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.

Eligible applications are reviewed according to the GSA Evaluation Rubric, based on the criteria below:

Demonstrated level of commitment to civic engagement
Extent of social and/or civic impacts of applicant's civic engagement activities
Quality of reflection on how graduate education will impact applicant's continued civic engagement
Overall writing quality of essay responses