Graduate Awards and Opportunities

Awards

Sigma Pi Sigma Honorary Society

Membership in Sigma Pi Sigma is based on the student’s GPA at the end of the spring semester.

Outstanding TA Award

Each year the Outstanding TA Award is given to the graduate student teaching assistant who has best exemplified the teaching ideal as determined by student comments and evaluations and faculty supervisor evaluations.

Outstanding RA Award

Each year the Outstanding RA Award is given to the graduate student research assistant who has best exemplified excellence in research.

Archive of graduate awards

Graduate Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Fellowships

Teaching Assistantships

Tuition scholarships, fellowships, teaching assistantships, and research assistantships are available to qualified students. Assistantships and fellowships include full-tuition scholarships as part of the grant. An assistantship includes a tuition scholarship, plus compensation for services rendered. Teaching assistants work about twenty hours per week and carry a normal load of courses.

For more information, visit the Wake Forest University Graduate School page on financial aid. 

Alumni Student Travel Award Program

Funds are available to support the expenses of graduate students who present their research at national and international professional meetings. Support for the Program is made possible through the contributions of alumni and friends to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Annual Fund. A maximum of $300 per award will be provided; thus it is anticipated that several awards could be given during the year. For more information, visit the Wake Forest University Graduate School page.

Richter Award

The Richter Scholars Program supports independent study scholarships for students in the undergraduate College, the Calloway School and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences on the Reynolda Campus of Wake Forest University. Richter Scholarships are competitively awarded for students proposing an independent study project requiring travel away from Winston-Salem. International projects are especially encouraged. Scholars will be selected based on the following criteria: feasibility of the project, matching with the Richter Scholarships goals, contribution of the project to the overall education and enrichment of the student, commitment of the student and faculty advisor to the project, and the student’s demonstrated ability to initiate and sustain creative activities and research. Students must have at least a 3.0 overall average at the time of application. For more information, visit the Wake Forest University Graduate School link.

External Fellowship Opportunities

For other funding opportunities, please see:

  • NSF Graduate Research Fellowships: The National Science Foundation offers approximately 1,100 graduate fellowships each year. The Graduate Research Fellowship provides three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based master’s or doctoral degrees and is intended for students who are in the early stages of their graduate study. The application deadline is the first week of November.
  • Funding opportunities at the NIH: The NIH offers opportunities for graduate student funding. Follow the link to the NIH and type “graduate student” in the search page to get a list of current program announcements.
  • Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships: All citizens or nationals of the US are eligible regardless of race, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability or sexual orientation. These fellowships are for graduate study at schools in the United States and carry a stipend of $20,000 per year for up to 3 years.
  • Churchill Scholarships: This is an opportunity for one year of graduate study in engineering, mathematics, and the physical and natural sciences at Churchill College, Cambridge University, England. This scholarship is available to graduating seniors. The deadline is early November of each year.
  • NIH/Oxford/Cambridge Scholarship Program: Scholarships for students seeking Ph.D. and MD/Ph.D. training in biomedical research.
  • SMART Scholarships: Established by the department of Defense (DoD) to support the education and recruitment of undergraduate and graduate students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields for recruiting and retaining civilian scientists and engineers to work in DoD agencies and laboratories. The application deadline is early December of each year.
  • U.S. Department of Homeland Security Scholarships: The DHS Scholarship and Fellowship Program is intended for students interested in pursuing the basic science and technology innovations that can be applied to the DHS mission.
  • The Wake Forest University Graduate School page on grants and funding opportunities.