Nominations must come directly from a department/faculty. Students may not apply for this award.

The Graduate School (GS) has closed nominations for the University Fellowship (formerly known as the Meritorious Award), for Fall 2024. The purpose of this award is to attract outstanding new doctoral students and thus grow graduate student enrollment in alignment with the university’s academic strategic plan.

Each award is $5K/year for up to 5-years. 

Nomination Instructions

Interested programs need to submit:

  1. Name of student
  2. Degree program
  3. Admission semester
  4. GTA or GRA?
  5. Monthly stipend that will be included in the offer of admission
  6. What is the OSU average stipend for an assistantship in this field
  7. How many years of assistantship are provided in the offer of admission, contingent on satisfactory progress
  8. 1-page nominating statement

Award Funding and Distribution Details

  • The award is for new graduate students matriculating Fall of 2024.
  • In order to retain the award, the student must maintain good academic standing (term and cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher) as noted on this link to the G.S. policy pages.
  • A payment of $2,500 will be dispersed to the student’s account during the fall and spring semesters for five years (total amount $25,000). Typically, payments are made into a student’s account after the first week of classes.
  • In the event that the student has declined admission or has deferred admission to another term, the funding will return to the general pool. In that case, the Graduate School may offer the award to an alternate nominee who may or may not be an applicant in the same department.
  • Click here to nominate a student for the University Fellowship.