Grants and Writing Resources for Midwestern State University

A chemistry senior with a minor in biology was named 2026 Hardin Scholar at the Honors Recognition Banquet on April 24, 2026. The Hardin Scholar, set up by the Hardin Foundation in 1962, is the university's highest award for academic excellence and carries a $3,000 scholarship. The same evening an exercise physiology junior, also a member of the women's tennis team, was named Clark Scholar, with a $1,500 award.

Paid Undergraduate Research

The Office of Undergraduate Research has run the Enhancing Undergraduate Research Endeavors and Creative Activities (EURECA) program since 2013. Under the 2025 proposal guidelines, each EURECA Scholar receives a $500 stipend per semester and the faculty mentor receives the same. A new project can draw up to $1,000 for materials and supplies in its first year, and up to $500 per project is set aside for conference travel on a first-come basis.

Continuing students need an overall GPA of 2.50 and a 2.75 in the major. Scholars attend workshops and mentor meetings and file a final report each semester. They present their results at the undergraduate research forum in the fall or spring.

Where Student Work Appears

The Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Forum has been held since fall 2013. Students from any discipline bring posters, oral talks or creative work, and faculty evaluate them. The forum is part of the Celebration of Scholarship, which brings together faculty, graduate students and undergraduates and is co-sponsored by the McAda Graduate School.

Business students can publish in the Midwestern Business and Economic Review, the journal of the Bureau of Business and Government Research in the Dillard College of Business Administration. Founded in 1983 and redesigned in fall 2023 for undergraduate research, it requires an undergraduate as first author and uses double-blind peer review. Issue 56 appeared in fall 2025.

Graduate Grants and the Three Minute Thesis

The Office of Sponsored Programs and Research awards Graduate Student Research Grants of up to $750, one per student per year. The money can pay for operating expenses, supplies, equipment and research travel, and the student's department must add funding or in-kind support. Conference travel is excluded. Awardees present a summary of their results.

The Dr. Billie Doris McAda Graduate School has held a Three Minute Thesis competition since spring 2020. Entries are submitted as video with a single static slide, and the current rules list a $500 scholarship for first place and $300 for second. Graduate scholarships are awarded through an online scholarship manager that matches each applicant to the awards they qualify for.

Help With Writing and Theses

Writing is one of the drop-in subjects at the TASP Learning Center on the first floor of Moffett Library. Sessions are free for current students and need no appointment.

Graduate students can email Graduate Writing Help for feedback on research questions, organization, citations and writing in a scholarly voice; the page asks for at least 48 hours. The specialist does not proofread, and instead shows students how to proofread and edit the work. Thesis forms and resources are posted in Graduate Commons in D2L.

Our editors give papers, theses and dissertations a final edit for grammar, consistency and format. See our Midwestern State University dissertation and thesis editing and Midwestern State University essay editing pages, or write to editors@editorsforstudents.com.

From Our Writing Guides

• How to Avoid Academic Dishonesty: Citing and Quoting Sources
• Methodology Chapter Secrets: Building the Architecture of Your Argument
• The Literature Review: Avoiding Intellectual Overwhelm