Nomination Instructions

Nomination Instructions

In order to nominate a graduate student for the Graduate Council Award for Exceptional, Original Scholarship, please complete the following instructions and submit with attachments. The nominees for this award should exhibit exceptional excellence in their scholarship. It is expected that the award will only be made if there are viable recipients. At most, 3 graduate students will receive this award per year. Final selection of these award recipients will be made by the Research Committee of the Graduate Council. The award recipients will receive a cash award, be recognized at the TWU Convocation, and will make a presentation at the annual Student Creative Arts and Research Symposium.

Nomination materials should be submitted in electronic format and emailed to Danita Cantu by 5:00 pm on March 7, 2024. If you need additional information or have questions, email dcantu5@twu.edu or call 940-898-3402.

Application Criteria

The application deadline is 5:00 pm on March 7, 2024. Master’s or Doctoral level students may be nominated by faculty. To be eligible, the student must be enrolled in the Spring semester of the nomination and must not have received this award in the past. Requirements for the application are:

1. The student should submit a vita in the University format to document their record of scholarly activity. Download our Format for Vita for Graduate Faculty Membership [Word]
2. The student must submit evidence of the activities that document exceptional scholarship. Only activities that document the student’s affiliation with Texas Woman’s University will be considered.
3. The student should write a narrative explaining why his/her contribution to the field is original and important; this could include examples from the student’s vita as well as an explanation of collaborative endeavors. In particular, within the narrative, the student should indicate his/her contribution to the scholarly activities that are presented as evidence of excellence. The student narrative should be no longer than two pages, double-spaced, with 11 or 12 point font and one-inch margins.
4. The application should include letters of support from the student’s faculty sponsor/advisor and at least one member of the student’s advisory committee. No more than 3 letters of support should be included. The faculty advisor should include a narrative specifying the significance of the student’s scholarship within their field of study and the degree to which the student was a primary contributor to the activity. Letters of support should be no longer than two pages, double-spaced, 11 or 12 point font and one-inch margins.