Graduate Student Awards and Fellowships

MAGS/ProQuest Distinguished Master's Thesis Awards 

The Ohio University Graduate College is soliciting nominations for the 2024 MAGS/ProQuest Distinguished Master's Thesis Awards. The Ohio University Graduate Council will select one nominee for each of the following two disciplines:

• Biological/Life Sciences
• Humanities

Members of the Ohio University Graduate Council will review all nominations and select a worthy nominee for each of the above-mentioned disciplines. These nominees will be forwarded to the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools for consideration.

According to the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS), each recipient of a 2024 MAGS/ProQuest Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award will receive a $750 honorarium. In addition, up to $500 will be available to each recipient for travel expenses to attend the 80th MAGS Annual Meeting in Clayton St. Louis, MO. It is expected that the winner's institution will cover any travel expenses which exceed the $500 provided by MAGS for the awardee to attend the meeting to receive the award. The faculty mentor or thesis advisor will also be invited to attend the presentation ceremony, but their expenses will not be covered.

Deadline

Monday, October 23, 2023, 5 PM EDT

For consideration, nomination materials (the nomination form, the abstract of the nominated thesis, and the thesis) must be submitted electronically by the department/school via the nominating survey by the aforementioned deadline.

Please note, members of the Graduate Council will select the nominees representing OHIO University. The OHIO University nominee's/s' materials will be submitted to the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools by the Ohio University Graduate College on behalf of the Graduate Council.

Guidelines

An Ohio University graduate student must meet the following guidelines:

• An Ohio University graduate student nominee must be recommended by a graduate chairperson or department/school chairperson AND
• A nominee must meet the following MAGS 2024 guidelines:
  • To be considered, a thesis must contain original work that makes an unusually significant contribution to the discipline. It must be in a format that conforms to accepted disciplinary standards, and it must have been accepted as final by the degree-granting institution. Theses submitted electronically will normally be in PDF format; hyperlinks to additional materials may be included but must be verified prior to submission
  • Nominations will be accepted in the disciplines of Biological/ Life Science and Humanities in which the institution offers a master’s degree. (For purposes of this competition, fine arts and history are considered with the humanities.) Original works accepted by an institution “in lieu of thesis” (such as musical compositions, published books, works of art, computer software, etc.) may not be nominated.
  • The effective date of degree award, or the completion of master’s degree requirements, must fall in the period of July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2023, inclusive, for each nominee selected. Such degree award or completion is to be confirmed by the institution's graduate dean or other administrative officer responsible for master’s degree programs. Since the intent of the competition is to recognize scholarship by students who are pursuing their first graduate research degree, individuals who received a Ph.D. (or comparable research degree) in any discipline prior to the writing of the master’s thesis are not eligible. However, recipients of a first professional degree awarded prior to the writing of the thesis may be nominated.

Nomination Materials

Nomination materials must include:

• The nomination form (Qualtrics survey linked at Nomination Link below),
• Abstract of the nominated thesis,
• Thesis, and
• Letter from a faculty mentor.

These nomination materials must be submitted electronically via the link provided below.

Please note: When the Graduate College submits the selected nominees’ materials to MAGS, each nomination packet will include a letter from the Dean of the Graduate College. The contents of each letter will be based on the Graduate Council selection committee's deliberations

Nomination Form

Ohio University departments/schools may submit only one nominee.

Questions?

Contact Nathan Blackburn at blackburnn@ohio.edu. More information about this award can be found on the MAGS website.

MAGS Excellence in Teaching Awards

The Ohio University Graduate College is soliciting nominations for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) 2024 Excellence in Teaching Awards competition.

The MAGS awards recognize the importance of excellence in teaching and mentoring as a component of graduate education and the preparation of graduate students for future service as college and university faculty. One award will be given to a doctoral student and one award to a master's student. Each recipient of a MAGS Excellence in Teaching Award includes a citation and a $750 honorarium that will be presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools. More details are available on the MAGS website.

The Ohio University Graduate Council will select up to one doctoral student nominee and one master's student nominee. These nominees will be forwarded to the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools for consideration.

Deadline

Friday, December 15, 2023

For consideration, nomination materials (the nomination form, letters of nomination and support, curriculum vitae, and teaching portfolio) must be submitted as a single PDF document with an embedded link to the teaching video. All materials must be submitted electronically by the department/school to the nomination form below no later than 5 P.M. on the day of the deadline. 

Ohio University Graduate Council will review the submitted nominations and forward the selected nominees to MAGS by the published deadline.

Guidelines

An Ohio University graduate student must meet the following guidelines:

• An Ohio University graduate student nominee must be recommended by a graduate chairperson or department/school chairperson AND
• A nominee must meet the MAGS 2023 Excellence in Teaching guidelines [PDF].

Please note: Each Ohio University department/school may submit only one nominee for each award.

