Graduate Scholar Award

The GSA application is open for the 2026-2027 award year and must be completed and submitted through the SIUE Application Center. Access the GSA application and click "start new application" to begin.

The GSA application includes the following:

• Essay question responses. Applicants must respond to brief essay questions as prompted in the application, including demonstration of commitment to social and/or civic responsibilities described impact of civic engagement on their communities and a statement connecting their pursuit of the graduate degree with their continued engagement in these areas.
• One completed recommendation form from an applicant identified recommender. The recommender must be someone who can discuss the applicant's civic engagement activities, and may include individuals such as professors, community organization leaders, prior supervisors, and volunteer coordinators. The recommendation form will be emailed to the recommender listed in the application.

Eligibility

Prospective students who meet the below eligibility criteria and deadlines are encouraged to apply for the GSA.

Applicants must be one of the following:

• a fully admitted new graduate student who is accepted as a classified student in a master's graduate degree program at SIUE and whose first term of enrollment will be no earlier than the summer preceding the fall award period. For example, eligibility for the 2026-2027 academic year award is limited to new graduate students beginning their SIUE masters programs in either the summer 2026 or fall 2026 semesters. (Students who have completed a prior graduate program at SIUE are not eligible to apply.)
• an SIUE undergraduate approved for admission to and currently enrolled in an approved combined bachelor to master's program provided they will be fully admitted to the graduate program before the fall award period (Note that this requirement includes having completed the baccalaureate degree.)
• a previously enrolled graduate student who has been out of their program for at least 2 calendar years at the time of the GSA application

The applicant must have a minimum 3.0 overall undergraduate cumulative GPA (GPA from all undergraduate courses at all institutions attended) and, if relevant, a minimum 3.0 graduate cumulative GPA in order to apply.
The applicant must have a fully completed application to a master's program for the above qualified terms by March 1st at 4:30pm. All application requirements for the applicant's program must be received by this deadline, including test scores, recommendation forms, and transcripts. Applicants with a completed master's program application who are pending a final admission decision by the graduate program are eligible to apply for the GSA if all other eligibility criteria are met.