Grants and Writing Resources for Texas A&M University

The overall title at Texas A&M's 13th Three Minute Thesis final, reported in November 2025, went to a biomedical sciences Ph.D. student in the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. Her talk, "Mapping the Hidden Threat to Man's Best Friend: Heterobilharzia americana in the Southwest," beat nine other finalists and a record preliminary field of 85. It was the college's first overall win in the competition's 13 years at the university.

Undergraduate Theses and Research Grants

The Undergraduate Research Scholars program asks for a full year of independent research with a Texas A&M faculty mentor, a public presentation and a written thesis. Finished theses are published in the program's Capstone Collection in the OAKTrust repository. Scholars earn an honors distinction on the transcript and a medallion for graduation. Seniors with at least 90 credit hours are eligible, and juniors can apply with a letter from a faculty advisor.

Smaller projects can draw on the Race & Ethnic Studies Institute. Its Undergraduate Research Grants run up to $500 each and pay for fieldwork, archive travel, research materials, data sets, survey instruments and participant incentives. They can't cover stipends, salary or tuition.

Where Undergraduate Work Appears

Founded in 2009, Explorations is a journal of undergraduate research and scholarship at Texas A&M. It takes research, scholarly and creative submissions from any discipline, plus cover art, as long as the work was done under faculty mentorship at Texas A&M. Papers go through double-blind review, and about 15 to 20 percent are accepted each year. Students can also apply for a seat on the Explorations Board.

Fellowships and Graduate Awards

The Graduate and Professional School's 2026-2027 Dissertation Fellowship (Round 2) pays Ph.D. candidates a $2,000 monthly stipend for up to 12 months. It also covers tuition and required fees for one credit hour a semester, or the program minimum, and reimburses medical insurance up to the employer contribution. That round offers 20 fellowships, with priority for students whose main 2026-2027 support isn't tied to their research. In the humanities, the Mellon-RESI Dissertation Fellowship supports one semester of dissertation writing on environmental humanities themes such as pollution, climate change and migration, with a $2,400 monthly stipend and a $1,000 research bursary.

Research and Presentation Travel Awards reimburse up to $1,000 for conference and research trips at home or abroad. A companion Child Care Travel Award, established in fall 2024, reimburses up to $750 for child care while a student travels. Finished work can compete for the Texas A&M Distinguished Dissertation Award, given in four broad fields from the life sciences to the humanities and fine arts.

Writing Help

The University Writing Center meets undergraduates and graduate students in Evans Library, on Zoom or by email. Its DATA program (Dissertation, Article, & Thesis Assistance) pairs a writer with the same consultant for weekly meetings over a semester, with a minimum of six sessions. Undergraduates writing a thesis may apply too.

Graduate students who want company while they write can join the Writing Café on the first Friday of the month during the fall and spring semesters, in the Evans Library Graduate Lounge. The Online Graduate Writing Retreat runs four days at a time, about three times a year.

Submitting a Thesis or Dissertation

Thesis & Dissertation Services reviews each electronic manuscript for adherence to university guidelines. The Writing Your Document page carries the current Guidelines for Theses, Dissertations and Records of Study along with Word and LaTeX templates built for accessibility and correct formatting.

After the committee and department sign the approval form in ARCS, students submit through Vireo, and the steps for completion warn that a document may need several rounds of review before final approval. Approved work is published in OAKTrust, the Texas A&M online repository, as the office's FAQ explains.

Before a manuscript goes to the committee or into Vireo, our editors can give it a final edit for grammar, consistency and format. See our Texas A&M dissertation and thesis editing and Texas A&M essay editing pages, or write to editors@editorsforstudents.com.

From Our Writing Guides

• The Secret to Better Grades: Starting Your Writing Process Early
• Writing the Abstract and Title: First Impressions Matter
• Escaping the Revision Pile: Strategies for First-Round Approval