Graduate Fellowships

• Funding is competitive and is limited to disciplines that are supported by the NSF, including in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and in STEM education.

• Only U.S. citizens, nationals, and permanent residents are eligible to apply. See the NSF GRFP website for details.

• Proposals are usually due to the National Science Foundation in mid-October; however, the Graduate School urges interested students to visit the NSF GRFP website for up-to-date information about submission deadlines.

• The Graduate School also encourages interested students to visit the LSU Discover website  for up-to-date information about eligibility, deadlines, and LSU support.

A research proposal must be submitted directly to the National Science Foundation (via Research.gov)

The Graduate School encourages interested students to visit the LSU Discover website for information about eligibility and a listing of LSU-sponsored workshops to help you write a competitive proposal.

Post-Doctoral Fellow or Candidate for Terminal DegreeThis year up to 10 scholars from each SEC institution will be selected, with no more than three post docs and the remaining participants currently in terminal graduate programs. We are asking you to nominate top scholars from your program or unit who:

• are beyond the first year of graduate work,

• have demonstrated exceptional research and/or teaching skill,

• and shown an interest in seeking a career in higher education, or who you believe would make an exemplary faculty candidate. 

• A nomination letter (one-page maximum) indicating what makes this candidate particularly promising for a tenure track position at an SEC university and how they would benefit from the SEC Emerging Scholars program. Please address as applicable their post-graduate status or standing in a graduate program,including milestones(s) (Master's thesis, General Defense, Dissertation Defense) passed and milestone remaining.

• A candidate statement (one-page maximum) describing their academic goals and what they seek to gain from this experience. This statement must include one section on professional aspirations and one section on their contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• A current curriculum vitae (CV) for the nominated candidate.  

• The deadline for nominations from the department is generally in early Spring.

• Interested students should contact their departments in the Fall to find out more information about the submission process.

• Departments can access the most updated deadlines our InfoReady Award Portal.

• Students receiving this fellowship must meet the standards established by the Graduate School. These include a cumulative LSU Graduate GPA 3.5 or greater.

• At the time of application, student must have already passed a Graduate School milestone exam (general defense, comprehensive exam, or specialty exam) and, if applicable, completion of an approved prospectus in your Department.

• The required milestone exam form must be submitted to the Graduate School prior to the student starting the Fellowship.

• Stipend = $25,000. The award is valid for the contract period or until student graduates, whichever is shorter.

• The recipient must be enrolled as a full-time graduate student in a degree program, and must make satisfactory progress to continue in the award.

• Students must maintain full-time (9 hours in Fall and Spring) enrollment in dissertation credits or a combination of dissertation hours and other coursework associated with the Practicum/Internship and /or their chosen Minor to receive the award.

• Recipients are exempt from resident tuition and non-resident fee (if applicable) depending on appointment dates. Students must be full time enrolled and on the fellowship on or before the last day to add courses to receive these exemptions.

• Students are responsible for paying other applicable fees.

• The student may not hold any other graduate fellowship or award. Other campus employment is prohibited.

• Teaching is not allowed while on this fellowship.

• Must devote full time to the completion of their degree.

• Any exception to these requirements must be approved by the Office of the Dean of the LSU Graduate School or higher campus authority.

• The deadline for nominations from the department to be received by the Graduate School is generally in early Spring.

• Departments can access the most updated deadlines our InfoReady Award Portal.

• All nomination materials must be submitted via our InfoReady Award Portal.

Admission Eligibility Requirements

Students must meet the standards established by the Graduate School:

• U.S. Citizenship

• Must have an overall undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0. [This GPA is calculated based on the GPA earned at ALL undergraduate institutions that the nominee has attended.]

• A member of a historically underrepresented group. These groups are African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, US Pacific Islander, and first-generation college student from low-income families.

• Strong letters of recommendation from persons knowledgeable of the nominee’s academic achievements.

• Students must be an entering doctoral student at the time of the award.

  Note: LSU Masters students who are transitioning to PhD/Doctoral programs in the same academic Department are NOT eligible.

Continuing Eligibility Requirements

Students must meet the following requirements: 

• Must remain in good standing in the Graduate School and at LSU.

• Must maintain a semester AND an overall LSU graduate GPA of 3.0 or above.

• Cannot hold other appointments or be otherwise employed while holding a Perkins Fellowship.

• Must maintain full-time status in the Fall (9 hours), Spring (9 hours), and Summer (6 hours).

• Must enroll in at least 6 hours of graduate work in the Fall, Spring, and Summer.

• Must make satisfactory progress toward doctoral degree.

  • including meeting GPA requirements listed above;

  • meeting Departmental and Graduate School deadlines for submission of degree documents (for example, exam requests, proposals, programs of study); and

  • completing the General Defense (formerly known as the General Exam) by the end of the sixth regular semester of enrollment.

• Must submit an annual progress report to gradawards@lsu.edu prior to the last day of classes in the Spring semester.

  If for any reason a Fellow does not fulfill the above requirements, the fellowship will be terminated and the student may owe the University a portion of the tuition and fees for that current semester. The repayment of any charges will be based on the refund schedule as published in the registration booklet each semester.

The nomination package has three components:

• The student’s statement of interest (available as part of the applicant’s graduate application in Slate)

• Letter of recommendation from a faculty member from the applicant’s undergraduate institution who has first-hand knowledge of the student’s potential that should be pulled from the student’s graduate application (available as part of the applicant’s graduate application in Slate)

• Nomination letter from the Chair of Department to which the student is applying explaining the student’s academic and non-academic strengths and how this student will contribute to the diversity of the program, in particular, Department Chairs should include demographic data about the diversity of their current PhD/Doctoral program (Note: not all graduate programs in the Department; limit demographic data to the Department’s PhD/Doctoral program).

