Graduate Student Research Grants

The Office of Sponsored Programs and Research invites graduate students to apply for the Graduate Student Research Grants program. Students should apply using the designated application materials. Grants will be awarded through a competitive process. Students may be awarded one Graduate Student Research Grant per year.

Students currently enrolled in a graduate degree program at MSU Texas are eligible to apply. Before submitting a proposal, students must obtain approval from their faculty mentor, graduate coordinator, and department chair.

The maximum funding for Graduate Student Research Grants is $750.

All projects must receive supplemental support from the applicant’s department. Departments may choose to provide supplemental support in two ways: 1) additional funding that contributes to the conduct of the research or creative project, and/or 2) in-kind support, such as the use of university resources and facilities that contributes to the conduct of the research or creative project. Scholarships do not qualify as supplemental support for the purposes of this grant. Supplemental support must be described in the application on the Project Summary page.

Funds will be awarded for operating expenses, supplies, equipment, and research-related travel. Grants will not fund travel for dissemination purposes (e.g. conferences and scholarly meetings).

Funds must be expended before the end of the academic year. Extensions through Aug. 31 may be available for summer research. Contact OSPR (sponsoredprograms@msutexas.edu) to request an extension.

Complete proposals will be read and evaluated on the basis of intellectual and creative merit and adherence to proposal guidelines. Incomplete proposals will not be evaluated. Moreover, the quality and clarity of the written text will be important considerations.

Title to all permanent materials and equipment purchased with MSU Texas funds rests with Midwestern State University. Current university policy will prevail to answer questions regarding intellectual property rights for research or creative productions resulting from projects supported by MSU Texas funds. If the grant recipient’s enrollment at MSU Texas terminates during the award period, the grant terminates on the same day.

A final report of the funded project is due in the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research no later than 30 days after the end of the project. This final report should be completed using the Graduate Student Research Grant Final Report Template, available on the OSPR website. The final report should include a final budget, summary of work, and description of results or output.

Proposals will be accepted throughout the academic year. Students may apply at any time. If a student is applying for funding in conjunction with a faculty member’s intramural grant application, the student application should be submitted by the faculty intramural grant deadline. For information about faculty intramural grant deadlines, please see the Faculty Intramural Grants web page on the OSPR website.

The application must be completed on the provided application template and submitted as a single PDF document. Applications should be submitted via email to sponsoredprograms@msutexas.edu. The narrative shall not exceed ten (10) pages. Proposals that do not adhere to the application guidelines will not be considered for funding. Application guidelines and templates can be downloaded from the "Application Materials" tab on this web page.

To aid in the thorough evaluation of your proposal, please ensure that the language within the application is jargon-free and clear to readers.

The application template can be downloaded from the "Application Materials" tab on this web page. All applications should be completed on the template.

1. Project summary sheet, which includes an abstract and description of supplemental support from your department. 
2. A resume or CV that emphasizes educational background and academic qualifications. Limit: one (1) page.
3. Budget: The budget information must be entered into the required budget spreadsheet template.
4. Narrative (Limit: 10 pages)
   
   1. Purpose/aims of the research
   2. Research question(s) and/or hypothesis(es): state the research question(s) and/or hypothesis(es) that will be examined through this project
   3. Justification of the importance of the project;
   4. Brief literature review with citations/references in MLA, APA, or other discipline-specific format;
   5. Research Design and methodology: clearly describe how the project will be carried out;
   6. Protection of human subjects/animals (if applicable): Clearly describe the methods for protection of human subjects or animals and state plans for obtaining IRB or IACUC approval if required.
   7. Budget justification: In the proposal narrative, clearly explain all budget expenditures. You should itemize expenses. For travel, please explain each category of expense (e.g. transportation, lodging); for research, please explain purchases in each category (e.g. supplies and operating expenses).
   8. Timeline for the project, by month.
5. Obtain signatures from your faculty advisor, graduate coordinator, and department chair on the Project Summary sheet.

Graduate Student Research Grant Guidelines

Graduate Student Research Grant Application Template

Graduate Student Research Grant Final Report Template (coming soon)