Grants and Writing Resources for the University of Nevada Las Vegas
Two UNLV undergraduates were named 2026 Goldwater Scholars in April, two of 454 chosen from more than 5,000 applicants. An Honors College student double majoring in psychology and film researches obsessive-compulsive disorder in people with physical disabilities at UNLV's STAR Clinic. A biological science major with a neuroscience minor studies the biological pathways underlying Alzheimer's disease. It is the third time in recent years that two UNLV students have won in the same cycle.
Summer Research Money
The Office of Undergraduate Research paid up to $1,500 per student in the 2026 round of its Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship. Applicants need a declared major and a full-time NSHE faculty mentor, who sends a letter of support with the student's one-page statement and CV. Taking the money commits the student to presenting at OUR's Fall Undergraduate Research Symposium and filing a final research summary.
OUR's funding list also covers travel support run with the College of Sciences and the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering, along with McNair Scholars and the Sam Lieberman Regents' Award for Student Scholarship.
Spectra and the Calvert Award
Spectra Undergraduate Research Journal is OUR's peer-reviewed, open-access journal. It publishes mostly UNLV undergraduates, with occasional work from other schools. Every undergraduate author in an issue is considered for the Spectra Best Article Award, judged on originality, research design, analysis, significance and the clarity of the writing. Winners receive a plaque.
University Libraries give the Lance and Elena Calvert Award for Undergraduate Research, a cash prize funded by an endowment from the Calverts. A class assignment that drew on library sources or services can qualify. Judges focus on the research process, including the student's reflection on the strategies used to investigate the problem.
Graduate College Fellowships
The Graduate College posts its awards for current students with amounts for the 2027-2028 year. Each department may nominate one doctoral student working mainly on the dissertation for the President's UNLV Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, a package worth about $25,000. The Barrick Graduate Fellowship pays $22,000 plus a tuition and fee waiver, and finalists interview. Doctoral students in their last two years can apply for the UNLV Foundation Board of Trustees Fellowship, worth about $30,000 a year.
Candidates with an approved prospectus on metropolitan public policy can be nominated by their committee chair for the Robert E. Lang Memorial Fellowship, worth about $30,000, which includes giving a public lecture. Summer is covered too. Doctoral students can compete for a $7,000 summer doctoral fellowship, and the $2,000 Summer Session Scholarship weighs the applicant's plans for summer thesis or dissertation research.
Boot Camp, Consultations and Format Review
The Writing Center works with graduate students and postdocs on theses, dissertations, abstracts, grant applications and articles. For long projects it recommends routine appointments, perhaps with the same consultant, and it can coordinate writing retreats for writing groups. Each August and January the Graduate College, UNLV Libraries and the Writing Center hold the Grad Rebel Writing Boot Camp, a week on outlining, literature reviews, citation and time management. Students apply to attend.
A thesis or dissertation is written in Word, or LaTeX where the discipline uses it, and run through iThenticate before final submission; the committee sees the similarity report at the final defense. The Graduate College then reviews the format. Its pre-writing guide asks for one-inch margins, double spacing and documents that meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility standards. Approved work goes to ProQuest and to OAsis, UNLV's open-access repository.
A Spectra manuscript or a dissertation bound for format review can come to our editors first for a final edit of grammar, consistency and format. See our University of Nevada Las Vegas dissertation and thesis editing and University of Nevada Las Vegas 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 the University of Nevada Las Vegas, and your faculty may endorse our services individually. We look forward to helping you bring your UNLV writing to its strongest, submission-ready form.