Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring by a Faculty Member Award

Award nominations open September 24, 2025, deadline: April 20, 2026

The Office of Graduate Education invites nominations for the Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring by a Faculty Member Award. This award was established to recognize OSU Graduate Faculty members’ outstanding commitment to mentoring graduate students. The faculty recipient of this award will have had direct and significant involvement with OSU graduate students, typically as a major advisor, principle investigator, or committee member, along with demonstrated effectiveness as a graduate student mentor.

The recipient of this award will be a Graduate Faculty member who has an extraordinary record of excellence in activities including, but not limited to:

  1. Facilitating smooth transitions for entering and exiting graduate student
  2. Being accessible to students
  3. Fostering a welcoming environment that honors students’ rich and varied backgrounds and goals
  4. Effectively coaching graduate students through the graduate school experience and accompanying milestones
  5. Connecting graduate students with appropriate intellectual and professional networks
  6. Guiding graduate students toward scholarly and professional independence
  7. Supporting graduate students’ professional development and career pursuits

The award

The recipient receives funding in the amount of $2,000, available as a cash award or transferred to a department fund for use by the awardee.

Eligibility

The award is open to faculty members who hold Graduate Faculty status and who actively mentor OSU graduate students.

Evaluation criteria

  • Quality of nominating letters in specifically describing the nominee’s commitment and effectiveness as a mentor of graduate students
  • Quality of nominee’s statement and CV in specifically describing their approach and commitment to mentoring graduate students
  • Nominee’s overall commitment and effectiveness as a mentor of graduate students in conjunction with the activities described above (a-g) and as discussed in the nominating letters and nominee’s CV

Nomination period

The nomination period begins on September 24, 2025. All nominations must be submitted by 11:59 p.m., April 20, 2026. Awards will be determined in late May 2026.

Nomination procedure

Nominees cannot apply directly for this award. Nominations must be submitted by the graduate program director, department head, school head, associate dean, or other college leadership. Each unit (as defined by university major code) may nominate no more than ONE nominee (total) per award cycle.

In the online nomination form, nominators will be required to prepare/upload the following materials as one PDF document using the following file name convention: “Nominee’s Last Name_Department_FacMentor.pdf”, and upload it through the nomination form.

  1. A letter of nomination from the nominee’s graduate program director, department head, school head, associate dean, or other college leadership who can speak to the nominee’s mentorship of graduate students (2 pages maximum). The letter should address the nominee’s commitment and effectiveness as a mentor of graduate students. Measures of commitment and effectiveness may include, but are not limited to:
    1. Facilitating smooth transitions for both entering and exiting graduate students
    2. Being accessible to students
    3. Fostering a welcoming environment that honors students’ rich and varied backgrounds and goals
    4. Effectively coaching graduate students through the graduate school experience and connecting them to appropriate intellectual and professional networks
    5. Connecting graduate students with appropriate intellectual and professional networks
    6. Guiding graduate students toward scholarly and professional independence
    7. Supporting graduate students’ professional development and career pursuits
  2. Up to two additional letters of support from the nominee's current graduate mentees who can speak to the nominee's commitment and effectiveness as a mentor, using the same measures (a-g) listed above (2 pages maximum per letter).
  3. A statement from the nominee describing their overall mentoring approach and commitment to graduate mentoring using the same measures (a-g) listed above (2 pages maximum). Nominees should also discuss any professional development activities (e.g., CIMER) that have supported their development as a mentor of graduate students.
  4. A copy of the nominee’s curriculum vitae that specifies graduate students the nominee has mentored (current and former). The award review committee is best able to assess a nominee’s commitment to and effectiveness in graduate mentoring when the CV clearly lists the nominee’s mentoring responsibilities and other relevant activities along with mentees’ names and scholarly contributions

Submit a nomination

Scholarships and Fellowships Application Form Overview

Questions

For questions about this award or any Office of Graduate Education administered awards, please contact our Graduate Scholarships and Fellowships team