Purpose:
The STAR award is a scholarship award given to a graduate student in the College of the Liberal Arts who has demonstrated all-around excellence in teaching, research, and service. To be a strong candidate, the student should have established a significant record in each area and excelled in it. Service may include departmental, university-wide, or national service. The award consists of funds that are provided to support specific projects or activities that will advance the student’s professional and scholarly development.
While the awarded funds may support activities that enhance the student’s dissertation, the primary purpose of this award is not to fund dissertation research or conference travel. Our expectation is that award funds will support activities that go beyond typical student activities such as presentations or routine ongoing research. Students can apply for dissertation support through the RGSO Dissertation Support Competition, and departments provide primary support for student conference travel.
Deadline:
Nominations are due November 1st and April 1st of each year. The College will be able to give approximately 10 STAR awards each year.
Nomination:
The Director of Graduate Studies of the program in which a student is enrolled nominates a student based on merit, considering both the student’s record of accomplishment and the impact of the award on future achievement. The nomination should include detailed information about the student’s record and must include GPA, SRTE's, other relevant teaching evaluations, publications, and an assessment of service contributions, along with a description of the project and activities which the award funds will support.
Submission:
Nominations, which include a cover sheet and nominating statement, should be submitted in hard copy or as a pdf to Robin Chakravorty, 105 Sparks. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Robin at (814) 867-4357 .