Grants and Writing Resources for Oklahoma State University

OSU's 22nd, 23rd and 24th Udall Scholars were all named in 2026, the university reported in May. Two are sophomores, one in nutritional sciences and one in psychology and biology, preparing for medical careers that serve Native communities. The third, a history junior, plans a doctorate in Native American history. The Udall Foundation picked 65 scholars from 383 applicants, and it was the seventh year in a row that at least one OSU student won in the Native health care or tribal policy categories.

Paying for Undergraduate Research

Sophomores, juniors and seniors who write a research proposal with an OSU faculty mentor can apply for the Wentz Research Awards, funded with the Lew Wentz Foundation. For 2026-27, 44 students received $6,000 each and five more became Purdie Research Scholars at $8,000. The Purdie award gives extra review to geology, chemistry and physics majors and minors. Both groups present their results at the Wentz and Purdie Research Scholars Symposium.

First-year students start earlier. The Freshman Research Scholars Program, paid for by the Robberson Trust, places about ninety new students with faculty researchers in all five undergraduate colleges, and those who complete it receive a $1,000 scholarship. In the laboratory sciences, the Niblack Research Scholars Program gives $8,000 research grants through the Office of the Vice President for Research. Students active in research for at least two semesters can also present at the annual undergraduate research symposium and apply for money to present at a conference.

National Scholarships, Contests and Journals

The Truman, Goldwater and Udall each limit how many students OSU can nominate. Scholar Development and Undergraduate Research helps students pick the right award, refine their application materials and prepare for interviews. For the Goldwater, OSU nominates four students a year.

Undergraduates who major or minor in Arts and Sciences can enter the college's Three Minute Thesis to present their research. The 2026 contest gave more than $3,000 in scholarship prizes. Fiction, nonfiction, poetry and visual art by undergraduates go to Frontier Mosaic, the student-run literary magazine published by OSU Libraries, which puts out one issue each spring.

Graduate Fellowships and Awards

Each academic unit may nominate up to two post-candidacy doctoral students for the Robberson Summer Dissertation Fellowship, which pairs a summer award for dissertation research with a tuition waiver for three credit hours. Distinguished Graduate Fellowships pay full-time graduate students $2,500 a year and can be renewed for two more years with good progress. With the OSU Research Office, the Graduate College also gives Graduate Research Excellence Awards for outstanding thesis and dissertation research, and each winner receives a Presidential Letter of Commendation.

Graduate students give three-minute talks on their research in the Graduate College's Three Minute Thesis, where the audience picks a People's Choice winner. Through GPSGA, students in departments and organizations represented at its general assembly can apply for travel assistance to present research at a conference. GPSGA's highest honors are its Phoenix Awards, given each spring to one master's student and one doctoral student, with a third for a faculty member.

Writing Centers and Thesis Requirements

The OSU Writing Center serves all writers at OSU, and its tutors include graduate students in English and in Writing Across the Curriculum. The main center is in Student Union 440. A separate Graduate Writing Center in General Academic Building 101 offers in-person sessions, online sessions and asynchronous e-tutoring. Writers who prefer to work remotely can book Zoom appointments or a Document Exchange, which returns written feedback within 48 hours.

The Graduate College requires a thesis and dissertation format review. Students meet it by attending the college's formatting and graduation session or by watching the tutorial through GC Round-Up. OSU dissertations are collected in Open Research Oklahoma, the university's repository for open-access work.

Once the committee has signed off on the content, an OSU thesis or dissertation can come to our editors for a last check of grammar, citation style and Graduate College format. See our Oklahoma State University dissertation and thesis editing and Oklahoma State University essay editing pages, or write to editors@editorsforstudents.com.

From Our Writing Guides

• Treating the Personal Statement as a Scholarly Defense
• How to Write a Critical Essay: Mastering Academic Critique
• Methodology Chapter Secrets: Building the Architecture of Your Argument