumni, or their respective college dean. The deadline for nominations to be submitted to the Graduate School is March 17, 2025. Each college will have its own internal selection process prior to the March 17th deadline. The award recipients each receive up to $1000.
  • Part-time Master's Scholarship This $4,000  ($2,000 per semester) scholarship is offered to part-time students. Priority is given to entering graduate students. Students must be fully admitted to a graduate degree program. The deadline for the academic year 2025-2026 is July 15.
  • Weil Graduate Fellows

Students may apply directly to the Graduate School for the following fellowship using the  Self-Application Form and verifying that all required documentation is included (see the Documentation Table).

The following two awards, although funded by the Graduate School, are chosen through the College of Communication and Fine Arts and are open only to students in that College.

  • Creative Achievement Awards (up to $750) are given to graduate students from the College of Communication and Fine Arts for outstanding work in the performing arts, film and architecture. Department chairs should submit nominations to the CCFA Associate Dean for Graduate Studies (consult associate dean for deadline). Nominations are due to the Graduate School.
  • Art Purchase Award (up to $1000) covers the price of an art work chosen by the outside juror at the Annual Juried Student Exhibit each Spring.

The University of Memphis Association of Retirees

  • The University of Memphis Association of Retirees (UMAR) awards a scholarship to a currently enrolled (full or part time) graduate student at the university. The scholarship is a one time award in the amount of $1000 for the academic year and is not renewable for the following year. In addition to being a graduate student (full or part time) at the University of Memphis, applicants must provide at least one letter of recommendation, provide a statement (not to exceed 100 words) as to how this scholarship will benefit his/her professional goals and may be interviewed by the scholarship selection committee. Preference will be given to students who are current university employees as well as sons/daughters of current employees or of members of UMAR.
    • To apply for this scholarship enter go to the Tiger Scholarship page, you may need to sign in by clicking on the Sign In button in the top right corner, and then clicking on the Sign In With Your Institution button.
    • If you have any questions regarding applying for the scholarship, please contact Robert Boone, UMAR Scholarship Coordinator, pboone@memphis.edu. For questions or assistance with the online application process, please contact the University Scholarship Office, 107 Wilder Tower, telephone 901.678.3213.
  • Dorothy Arata Dissertation Award - This award is given in memory of Dr. Dorothy Arata, Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Memphis from 1982 to 1993. Dr. Arata earned her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1956. Her research was in biomedical issues related to liver health and mineral deficiencies in the body. Before coming to the University of Memphis, she was a professor of biochemistry at the Michigan State University. Please contact UMAR for more information regarding this award. 

Grants

Dissertation Completion Summer Grants

The Graduate School at the University of Memphis is pleased to announce a Dissertation Completion Research Grant for late-stage doctoral students. This grant is designed to support students as they near completion of their dissertation, and to encourage a timely defense and graduation. The primary aim of the grant is to alleviate the usual financial pressures that lead many graduate students to seek summer teaching and employment, thus allowing students to devote one summer entirely to research and writing.  Recipients should acknowledge the support of this grant in the appropriate place within their dissertations. 10 grants will be awarded each year.

These are summer grants and will be disbursed via a Graduate Assistant Research Contract (stipend only) for the month of May and June, $2,500 each month. Students should review the tax implications of stipends here. 

Grant Amount: $5,000. 

Eligibility requirements: To receive this grant a student must satisfy the following criteria

  • Be a late-stage doctoral student in good standing
  • Successfully defended a dissertation proposal
  • Have been a late-stage doctoral student enrolled in dissertation hours for at least one semester. The expectation is that the student will have already been working on their dissertation and has made considerable progress toward its completion. Students in the early stages of their project should not apply.

