Guidelines For The Preparation Of Nominations For Prompt Assistantship

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

PROMPT ASSISTANTSHIP

The PROMPT Program (Proactive Recruitment of Multicultural Professionals for Tomorrow) is an initiative developed by the Graduate School of Southern Illinois University (SIU) to increase the number of individuals receiving advanced degrees in the United States from families who have traditionally not had access to the opportunities of higher education and who, through their life and/or cultural experiences, have unique and potentially positive contributions to make to the program, the discipline, and in the larger academic community. The Graduate School, in alliance with participating academic programs, will provide financial assistance packages to competitive, admissible students to pursue advanced study at SIU Carbondale.

When awarded, the Graduate School will enter into a “shared” arrangement wherein the half-time assistantship of one new student is supported by both the Graduate School and the program for two consecutive years.

The PROMPT Assistantship is a two-year, half-time assistantship for new students who have been unconditionally admitted to either a master's or doctoral degree program.

Note: The PROMPT Assistantship is considered a recruitment tool and will not be awarded to continuing students. Students who have previously held a PROMPT Assistantship are not eligible for this award.

Stipends and Tenure of Award

PROMPT recipients will receive a nine-month assistantship appointment for Fall and Spring for up to a maximum of two years. The monthly stipend for the recipients of the PROMPT Assistantship will be based on the current program graduate assistantship rate. This assistantship provides a tuition scholarship for fall, spring, and summer. Recipients are responsible for fees. Recipients will start their assistantship in the fall semester.

Students holding PROMPT Assistantship appointments will be required to commit twenty (20) hours per week to teaching, research, or clinical activities that will be assigned and supervised by the recipient's academic program.

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.

PROMPT recipients must remain in the Carbondale area as fulfillment of their award except with permission by the Graduate Dean or his/her designee.

PROMPT recipients must enroll as full-time students (a minimum of eight graduate credit hours for fall and spring, and optional summer enrollment of three graduate credit hours). A minimum grade point average of 3.0 must be maintained each term.

Eligibility

Nominees must meet the following criteria:

  1. A new incoming 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.
  5. A U.S. Citizen.

Criteria for Awarding PROMPT Assistantship

PROMPT 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 as appropriate.
  3. Strength of letters of recommendation from persons who are familiar with 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 participate in the shared assistantship.

For more details on preparing the PROMPT nomination packet, please follow the instructions in the section below entitled “Required Nomination Materials for the PROMPT Assistantship.”

Deadlines – Close of business

January 22, 2027: Deadline for submission of PROMPT Assistantship nomination materials to the Graduate School.

February 19, 2027: Date assistantship offers are to be announced.

April 15, 2027: Deadline for acceptance of offers.

Submission Process

The completed fellowship nomination packet should be submitted via email (in .pdf format) to gaoffice@siu.edu. The email Subject should be PROMPT 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 PROMPT Assistantship

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. PROMPT Assistantship PACKET CHECKLIST

  1. Completed by the program.

2. APPLICATION FOR PROMPT Assistantship 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”:
  1. Indicate the specific award for which the student is being nominated.
  2. Provide the signature of the Program Chair or Director of Graduate Studies, the date, and the name of the program making the nomination.
  3. 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 PROMPT ASSISTANTSHIP 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 PROMPT Assistantship nominees from the program. For example, a program might submit 5 PROMPT Assistantship 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. 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 PROMPT Assistantship 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.