Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award
The Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award is open to any doctoral or MFA graduate student who has completed their candidacy requirement. Applicants are judged by their completed and /or ongoing research projects, participation in research events and conferences, presentations and publications, future research plans, and a letter of recommendation from a faculty mentor. The award is given in the areas of STEM, Social Sciences, and Humanities, for a total of 3 awards annually.
The OGSRA was started in 2019 with the goal of promoting the research productivity of graduate students, and changed in 2021 from a semester award to an annual award.
August 4, 2025 - The Graduate School is pleased to open applications for its Outstanding Graduate Student Research award. This cycle is recognizing research productivity and quality of work done during the 2024-2025 academic year.
Three awards will be given, one each in the categories of STEM, Humanities, and Social Science. Each award will consist of public recognition by the Graduate School, an award plaque, and an additional travel award to be used to attend a conference of the student’s choice and/or travel for dissertation research.
Eligibility:
- Must be a research candidate (doctoral or MFA) who has already completed their candidacy requirement
- Must have published (or have forthcoming) at least one paper or equivalent as a major contributor or received an outside grant/fellowship for research or had research accepted to present at a major national or international conference.
- Must have attended a conference within the last year
- Must have presented research in at least one additional venue, such as:
- Participated in 3-Minute Thesis
- Participated in the Baylor Graduate Research Showcase
- Presented your own research within your program (e.g., at a brown bag or seminar)
- Presented at a community event (e.g., at the Mayborn)
- Students who were previously given this award are eligible for a second time but must highlight significant additional progress subsequent to the first award in their application.
Application Requirements:
All applications will be evaluated by a graduate faculty panel of judges.
- Use the link to fill out your application form and upload supporting documents: APPLICATION LINK
- Within the online application you will enter the date you passed your candidacy exam (Month/Year)
- Request a letter of recommendation from your advisor in conjunction with your application. Note: the online application will ask you to enter your advisor’s name, and an email will be sent requesting them to upload their letter directly to your application.
- Submit a document addressing the following (3 page maximum, submitted as a PDF at the end of the online application):
- Summary of your research project(s) and progress made, especially noting innovation and impact. Please write for a general audience, as judges come from a variety of fields.
- Future research plans. Please be as specific as possible.
- The following should be included on your CV; any of these may also be mentioned in the 3 page document in order to detail your contributions to your field:
- Dates of participation of 3 Minute Thesis, Research Showcase, Travel Awards, or other research presentations, as well as title of projects.
- Publications (for multiple author publications, describe your specific contributions; please include full citations for each publication).
- Presentations (please include full details about presentations, including title and date of presentation).
- Other awards/achievements (include any stipend enhancement from the Graduate School, and any previous receipt of this award).
- Include a copy of your CV or resume (not included in the 3 page maximum, but included in the above PDF).
- To be considered for 2024-2025 award selection, submit your application by Tuesday, September 2, 2025.
2024-2025 Award Winners
Humanities
Past Award Recipients
Humanities: Eric Brewer, Department of Religion
STEM: Kirtunia Rahul, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Social Sciences: Beatrice N. Ruiz, Department of Educational Psychology
Humanities: Anna Wells, Department of Religion
STEM: Uvin De Alwis, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Social Sciences: Steven Foertsch, Department of Sociology
Note: Starting with the 2022-23 academic year, the award cycle changed from a semesterly to an annual basis.
Andrew Sutherland, Department of Religion
Sean Dwyer, Department of Entrepreneurship & Corporate Innovation
Jacob Hatvany, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
Marco Franco, Department of Environmental Science
Noah Padgett, Department of Educational Psychology
Samuel Tandei, School of Music
Note: The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the award cycle in 2020 and 2021.
Sørina Higgins, English
Tyler Prochnow, Health, Human Performance, and Recreation
Jeff Strietzel, Higher Education Studies & Leadership
Rebekah Burket, Environmental Science
Samantha Hodges, Institute of Biomedical Studies
Rachel Renbarger, Educational Psychology