Award Opportunities
The Graduate College office sponsors awards, fellowships, scholarships and assistantships for deserving students.
Many public and private organizations also provide fellowships and scholarships for graduate students. Please visit the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards for assistance in finding and applying to competitive awards.
Recent Graduate Student Award Winners
2026 Award for Innovation
Nicole Pek, Molecular and Developmental Biology, College of Medicine (first-place winner of the Graduate College’s 2024 Three Minute Thesis Competition)
2026 Award for Impact
Zachery (Ziqi) Ma, Business Administration and Accounting, Carl H. Lindner College of Business (Graduate College Dean’s Dissertation Completion Fellow, 2025–26 academic year)
2026 Award for Interdisciplinarity
Karen Noda Morishita, doctoral student, Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Science
From left to right: Ipsita Gopal Kundu, Apala Biswas, Esra Oz Cetindere, and Dorsa Rezayat
2026 Winners
First Place: Esra Oz Cetindere, College of Education, Criminal Justice, Human Services, and Information Technology
Second Place: Dorsa Rezayat, College of Engineering & Applied Science
Third Place: Apala Biswas, College of Education, Criminal Justice, Human Services, and Information Technology
People’s Choice: Ipsita Gopal Kundu, James J. Winkle College of Pharmacy
Finalists
Sara Alharbi
Ramy Amin
Apala Biswas
Esra Oz Cetindere
Elham Hasani
Ipsita Gopal Kundu
Annie McGhee
Amna Mira
Carlin Moore
Tharushi Rajaguru
Pankaj Rajdeo
Dorsa Rezayat
Angel Perez Villa
Fiona Wasson
Molly Winer
2026 Award Recipient
Julie Schlanz, Department of Chemistry, College of Arts & Sciences
Honorable Mentions
Suranjana Dam, Department of Chemistry, College of Arts & Sciences
Hannah Frame, Department of Environmental & Public Health Sciences, College of Medicine
Shubham Sathe, Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Science
Zach Srivastava, Department of Philosophy, College of Arts & Sciences
Niloufar Yavari, Department of Chemistry, College of Arts & Sciences