Departments must submit candidates for consideration. Departments with up to 50 Ph.D. students can submit two (2) nominations; those with 51-100 Ph.D. students can submit three (3) nominations, and those with more than 100 Ph.D. students can submit four (4) nominations.

A multi-discipline review committee will review nominations and select Fellowship recipients based on the following considerations:

• Academic and non-academic strengths and achievements

• The extent to which to applicant contributes to the diversity of the graduate program

• The nominee’s personal statement of their expectations for graduate study and future career goals.

• The deadline for nominations from the department is generally in early Spring.

• Interested students should contact their departments in the Fall to find out more information about the submission process.

• Departments can access the most updated deadlines our InfoReady Award Portal.  

Fellows are appointed on a fiscal-year basis and must enroll as a full-time student for Summer as well as for Fall and Spring semesters. While a tuition exemption is provided for both resident tuition and non-resident fees, students are responsible for paying any other applicable University fees. SREB Fellowships can be supplemented by the department. The Fellowships can be continued for up to three consecutive years if funding is available; departments should plan to continue Fellowships from other funding sources for students who take longer than three years to complete their terminal degree.

Stipends: 

• Each student (up to two (2) fellowships awarded) will receive a stipend of $10,000 per year from the Louisiana Board of Regents. This stipend amount is comparable to other fellowship stipends offered at LSU and by our peer institutions and is necessary to remain competitive with other universities.

Additional Support Cost:

• The LSU Graduate School will provide a $15,000 per year enhancement to each of the two fellowships as institutional match . This raises the actual stipend level to $25,000 per year. This stipend level ($25,000) matches the general range of stipends provided by our peer institutions in the U.S.

Other Educational Cost:

• Tuition exemptions will be provided as institutional match at the rate of $10,930 per year per student

Other Support - SREB Membership: 

• Each student receives the benefit of membership at $5,000 each in the Southern Regional Educational Board Doctoral Scholars Program. As members of this group, each student receives a web page in the Doctoral Scholars Program website, counseling and mentoring from members of the SREB, travel support and assistance with other areas of life as a doctoral student.

• Students also attend the annual meeting of The Compact for Faculty Diversity as part of the Annual Institute on Teaching and Mentoring. This interaction with other scholars from across the nation, faculty sponsors, and recruiters provides significant support for the completion of the doctorate and subsequent employment.

Other Support - Faculty Mentor Attendance at Institute:

• Student support is supplemented in year one in the amount of $2,500 to enable the primary faculty mentor for each SREB scholar to attend the Institute at least once during the student’s tenure. While funds for this purpose must be budgeted in the first year of the award, they may be carried over if the faculty mentor prefers to attend in the second or third year. To serve as primary mentor, the faculty member must attend the Institute during the student’s BoRSF funding period.

   

Admission Eligibility 

Candidates must be a:

• Newly entering doctoral student or doctoral student entering their second semester.

• U.S. Citizen or U.S. National

   

• Member of a historically under-represented group in graduate schools

  • African American/Black

  • Hispanic American

  • Native American

  • Alaskan Native

  • Native Hawaiian

  • Other US. Pacific Islanders

    Note: First-generation students are NOT eligible for the SREB Fellowship.

Continuing Eligibility

• Must remain in good standing in the Graduate School.

• Must maintain a 3.0 overall and semester GPA.

  Students are appointed on a fiscal-year basis and must enroll for summer as well as fall and spring semesters.

• Must maintain full-time status in the Fall (9 hours), Spring (9 hours), and Summer (6 hours) terms.

  • While a tuition exemption is provided for both resident tuition and non-resident fees, students are responsible for paying applicable University fees.

• Must make satisfactory progress toward a doctoral degree.

  • The term “satisfactory progress” includes maintaining semester and cumulative grade point averages of at least 3.0 and meeting the appropriate deadlines for submission of degree documents such as programs of study, exam requests, etc.

• Must provide one semester of teaching services as determined by his/her graduate advisor/department.

• Must have one semester of a significant community engagement component as determined by the LSU Graduate School Dean/mentor.

• Must schedule a meeting with the Dean of the Graduate School and/or his/her designee at least annually to discuss progress.

• Must email an annual progress report (narrative) to gradawards@lsu.edu. This report is due by the last day of class (as determined by the University Calendar) spring semester. Further details of this report will be included in the letter of agreement.

• Must notify the Dean of the Graduate School of any changes that may affect eligibility.

• If for any reason a Fellowship recipient does not fulfill the above requirements, his/her fellowship will be terminated and the student may owe the university a portion of the tuition charges for the current semester. The repayment of any charges will be based on the refund schedule as published in the registration booklet each semester.

• The student’s statement of interest (available as part of the applicant’s graduate application in Slate)

• Letter of recommendation from a faculty member from the applicant’s undergraduate institution who has first-hand knowledge of the student’s potential that should be pulled from the student’s graduate application (available as part of the applicant’s graduate application in Slate).

• Nomination letter from the Chair of Department to which the student is applying explaining the student’s academic and non-academic strengths and how this student will contribute to the diversity of the program, in particular, Department Chairs should include demographic data about the diversity of their current PhD/Doctoral program

  (Note: not all graduate programs in the Department; limit demographic data to the Department’s PhD/Doctoral program).

Departments must submit candidates for consideration. A selection committee appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School will review nominations from departments and select recipients based upon the following considerations:

• Academic and non-academic strengths and achievements.

• The extent to which the student contributes to the diversity of the graduate program and the field of study.

• Applicant’s personal statement of their expectations of graduate study.