Grants and Writing Resources for the University of Texas Permian Basin

A student in UTPB's Energy Land Management Program wrote an essay, sat for an in-person interview with the AAPL Scholarship Trust and secured a scholarship for the fall 2026 and spring 2027 semesters. Two music education majors set to begin their senior year in fall 2026 submitted performances from their junior recitals and were selected for the Esker Orchestral Music Festival, a weeklong program of rehearsals, performances and master classes in Ireland in August 2026.

Grants for Student Research

UTPB opened its Office of Student Research in August 2025 to support research and creative work by undergraduate and graduate students in every discipline. Through the office's Student Research Program, a student enrolled for the full academic year can request up to $1,500 per project by sending a brief proposal, a detailed budget and a letter of support from a faculty mentor. The grant pays for expendable supplies, equipment, data collection and poster production. It cannot pay the student or the mentor.

Grant recipients are expected to present at Student Research Day. The office scheduled UTPB Research Day 2026 for April 24, 2026, in the UTPB Library, to showcase undergraduate and graduate research. In 2025 UTPB received a $180,000 Welch Departmental Grant, which the university says created new opportunities for students and faculty to take part in hands-on chemical research. A pre-med senior studying biology and chemistry leads a Welch Grant-supported project on silver-infused hydrogels and their activity against E. coli.

Where Student Work Appears

The UTPB Journal of Undergraduate Research publishes abstracts, posters, presentation slides and full-length papers by undergraduates in all disciplines. Volume 7, from 2025, carries the proceedings of that year's Undergraduate Research Day.

Poets and fiction writers can read back issues of Sandstorm: A Journal of Arts and Letters, a peer-reviewed journal of poetry, fiction, art and photography that students edit with faculty. The latest issue in the archive is from spring 2022. Both journals are hosted on Falcon Commons, the university's digital repository.

Graduate Scholarships and Assistantships

The Graduate Studies Scholarship pays up to $1,000 per academic year, in $500 installments each fall and spring, to students fully admitted to an on-ground master's program such as Biology, History or Psychology. Recipients take at least nine graduate hours a semester, six of them face to face, and may not hold another scholarship or an assistantship. Non-Texas residents who receive it pay in-state tuition during their first year. The same page lists endowed awards by field. Among them are the John H. Doran, M.D., F.A.C.P. Graduate Research Fellowship Endowment, for biology graduate research students with financial need, and three Paula Henry endowed graduate scholarships in history.

Graduate assistantships come in teaching, research and administrative forms, with up to 19.5 hours of work a week. Teaching and research assistants receive tuition remission and a stipend. In English, graduate teaching assistants serve as instructor of record for a section of ENGL 1301 or 1302 and earn up to $12,000 per academic year.

Writing Help and Theses

The Student Success Center offers tutoring in writing and reading as well as math and science, in person or virtually through the Tutoring Scheduler. Its Online Writing Lab works by email. A student sends the paper to OWL@utpb.edu with a name and UID, the course, the assignment prompt and a note on what to focus on, and a UTPB writing tutor reviews it for grammar and citations. For sources, librarians hold one-on-one research consultations by appointment.

Thesis requirements are set program by program in the graduate catalog. The MS in Biology thesis option ends in six hours of independent study leading to an original thesis, and the MA in English capstone can be a thesis, a scholarly article, a project or a professional portfolio. Graduate Studies posts its defense form for oral and written examinations on the graduate forms page. Completed theses are filed by college in Falcon Commons.

Before a thesis goes to the committee or a course paper goes in, our editors can give it a final check for grammar, consistency and format. See our University of Texas Permian Basin dissertation and thesis editing and University of Texas Permian Basin essay editing pages, or write to editors@editorsforstudents.com.

From Our Writing Guides

• How to Avoid Academic Dishonesty: Citing and Quoting Sources
• The Secret to Better Grades: Starting Your Writing Process Early
• Writing the Abstract and Title: First Impressions Matter