The UTEP Graduate School has funds available to assist students with the cost of travel to academic conferences and meetings and specialized professional development opportunities. The Travel Grant is a competitive application; the Graduate School funds the highest quality proposals up to $850. There are four deadlines each year.

Next Cycle Deadline: Fall 2020

The Graduate School is no longer accepting Travel Grant applications for AY 2019-20, consistent with efforts to mitigate the impact of novel Coronavirus. Effective March 13, 2020: 

"University-sponsored international and domestic travel is suspended, with the exception of travel to and from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Exceptions to this policy for faculty or staff conducting research-related or mission-critical functions will require approval from your supervising vice president. Student exceptions require approval by the Dean of Students.

Those wishing to travel internationally for personal reasons are highly encouraged to follow all CDC guidelines and understand that self-isolation will be required for 14 days after returning to the United States. All international travelers must report their travel to UTEP’s Department of Environmental Health and Safety using an online form or by calling 915-747-7124.

There are currently no reporting requirements for personal travel, but we encourage you to follow guidelines from the CDC."  

Click here for more details 

Travel Grant Details & Instructions 

The Graduate School manages a pool of funds to support graduate student research. These funds are intended primarily to assist students who are actively working on dissertations, theses or final projects, although support of other projects may be considered. A faculty committee will review proposals and make recommendations to the Dean of the Graduate School. Individual awards will be made up to $3,000.

Next Cycle Deadline: April 3, 2020 @ 11:59pm

Consistent with efforts to mitigate novel Coronavirus, the Graduate School will not routinely accept proposals for research travel or face-to-face human subjects research. Subsequently, the application deadline has been extended to allow for appropriate proposal resubmissions. The Graduate School will consider only the most recent complete proposal.

Dodson Research Grant Details & Instructions 

Applicants should email their complete packet as 1 PDF to dodsongrad@utep.edu from the applicant’s UTEP email, cc’ing the faculty member who provided the letter of support (included in the packet). Note:

• Order of the elements in the .pdf should follow the order in program details & instructions.
• Email subject line should be “[Applicant Last Name], [Applicant First Name] 202020 Dodson.”
• Email body should include: applicant’s name & 800#, name and UTEP email of their mentor, and name and UTEP email of their administrative assistant.
• If the packet is too large to send, the AAR/IDP may be sent in a second email.

Master's and doctoral students completing a capstone, thesis, or dissertation have three minutes to present a compelling oration on their research. 3MT challenges students to consolidate their ideas and present them concisely to a non-specialist audience for a chance to win up to $750.

3MT Details & Instructions

Overview PPT

2020 Finalists & Winners:

 2019 Finalists & Winners:

2018 Finalists & Winners:

The Natalicio Dissertation Fellowship is awarded on a competitive basis to an outstanding PhD student for the final stage of completing a dissertation.  The Fellowship provides  $10,000 to support a student for the last semester of dissertation work. The award process occurs in the spring for students completing in the subsequent academic year. One student is nominated per doctoral program. The Graduate Program Director submits the application packet (one single .pdf) on behalf of the nominating doctoral program. A faculty panel reviews all of the applicants and selects the final recipients of this prestigious award. 

Next Cycle Deadline: April 30, 2020

Nomination Instructions & Cover Sheet

The UTEP Graduate School 2019 Summer Research Grant assists doctoral students with general expenses and tuition while conducting research or writing for their dissertation. Graduate programs nominate students for this competitive opportunity; the Graduate School provides awardees a $3,000 stipend and $1,000 towards summer tuition. A faculty mentor must commit to supervising the student’s summer work, which may or may not contribute to that faculty member’s research program. We thank the Office of the Provost and the Division of Student Affairs for its contribution to this award.

Nomination Deadline: April 2021

The 2020 Summer Research Grant Program has been suspended. Please consider applying for other internal and extramural opportunities.

Summer Research Grant Details & Instructions

As part of its commitment to promoting excellence in higher education, the Graduate School recognizes graduate students who have had an outstanding influence on the educational experience of undergraduate students. Each year, two students are recognized with a certificate at Spring Honors Convocation and an award of $500.

Next Cycle Deadline: February 21, 2020

Outstanding Teaching Award Details & Instructions 

The Graduate School requests proposals for projects that will help improve the Graduate School and/or graduate education. We plan to provide at least three summer awards of $3500 to graduate students to pursue a project. The type of project is up to you, and we encourage you to be creative and use the skills you are acquiring in your graduate program.

Deadline: April 30

Enhancment Award Details & Instructions 

The goal of the Doctoral Excellence Fellowships is to support recruitment of outstanding students into UTEP doctoral programs. For the 2020-21 nomination cycle, the Graduate School offered a limited number of three-year fellowships (a fixed award of $4000 tuition support per year) to first-year doctoral students beginning in Fall 2020. 

• Graduate programs are encouraged to use their own funds to supplement this tuition award, but the source of funding must be differentiated in the offer letter.
• The offers of Excellence Fellowships should be part of a package of financial support that includes an assistantship or equivalent.
• Funding is competitive across all programs, and nominees need not be Texas residents. However, please be aware that the majority of our available funding is restricted to Texas residents.
• Nominations must be made by the Graduate Program Director with the approval of the program's graduate admissions committee.
• Programs may nominate up to four students per doctoral program and must rank those candidates in order of preference on the nomination form.
• Nominations are due by April 1, 2020.

The 2020-21 nomination cycle has concluded. The next cycle will open in January 2021.