Application requirements:

  • A copy of the Dissertation Proposal Defense Form with all required signatures.
  • Nomination letter from the applicant’s dissertation director. The nomination letter must address the importance of the student’s dissertation project and the ways in which this grant will contribute to the student finishing and defending in a timely manner. The dissertation director should attest to the fact that the student has already made significant progress on their dissertation and is close to completion. In particular, the review committee will expect to hear from the director where the student is at in their project and how much of it is complete. For instance, the director might attest to the fact that the student has completed three out of four chapters.
  • The student must submit to a two-page proposal that includes a brief description of their dissertation project (written for non-experts) and a plan for the work they will complete over the summer months, which includes clear deliverables. For instance, the student might detail a plan to research and write a chapter or complete data analysis for some portion of their dissertation.
  • Applications will be reviewed, and grants awarded by a committee made up of the College Directors of Graduate Studies

Application Cycle:

Application Opens:  Nov 1

            Application Deadline: Feb 1

            Awards Announced: April 1

Application portal: 

https://memphis.infoready4.com/#competitionDetail/1952944

Students may reapply for the grant during the next cycle if their proposal was not funded. Students may only receive oneGraduate School Dissertation Completion Research Grant during the academic career at the University of Memphis. Recipients will be required to submit a one-page report, signed by their dissertation director, by September 1 that details the work they completed during the summer grant.

Graduate Student Research Grants

The Graduate School administers a limited amount of grant funds to support the research, scholarship, and creative work of doctoral students from all departments. Grants range from $1000-$5,000 and are competitive. 10 awards will be made each year. 

Eligibility
• Full-time late-stage doctoral students 
• A minimum GPA of 3.25 

Types of Projects Funded
Almost any type of research or creative project may be funded. Projects directly related to work on a doctoral dissertation generally receive priority, although other projects also receive funding. 

Types of expenses not eligible for funding: 

  • Grants are not awarded to present findings of research that has already been completed. Grants are not awarded for conference travel. The Graduate Student Association travel award should be applied for to cover conference travel expenses. Travel to complete research at a library or archive will be considered for funding.  
  • Reimbursement for expenses incurred before awards are announced
  • Thesis or dissertation preparation expenses such as typing or editing
  • Salary or stipend payments to the applicant
  • Local travel expenses (travel within 50 miles of Memphis)
  • Computer hardware or software that is easily accessible to the student
  • University of Memphis tuition expenses

Any equipment purchased with a Graduate Student Grant becomes the property of the university. All university fiscal policies regarding purchasing, travel, etc., apply to the distribution of funds for these awards.

Award Criteria
Applications will be evaluated by a subcommittee of the University Council of Graduate Studies according to the following criteria
1. Overall quality and clarity of proposal,
2. Importance of project to the student's professional development,
3. Student's academic record,
4. Appropriateness of the proposed budget,
5. Adherence to the prescribed format, and
6. Letter of support.
Applications that are incomplete or that do not adhere to the format will be disqualified

Application Materials
• All proposals that involve the use of human subjects or animals must be approved by the appropriate committee before an award can be made. If you are in the process of receiving approval when you apply, you must state that in the application and notify the graduate school once you have the approval.  Students whose human research has been approved must include their IRB protocol number on the application form.
• 5,000 word maximum (roughly a single-spaced, two-page description of the project written in language a non-expert can understand, at size 11 font or higher) with any necessary figures and tables.
• 2 page maximum reference/bibliography of the work of other scholars mention in your project description.
• An itemized budget explaining the expenses for which you are requesting funds, quoting specific prices, equipment, etc. Please include information regarding any other sources of funding for your project.
• Transcript (official or unofficial).
• A letter of support from your faculty advisor/dissertation director familiar with your work (please upload alongside your other application materials).

Application Submission:  Proposals must be submitted via infoready at https://memphis.infoready4.com/#competitionDetail/1952916 by April 1. 
Award announcements will be made May 1. Funds will be available July 1. 

Additional details:
• Funds will be transferred to the student’s college and a research account with an index and managed by college grants and accounting staff. The student must adhere to all policies regarding the use of research funds. 
• Funds will be available for one fiscal year. There are no grant extensions. Unused funds will be returned to the Graduate School GA funding pool to fund additional grants. 
• Each student awarded a grant is required to submit a 2-page report of the impact and results of grant funding to the Graduate School within six months of the end of the grant. 
• Students can receive only one Graduate Student Research Grant during their doctoral program.