Grants and Writing Resources for Excelsior University
On July 10, 2026, Excelsior honored the 3,735 graduates of its Class of 2026 at its 55th Commencement, held at MVP Arena in Albany. The graduates ranged in age from 14 to 80 and came from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and 11 other nations. Thirty-eight percent were active-duty service members or veterans, and 22 of them earned more than one degree during the academic year.
Awards at Commencement
Excelsior names a set of graduating student awards each year. For the academic awards, the university nominates graduates once they meet the criteria. The Ruth V. Matheney Memorial Award goes to an undergraduate nursing graduate with outstanding academic achievement. The Marvin Curling Memorial Award, endowed by the New York Power Authority, recognizes the same in an undergraduate technology program. Graduates in nuclear engineering technology with a GPA of 3.5 or higher who work in the nuclear industry and belong to the American Nuclear Society are eligible for the Dr. Robert L. Long Memorial Award.
Master's graduates have separate awards. The Mildred L. Montag Memorial Award recognizes excellence in all the nursing courses of the MS in Nursing, the capstone included. The Charles W. Laffin Jr. Memorial Award is for a non-nursing master's graduate who earned community college credit before enrolling at Excelsior.
Scholarships and Honor Societies
Students who list Excelsior's school code, 014251, on the FAFSA are considered automatically for the Excelsior scholarships they may qualify for, and many of the funds are need-based. The James N. Baldwin Scholarship Fund pays tuition and technology fees for one course for two students a year who hold at least a 3.0 GPA and are more than halfway through their degree. The Richard and Barbara Reeves-Ellington Scholarship Fund supports bachelor's and graduate students with financial need who will address gender issues and issues central to Middle Eastern and Central Asian culture.
Strong records also lead to honor society invitations. Liberal arts and sciences undergraduates in the top 20 percent, with a GPA above 3.5, are inducted each year into the Sigma Zeta chapter of Alpha Sigma Lambda, a society for adult learners. Nursing students at the baccalaureate and graduate levels can join the Tau Kappa-at-Large chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, which began at Excelsior as the Tau Kappa Chapter in 2004.
Writing and Research Help
The Writing Center serves every degree program. Its free Online Writing Lab covers the writing process, research, citation in APA, MLA and Chicago styles, grammar and a section on writing at the graduate level. A companion reading lab teaches college-level reading. Through Brainfuse, any Excelsior student can reach a live tutor 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or submit a paper and get feedback within 24 hours.
The Excelsior library runs a 24/7 live chat and books appointments with librarians. Its citation guide and the NoodleTools citation builder help with reference lists.
The First Excelsior Dissertations
In August 2026 Excelsior opened its first doctoral program, the Doctor of Business Administration, to enrollment. The inaugural cohort begins courses on Jan. 4, 2027.
The 60-credit DBA includes 8 credits of dissertation seminars and two weeklong in-person residencies, held in Albany, New York, or St. Petersburg, Florida. Students design two concentration papers that can help shape the dissertation, and they choose one of two dissertation formats. The Three-Paper Model calls for three interconnected papers on the student's research focus. The Applied Project designs a solution for an organization using design science principles. In Dissertation Seminar I, each student develops and submits a full dissertation proposal and starts building a committee. An assigned dissertation chair works with the student through the dissertation phase.
Our editors give capstone papers, course essays and dissertation proposals a final edit for grammar, consistency and format. Visit our Excelsior University dissertation and thesis editing and Excelsior 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 Excelsior University, and your faculty may endorse our services individually. We look forward to helping you bring your Excelsior writing to its strongest, submission-ready form.