Guidelines For The Preparation Of Nominations For Graduate Dean's Fellowship

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Last Updated: Oct 29, 2026, 08:15 AM

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Graduate Dean's Fellowship

The Graduate Dean's Fellowship (GDF) is designed for individuals from underrepresented groups who have overcome social, cultural, or economic conditions. Awards will be given to students who are qualified by the usual indicators of promise for success in graduate study.

When awarded, the Graduate School will enter into an arrangement with participating programs to provide a student with funding for two consecutive years. During year one, the Graduate School will fund the award for eleven (11) months as a fellowship. During year two, the academic program will fund the award as an assistantship appointment for nine (9) months.

The Graduate Dean's Fellowship is a two-year award for new and continuing students who have been unconditionally admitted to either a master's or doctoral degree program.

Note: The Graduate Dean's Fellowship is considered a recruitment/retention tool, and it is not to be given to students who are in the final stages of their degree. Students who have previously held a GDF are not eligible for this award.

Stipends and Tenure of Award

In year one, the Graduate School will fund the award for eleven (11) months as a fellowship. During this appointment, the recipient is awarded a monthly stipend at the current Graduate School's graduate assistant rate for fall, spring, and summer. The recipient will be assigned a 10- hour per week research assignment that will provide professional development opportunities for the student and be of value to the academic program. The research assignment will be consistent with the student's educational objectives and training. The Program Chair will determine the training module and monitor the student's progress. The recipient must enroll for a minimum of nine (9) graduate credit hours for Fall and Spring and three (3) for Summer. 

In year two, the academic program will fund the award for nine (9) months as an assistantship. During this appointment, the recipient is awarded a monthly stipend based on the current academic program graduate assistant rate for fall and spring. In year two, the recipient will be assigned 20 hours per week during the fall and spring semesters in teaching or research activities that will be assigned and supervised by the academic program. The recipient must enroll for a minimum of eight (8) graduate credit hours for fall and spring semesters, and optional summer enrollment of three (3) graduate credit hours.

Please note that 601 or audit courses do not count toward the registration requirement.

A tuition scholarship will be awarded for fall, spring, and summer for both years. Recipients are responsible for all fees. Recipients will start their fellowship in the fall semester.

Recipients are not permitted to accept employment inside or outside of the University.

During special recruitment and graduate enhancement events held at SIU, the Graduate School will solicit the attendance of the Fellows to participate in seminars, orientation, and the Assembly of Fellows programs. The Fellows will also be expected to present at internal research or create events.

Tax Information

Fellowship stipends are paid through the University's payroll system which requires income taxes to be withheld. Fellows will fill out the Employee's W-4 Withholding Allowance Certificate form (W-4 form) as part of the research fellowship award packet. Information on taxation of fellowship awards may be found in IRS Publication 970: Tax Benefits for Education (PDF).

Eligibility

Nominees must meet the following criteria:

  1. A new or continuing student who has been unconditionally admitted to either a master's or doctoral degree program.
  2. An earned degree(s) from an accredited institution of higher learning.
  3. A minimum grade point average of 3.0 (scale 4.0 = A) on approximately the last 60 hours of undergraduate work (or the last 45 hours if the student has not graduated), and, when appropriate, a graduate grade point average of 3.25.
  4. A member of a traditionally underrepresented group (as outlined by IBHE)
  5. A U.S. citizen or permanent resident/immigrant.

Note that a master's student cannot receive more than three calendar years (36 months) of financial support (support limits may vary) unless granted an exception by the Graduate School. A doctoral student cannot receive more than six calendar years (72 months) of internal financial support unless granted an exception by the Graduate School.

Criteria for Awarding Graduate Dean's Fellowship

Graduate Dean's awards will be offered to those nominees who show the greatest promise for scholarly and professional achievement in their respective disciplines as determined by an evaluation panel. The following criteria will be employed as indices of promise:
  1. The assessment by the program of the nominee's abilities, achievements, and promise for success in Graduate School.
  2. Overall undergraduate and graduate grade point averages. Scores on standard tests such as GRE, MAT, or GMAT will be considered appropriate.
  3. Strength of letters of recommendation from persons who are familiar with the nominee's academic record and who are qualified to judge his/her promise for success in the program.
  4. Academic indicators of potential, other than grade point average or test scores, such as honors, publications, and awards.
  5. Program commitment to provide a half-time assistantship appointment to the academically successful applicant in his/her second year of graduate study.

