Applications are open for departments to a request a PhD Start GRA award for fall 2023

Departments can apply for an award for new PhD students for fall 2023. Each award will have an $20,000 10-month stipend (fall 2023 & spring 2024)  and includes up to 12 tuition waivers each semester. The appointment will be as a GTA or GRA with an expected average of 19 hours of work per week. Fees are not covered by this award. The PhD student must be starting as a new graduate student at MSU in fall 2023. The program does not need to know which student will be appointed at the time the program submits an application for this award.

Priority will be given to:

  1. Newer PhD programs (those started since 2016; Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Indigenous and Rural Health) to help develop a critical mass of students as the faculty strengthens research funding.
  2. Established PhD programs who have small numbers of PhD students and want to grow, e.g., programs in the “needs improvement” part of the PhD prioritization study, but not strictly limited to these four.
  3. Programs that plan to recruit PhD students who already have a master’s degree in the field and have not typically recruited this category of students before.

 

For fall 2023, we anticipate having funding for ~10 PhD Start GRA awards. 

Interested programs need to submit via infoready

  1. Name of department
  2. Name and contact information of lead person making the proposal
  3. Upload a file (less than ~ 2 pages) that includes a description of the following:
    1. Recent PhD enrollment trends in the program.
    2. Retention and time-to-degree initiatives for PhD students.
    3. If applicable, how the program plans to recruit PhD students who already have a master’s degree in the field.
    4. How future assistantships appointments for the award recipient will be covered in subsequent terms/years.

Proposals should be submitted electronically via InfoReady by Jan 17, 2023. Faculty members will review proposals and make recommendations to the Dean of the Graduate School.