The UI College of Public Health’s Advancing Graduate Student Success Award program supports its academic and professional graduate students by providing funds for academic- and research-related activities associated with the student’s current degree program. This program is currently supported by The Sprince Zwerling Experiential Learning Fund and the Leeper Chen Fund. This program provides funds to assist students in advancing their learning beyond the classroom—whether it be collaborating with a mentor, presenting at a conference, or developing a research project—the possibilities are endless. All MHA, MPH, MS, and PhD students who are currently enrolled in a College of Public Health (CPH) degree program and in good academic standing are eligible to apply. Undergrad to Grad (U2G) MPH and MS students are eligible to apply to AGSSA prior to their bachelor’s degree conferral, as long as the academic/research-related activity is associated with a requirement for the MPH or MS degree program. Graduate students enrolled in non-CPH degree programs (e.g., Human Toxicology and other interdisciplinary studies programs) are ineligible for this award and are encouraged to seek funding from other sources.

Applications are accepted in the fall and spring terms. Students may apply for multiple or repeated awards over time not to exceed a total of $2,000; however, students may only apply once per academic year. The awarding process is competitive. Preference will be given to first-time applicants. Award amounts are subject to available funds and may not cover the entirety of the budget requested. Due to limited funding, applications for activities scheduled after graduation will not be considered at this time. At every new stage of graduate training, the funding limit resets and they are once again considered a first-time applicant. For example, if a student receives funding while completing an MS in Epidemiology and then graduates and enters the PhD in Epidemiology program, then the student once again becomes eligible to apply for up to $2,000 as a PhD student.

There is a non-exhaustive list of possible purposes for the awards. Examples include support for:

• Travel to visit a mentor to collaborate with or advise the student.
• Costs associated with community-based or community-based participatory research.
• Improving professional development skills (e.g., verbal and writing skills, grant/project budget preparation, grant writing, presentation skills, workshops, and innovative teaching skills).
• Travel to attend and/or present at a conference.
• Expenses associated with pre- and post-comp scholarly research activities.

Additional budget limits and guidelines may apply.

• Requests for travel funding should be submitted no later than six weeks prior to the intended departure to be considered. If students are applying for travel funds to present at a conference, then the following budget limit applies per request as follows:
• For students presenting: $750 domestic travel; $1,000 international travel
• For students attending but not presenting: $500 domestic travel; $750 international travel

Application Guidelines: The application is completed through the submission of a workflow form. The link to the form can be found at the button below. Guidelines are below for each section of the form requiring a narrative response.

Description of Academic or Research-related Activity: Provide a description of your academic/research-related activity. Include a description of the activity’s goals, time frame, and expected outcomes. Be specific.

Goals: Explain how participation in this activity supports your academic and/or professional goals. Be specific.

Previous AGSSA Awards: Specify if you have received an Advancing Graduate Student Success Award in the past. Please include date and amount.

Additional sources of funding: Applicants are required to demonstrate that they have sought additional sources of funding (e.g., university, collegiate, or departmental sources) and the degree to which those applications have been successful or not.

Budget: Download the provided template and use it to create an itemized budget of the expected expenses associated with the activity. Budget file must be attached to the workflow form.

Endorsements of Request: A short paragraph (two to three sentences) from a faculty member familiar with your activity. Attach it to the workflow form as a PDF document. The department chair (DEO) will electronically endorse the workflow form prior to your application being reviewed by the award committee. (This will happen automatically when you submit the application. Applicants do not need to reach out the the DEOs on their own.) Applicants should request endorsements no less than one week before the application deadline.

Post-Award Requirement: At the end of the timeframe specified in the application, you will be required to provide a one-page description of how this award had an impact on achieving your goal.

Award Deadline: There are four application cycles per academic year. Applicants should request endorsements no less than one week before the application deadline. Applications are due on September 15, December 1, February 15, and May 1. Requests can be submitted at any time and will be scheduled for review during the two-week period following the next available deadline. Applicants will be notified approximately 2 weeks after the deadline.

Review Committee:  The review committee consists of our five DEOs and the associate dean for academic affairs.

For answers to additional questions, contact the Kathy Welsh.