Submission Materials

A single PDF must be submitted with the following items:

• Letter of support from the nominating department head/chair (includes description of any departmental and institutional honors awarded to this masters/doctoral student for excellence in teaching)
• Current curriculum vitae (CV), and
• Teaching portfolio (limited to 6 double-spaced pages using 12-point font), including:
  • Statement of Teaching Philosophy,
  • Evidence of instructional design, innovation, delivery, course management, and student learning,
  • Video of "Teaching in Action" (instructions [PDF]),
  • Student Evaluation of Teaching,
  • Evidence of Effective Student/Colleague Mentoring, and
  • Evidence of Professional Development.

View more information about the Evaluation Criteria [PDF]

Nomination Form

Ohio University departments/schools may submit one doctoral nominee and one master's nominee.

Questions

Please contact Nathan Blackburn, blackburnn@ohio.edu with any questions.

Named Fellowships 

Up to five fellowships, funded through the Graduate College, are available annually. Each award carries a fellowship in the amount of $2,000 per semester (fall and spring).

Amount of each Award

$2,000 per semester for both fall and spring semesters

Deadline

Deadline - Friday, March 1, 2024 — 5 PM

Eligibility

Each nominee must:

• Be a currently enrolled student at Ohio University at the time of application.
• Have a minimum cumulative graduate GPA of 3.00.
• Represent a truly outstanding student.
• The nominated student will normally have completed at least one full year of graduate study at Ohio University before the upcoming fall term.

Nomination Process

A student must be recommended to the graduate chairperson or department/school chairperson by a faculty member. The department/school will select its nominee from the list of recommended students. Each department/school may forward only one nominee.

To nominate a student, the department/school must upload the complete nomination packet as a single PDF file (containing the following five documents) no later than 5 P.M. on the day of the deadline.

Please use the following naming convention for the nomination packet: First and last name of student_department (e.g., RufusPutnum_Mathematics.pdf).

1. The completed/signed nomination form.
2.  A project description. The student should clearly explain their primary goals during the year she/he would receive this funding. The proposal should be written in language understandable to an informed layperson to assist in the review process. The plan should be no more than two pages, single-spaced, 12-point font. If references, images, or models are required, a third page may be used.
3. Abbreviated student CV (two-page limit).
4. A copy of the student's latest DARS report.
5. Two (2) Letters of Support: One (1) nomination letter from the student's primary advisor and one (1) letter from the graduate chair/coordinator/director. Letters should be brief and, at most, 2-pages in length.

Once you have the five required documents combined as a single PDF file, please attach the single PDF to an email addressed to namedfellows@ohio.edu.

Informational Brochure [PDF]

Nomination Form [PDF]

Questions

Please contact Nathan Blackburn at blackburnn@ohio.edu with any questions.

CGS/ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Awards

Overview

The Graduate College is soliciting nominations for the 2024 CGS/ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation award. These awards are made each year to individuals who, in the opinion of the award committee, have completed dissertations representing original work that makes an unusually significant contribution to the discipline.

There are two broad fields of competition for the 2024 dissertation awards. If a dissertation is multi- or interdisciplinary in nature, a significant portion of the work must be comprised by at least one of the 2024 fields of competition. The two broad fields for this year are:

• Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Engineering
• Social Sciences

The listed disciplines should be considered representative rather than all-inclusive. If you have questions about whether a dissertation qualifies for consideration, please contact Anna M. Naranjo at anaranjo@cgs.nche.edu.

Eligibility:

Each department or school can nominate only one student. A nominee must be recommended by the school/department or graduate chairperson.

The effective date of the degree awarded, or the completion of doctoral degree requirements and dissertation, must lie in the period of July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2024, inclusive, for each nominee selected. For Ohio University students, these would be degrees awarded between Summer 2022 and Summer 2024.

How To Submit:

A complete nomination package includes:

1. A completed nomination form (remove the checklist).

2. An abstract of the nominee’s dissertation (not to exceed five double-spaced pages). Appendices containing other material, such as charts, tables, and/or references, may be included as additional pages (not to exceed five pages).

3. Three letters of recommendation evaluating the significance and quality of the nominee’s dissertation work. One of these letters is to be from the nominee's dissertation supervisor, another from a member of the nominee's dissertation committee, and the third from a person of the nominee's choice.

4. The nominee’s curriculum vitae (not to exceed five pages).

The deadline for nominations is April 19, 2024. Graduate Council will then review submissions and forward to CGS/ProQuest by their due date of July 3rd, 2024, which is the date you will see on the nomination form.

Send the nomination package as a single .pdf document with the file saved as: last name of the nominee and institution (i.e., Newton_OhioU) to Nathan Blackburn (director of communications and professional development for the Graduate College, overseer of all award submissions) at blackburnn@ohio.edu. Please indicate the field of competition in the subject line.

The nomination form, a list of past winners, and additional information can be found here.

Nomination Form [PDF]

Questions?

Please contact Nathan Blackburn at blackburnn@ohio.edu with any questions. More information about this award can be found on the MAGS website.