Grants and Writing Resources for Alcorn State University
The university reported in July 2026 that an animal science senior is the first Alcorn State student to receive a Mississippi Poultry Association scholarship. The association gives four $4,000 awards a year to students headed for careers in poultry, and a committee of educators chooses on academic record, leadership and industry experience. Work this student had already done in the industry, including two internships with PECO Foods, set the application apart.
Research Days and Prizes
The Center for Research Excellence (CRES) Symposium was set to open on February 12, 2026, with oral and poster divisions for undergraduates, graduate students and faculty. Posters cover five subject areas, from plant health to family, youth and community development. Three judges score every presentation. In 2026 first place in each undergraduate and graduate category paid $250 and second place $150, and students paid as Evans-Allen research workers were expected to present.
Biology students also present off campus. A June 2026 university report says 37 students and three faculty members from the Department of Biological Sciences presented research on April 24 at the second Undergraduate Research Symposium on AI and Machine Learning in Biology at Grambling State, where students gave oral presentations. The National Science Foundation sponsored the symposium. During the 2025-26 academic year, the five institutions taking part added a genetics module powered by AI and machine learning to their biology curricula.
Stipends and Scholarships for Undergraduates
Selected undergraduates in the Gulf Scholars Program work on environmental problems of the Gulf Coast. The program starts in fall 2026, and scholars receive a $1,000 annual stipend and can earn an interdisciplinary minor in Sustainability Studies. Workshops and research experiences are part of the program, and scholars work with faculty mentors and peer leaders.
The Myrlie Evers-Williams Honors Program teaches small, discussion-based classes, and its scholars get priority for special scholarships and internships. For study abroad, the land-grant Global Programs office keeps a list of outside scholarships and fellowships that runs from the Gilman Scholarship, open to Pell Grant recipients, to the Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship.
Graduate Assistantships and STEM Funding
Graduate Studies offers a limited number of graduate assistantships in fall and spring. Applicants need an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.00 and must hold a 3.0 cumulative GPA to keep the post. The assistantship pays for up to six credit hours a semester, and academic probation ends it permanently.
Students in graduate STEM programs can apply for HBCU grant scholarships and tuition assistance, which Graduate Studies awards through a grant running from 2023 to 2029. Scholarships are merit-based and the assistance is need-based. Both require a 3.00 cumulative GPA and at least six credit hours a semester. The same grant hires STEM research assistants at $1,800 a month for 80 hours of work.
Writing Center and Thesis Rules
The Alcorn Writing Center began in 2003. Undergraduate peer consultants hold one-on-one writing consultations on the first floor of the J.D. Boyd Library, and students can book online, by phone or as walk-ins.
Master's students follow the thesis and research project steps from Graduate Studies. Committees have at least three members and approve the manuscript before it goes to the Graduate Office as a PDF. The Thesis and Projects Manual, revised in June 2022, uses APA 7th edition, and its instructions for the abstract page warn that papers with misspellings and typographical errors will be returned. Master of Liberal Arts programs and the nurse educator MSN use a separate Capstone Project Manual in APA style. Only the committee chair may send a paper to Graduate Studies for review, and according to the 2026-27 submission calendar, students may pick any printing company to bind the thesis.
The Thesis and Projects Manual says papers with misspellings and typographical errors will be returned, so a final edit for grammar, consistency and APA format before the committee chair submits can save a round of review. See our Alcorn State University dissertation and thesis editing and Alcorn State University essay editing pages, or write to editors@editorsforstudents.com.
From Our Writing Guides
Compiled by James Peterson Brown, PhD, Managing Editor of Editors For Students. Links checked October 2026.
Editors For Students is an independent editorial service and is not affiliated with Alcorn State University, and your faculty may endorse our services individually. We look forward to helping you bring your Alcorn State writing to its strongest, submission-ready form.