Deadlines – Close of business

January 22, 2027 - Deadline for submission of Program Nomination materials to the Graduate School.

February 19, 2027 - Date fellowship offers are to be announced.

April 15, 2027 - Deadline for acceptance of offers.

Submission Process

The fellowship nomination packet should be submitted via email (in .pdf format) to gaoffice@siu.edu. The email Subject should be Graduate Dean's Fellowship Nomination – Last Name. Packets received after the above deadline will be considered ineligible.

Programs submitting multiple nomination packets should create a .pdf file for each nomination packet.

Required Application/Nomination Materials for the Graduate Dean's Fellowship

The nomination materials are routed among members of an evaluation committee; therefore, each set of materials for each student should be complete in and of itself. Only nominees whose nomination materials are complete will be considered in the competition. A completed nomination dossier will include the following in the order listed below:

1. GRADUATE DEAN'S FELLOWSHIP PACKET CHECKLIST

  1. Completed by the program.

2. APPLICATION FOR GRADUATE DEAN'S FELLOWSHIP AWARD

  1. Completed by the student or by the program; please check to make sure the data is
    up-to-date.
  2. Program completes section “For Program Signature”:
  • Indicate the specific award for which the student is being nominated.
  • Provide the signature of the Program Chair or Director of Graduate Studies, the date, and the name of the program making the nomination.
  • Students cannot apply on their own. They must submit all documents to the program for nomination.
3. AWARD ESSAY
  1. Completed by the student.
  2. Two-page (maximum) award essay that must describe how the student's personal or family background, life, cultural, and/or ethnic experiences could contribute to a more reflective, responsive environment in the program, the discipline, and in the larger academic community.
4. PERSONAL STATEMENT
  1. Completed by the student.
  2. Three-page (maximum) personal statement indicating firsthand experiences, educational goals, and professional interests and how these items can contribute to a more reflective, responsive environment in the program, the discipline, and the larger university community. The statement should also address academic qualifications regarding academic excellence which should include, but not be limited to the following: academic achievements, honors, awards, publications, and extracurricular activities.

5. CURRICULUM VITAE

  1.  Completed by the student.

6. PROGRAM'S GRADUATE DEAN'S NOMINATION FORM

  1. Completed by the program.
  2. Graduate Degree and GPA, if any.
  3. GRE/MAT/GMAT results (recommended but not required).
  4. Program's Ranking. The rankings of the nominee relative to all other fellowship nominees from the program. For example, a program might submit five fellowship nominees. In this case, it would state for each nominee that he or she was '1 of 5' or '2 of 5', etc.
  5.  Define the reasons this student is being nominated and the basis for the program's ranking. Include such factors as the academic quality of the program from which the student received their degrees, and information concerning any special accomplishments, which qualify them for a master's-level award. Also, include any information supporting the student's commitment to advanced study and a summary of any experience since being awarded the bachelor's degree. PLEASE TYPE.
7. TRANSCRIPTS

a. Please attach copies of final transcripts for ALL institutions that grant degrees, even if a degree was not obtained. This includes transcripts from SIU.

  1. A missing transcript will result in the automatic rejection of the fellowship application.

8. STANDARDIZED TESTS SCORES (recommended but not required)

a. If applicable, please attach a copy of the official standardized test score.

  1.  Acceptable standardized tests are GRE, MAT, or GMAT.
9. THREE (3) LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION
  1. These should be from persons who are familiar with the nominee's academic record and who are qualified to judge his or her promise for success in graduate studies. These letters may be copies of those already received in the program in support of the nominee's application for admission to the program; however, it may be preferable to have new letters specifically written to support the fellowship nomination.
  2. These letters should refer to one or more of the following characteristics/skills: communication, creativity, explanation (a reason or cause for some phenomena or finding), motivation, planning, professionalism, and synthesis (those skills that facilitate the development of an expert domain of knowledge structures). The letters should accompany the nomination; they should not be sent separately to the Graduate School.