Thurgood Marshall Graduate Fellowship

Award nominations open September 24, 2025, deadline: May 4, 2026

The Office of Graduate Education is pleased to announce the Thurgood Marshall Graduate Fellowship honoring the life and work of the first African American U.S. Supreme Court Justice. This fellowship acknowledges Marshall's life-long commitment to civil rights and effecting change. The Thurgood Marshall Fellowship is intended to support the retention of meritorious graduate students whose accomplishments and activities demonstrate leadership, service, and commitment to fostering a just community. Examples of these accomplishments and activities may include, but are not limited to, serving as a research mentor to high school or undergraduate students, especially those designated as official REU programs; working with extension services in rural communities to provide education and training opportunities; and volunteer and fundraising in efforts to raise awareness of community needs.

The award also aligns with and supports development in the OSU Grad Advantage core competencies for graduate students. Nominees should complete the OSU Grad Advantage Self-Assessment Tool at the time of their nomination to gauge their ongoing professional development needs and progress.

Award Details

The Office of Graduate Education intends to offer up to four of these fellowships for the 2026-2027 Academic Year. Awardees are able to select which academic term best meets their needs for graduate fellowship appointment. The fellowship appointment includes:

  • A one-time academic term (3-month) stipend ($9,250 for doctoral students, $8,250 for master’s students)
  • An academic term (12 credits if either fall, winter, or spring is selected, or 3 credits if summer is selected) tuition waiver.
  • A fee subsidy to cover costs associated with mandatory OSU fees ($775 for either fall, winter, or spring, or $325 for summer)
  • Formal appointment as an OSU graduate fellow to allow access to subsidized health insurance under the prevailing graduate assistant/fellow health insurance plan

Eligibility

  • Nominee must have been admitted for graduate study through the domestic student application.
  • Nominee must be a current full-time, graduate degree-seeking student in an OSU doctoral program, or in an OSU master’s program where a doctoral degree does not exist at OSU.
  • Nominee must have a GPA of 3.0 or above.
  • Nominee must be making satisfactory academic progress, as determined by the graduate program.

Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation of nominations will be based upon:

  • The nominee’s previous academic success and commitment to graduate studies.
  • The nominee’s scholarly potential.
  • The nominee’s leadership, service, and commitment to fostering a just community.

Nomination Period

The nomination period begins on September 24, 2025. All nominations must be submitted by 11:59 p.m., Monday, May 4, 2026. Awards will be determined in late May 2026.

Please note that this posted deadline refers to the date/time by which the Office of Graduate Education must receive the final and complete nomination packet and any accompanying materials. Academic units may have earlier deadlines to accommodate their internal selection and nomination processes, so students are encouraged to verify the timeline with faculty and/or their graduate program leadership.

Nomination Procedure

Nominations may be submitted by the nominee's graduate program director, department chair/head, college leadership, or appropriate leadership in an institutional partner unit. Students may not apply directly for this award. Each unit (as defined by university major code) and institutional partner may nominate no more than TWO nominees (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_Thurgood.pdf," and upload it through the nomination form.

  1. A statement from the nominee (2 pages maximum) that describes (a) their previous academic success and commitment to graduate studies; (b) their leadership, service, and commitment to fostering a just community; and (c) how this award will support them in their graduate studies at OSU.
    • These criteria can be demonstrated in a variety of ways including, but not limited to, prior coursework, degrees, and institutions of higher education; honors, awards, scholarships, or other academic distinctions; scholarly activity at previous institution(s) or employment; scholarly engagement in professional organizations, and research endeavors; skills and aptitudes that support academic success such as motivation, persistence in the face of challenges and hardship; intellectual curiosity; self-direction; and initiative.
    • Nominees are encouraged to review the Office of Graduate Education’s OSU Grad Advantage core competencies and complete the OSU Grad Advantage Self-Assessment Tool to assist in developing their statement.
  2. A nominating letter (2 pages maximum) from college leadership or the nominee’s major professor, unit chair/head that describes (a) the nominee’s previous academic success, commitment to graduate studies, and scholarly potential and (b) the nominee’s leadership, service, and commitment to fostering a just community.
    • These criteria can be demonstrated in a variety of ways including, but not limited to, prior coursework, degrees, and institutions of higher education; honors, awards, scholarships, or other academic distinctions; scholarly activity at previous institution(s) or employment; scholarly engagement in professional organizations, and research endeavors; skills and aptitudes that support academic success such as motivation, persistence in the face of challenges and hardship; intellectual curiosity; self-direction; and initiative.
  3. A copy of the nominee’s résumé or curriculum vitae

NOTE to Institutional Partners:
If an institutional partner is submitting the nomination, they must also have confirmation from the student’s academic unit that:

  • the student is not already being nominated for the same award by the academic unit, and
  • the student is in good academic standing, making satisfactory progress, and that the nomination aligns with the student’s status in the program.

Nomination Form

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