The Graduate College Thesis Research Support Fellowship - Spring (ST6627)

Thesis Research Support Fellowships are competitive fellowships designed to support master’s students’ thesis research. These fellowships are given as grants-in-aid and may not cover the full costs of students’ thesis research. Funds must be used only to cover expenses directly related to thesis research, with recipients submitting a final report to the associate dean that details their progress and the use of their funds. The fellowships are available for continuing master’s students enrolled at Texas State University and are offered twice per year.

We highly recommend watching the Tips for Graduate College Research Support Fellowship Applications video (26 minutes) before beginning your Thesis Research Support Fellowship application.

Award Details
Your budget and budget rationale can include a request of up to $2,000 to help defray some of the expenses directly related to conducting your thesis research.

Examples of allowable expenditures include the following items:

• materials/supplies to support the research
• travel which directly relates to conducting the research
• equipment with specific configurations or uses not otherwise already available through the university
• other research-related expenses approved by the thesis committee chair and The Graduate College

Examples of expenditures not allowed include the following items:

• travel to conferences to present research papers or posters (see Graduate Student Travel Funds for more information)
• equipment already available through the university (e.g., software, computers*)
• cost for printing and/or binding the thesis
• publication costs
• tuition

*Note: There are, of course, circumstances that may merit the request for a laptop computer, such as international field work or other cases when a student would not have access to equipment available through the university. In all cases, it is up to the applicant and the advisor to justify the expense in the fellowship application and explain why the equipment is not otherwise available to the student. In other words, the budget justification should clearly and convincingly explain the need.

Eligibility Requirements
In order to meet the eligibility requirements, you must

• be enrolled in a thesis master’s program at Texas State University
• be in good academic standing
• have an approved thesis proposal, and approved Thesis Proposal form, on file in The Graduate College a week prior to the application deadline
  
  • If you are not familiar with the process of thesis proposals in your program, please meet with your Program Advisor as soon as possible. It is important to understand the timeline of the various levels and types of approvals for a thesis. Your thesis proposal must first be approved by your thesis committee and then signed by your Program Advisor and the Chair of your department; after that, it is sent to The Graduate College for review and approval. If your thesis project requires IRB (human subjects, including secondary datasets) or IACUC (animals) approvals, please be aware that those approvals must be obtained through Research Integrity and Compliance prior to submitting your thesis proposal and Thesis Proposal form to The Graduate College. The Graduate College cannot approve a thesis proposal that requires IRB or IACUC regulatory approvals prior to those approvals being provided.
• be enrolled in a thesis course during the semester in which the award is made
• not be a previous recipient of a Thesis Research Support Fellowship

If you log into the scholarship system and the Thesis Research Support Fellowship does not appear in your list of available scholarships, you currently do not meet one of the eligibility requirements, e.g., we may not have received your thesis proposal yet. If you have questions regarding your eligibility, please email us at gcresfel@txstate.edu.

Application Requirements

First, you must sign into the Bobcat Online Scholarship System (BOSS) and complete the general application. The additional items below must also be submitted through BOSS in order to complete your Thesis Research Support Fellowship application. Note: it is the applicant’s responsibility to submit the application materials to the scholarship system. However, it is recommended that you first provide a copy of all application materials to your thesis committee chair, as a support letter from your chair is required. (Your chair will submit the support letter directly to the scholarship system, separate from the rest of the application materials.)
Please note that uploading application materials in PDF format is preferred.

• narrative description of your thesis research project using jargon-free language appropriate for a non-specialized audience as often as possible. Please include a title at the top of your narrative, and adhere to the following formatting specifications:
• two pages or less (this should not include your reference section; a reference section will be a separate item that you can upload, if needed, in the scholarship system)
• single-spaced
• 12-point font
• one-inch margins
• a budget document, consisting of the following:
• itemized budget request with exact costs of items (when possible) and not exceeding the $2,000 maximum allowable with the fellowship.
• a narrative justification for each item in the itemized budget, including information about purchasing source (when possible).
• a section answering the following questions:
• 1. Does this request cover all the costs for your project? YES/NO
• 2. (If NO to Question 1) What is the total budget for your project? (for this question, list amount only, not itemized costs)
• 3. (If NO to Question 1) What additional sources of funding have you applied for or already received to support the costs that exceed the $2,000 maximum allowable budget? (list names of funding opportunities, amounts, and status of application)
• reference section (if needed)
• letter of support from your thesis committee chair addressing the following:
• the merits of the proposed research
• the appropriateness of the proposal’s budget, including:
• why the requested items are needed to complete the project; and
• whether or not the student has access to the items without Fellowship funding
• application checklist

Important: Submitting an incomplete application, an incorrect budget or budget justification, or a budget request that exceeds the maximum allowable amount will disqualify your application from review.

In addition, please remember to follow the formatting instructions noted above regarding page limits, font size, margins, and line spacing in your application materials. Failure to follow the instructions will disqualify your application from review.

Application Period
There are two rounds of applications each year. All application requirements must be submitted during the following time periods:

• fall semester round: April 15 – June 30;
• spring semester round: September 15 – November 15

Successful applications are often begun well in advance of the closing date of the application period.

Your thesis proposal must be formally approved by The Graduate College a minimum of one week prior to the close of the application period.

Selection Process
Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee appointed by the graduate dean. The selection committee will make its recommendations to the dean of The Graduate College, who will make the final decision.

Final Report
If you are awarded a Thesis Research Support Fellowship, you will be required to submit a report, approved by your thesis committee chair, to the associate dean of The Graduate College within one year of receiving the fellowship or upon completion of the thesis, whichever occurs first. The final report is submitted online and consists of several short summaries (e.g., summary of project, summary of how funds were spent, summary of how the Fellowship supported your thesis research) that detail your progress in completing your thesis and your use of the funds in support of the research.

Questions
Please visit our frequently asked questions page for more information or email gcresfel@txstate.edu.