Graduate student resources
The Department of Biology and the University of Nevada, Reno offer graduate students support in areas of scholarship, grant writing, advising and more. For program-specific support and opportunities, visit the program's web pages.
Graduate student scholarship and fellowship opportunities
The Department of Biology offers a number of scholarships for graduate students pursuing doctoral and master's degrees in biology programs.
Biology MS students specializing in animal behavior, ecology, evolution or conservation biology and PhD students in EECB are eligible to apply for The Jenkins Graduate Fellowship in Ecology.
- The Wilson Award, the Hadley-Lynch Scholarship and the Edwards Scholarship are available to graduate students whose major advisor is a full-time member of the faculty within the Department of Biology.
- The Brussard Scholarship is available to graduate students whose major advisor is a full-time member of the faculty within either the Department of Biology or the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science.
- The Wilson Award is for native-born US citizen graduate students. Master's of Biology students, Ecology Evolution and Conservation Biology Ph.D. students, and Cell and Molecular Biology Ph.D. students are eligible if the major advisor is a Department of Biology faculty member. The number of awards and monetary value may differ from year to year, but historically three awards of $4000 each have been given per year.
- The Brussard Scholarship is available to Master's of Biology students, Ecology Evolution and Conservation Biology Ph.D. students and Natural Resources and Environmental Science graduate students. One award of $500 is typically given each year.
- The Hadley-Lynch Scholarship is intended for undergraduate or graduate students, and preference is given to female students and students with financial need. Graduate student recipients must earn a minimum of 12 academic credits per year, and maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 for the duration of the award. The monetary value of this award varies from year to year.
- The Edwards Scholarship is intended for undergraduate or graduate students. Graduate student recipients must earn a minimum of 18 credits per year (12 credits with a graduate assistantship), and maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 for the duration of the award. The monetary value of this award varies from year to year.
Eligibility:
- The recipient shall be a Ph.D. student in good standing in the Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology (EECB) program or an MS student in good standing in Biology who is specializing in animal behavior, ecology, evolution, or conservation biology at the University of Nevada, Reno. The Ph.D. student’s advisor can be in any department. The fellowship is currently for one semester. The recipient must be a full-time student.
- The recipient will be selected based on:
- a proposal of no more than 2000 words explaining how the fellowship will contribute to the success of the recipient's graduate program
- a resume summarizing his, her, or their academic record
- research and teaching experience
- honors and awards, and
- two letters of reference.
- The fellowship should be used to enhance the likelihood of future accomplishment by the recipient by helping to increase the quality of his, her, or their thesis or dissertation and publications resulting from it. For example, the fellowship might be used to support an MS or Ph.D. student in his, her, or their final semester or a Ph.D. student in his, her, or their final year to devote full attention to the last phases of data collection, analysis, and writing without having responsibilities as a teaching or research assistant.
- The fellowship is funded at 115% of the minimum salary of a University of Nevada, Reno graduate assistant.
- The Donors encourage the recipient to use some of the funds to travel to another institution for consultation on his or her research or to attend a national or international scientific meeting to present the results of his, her, or their work.
- Within four weeks after the beginning of the semester prior to use of the fellowship, the Chair of the Selection Committee will notify eligible graduate students about the opportunity to apply for the fellowship.
- One fellowship will be awarded per year except in unusual circumstances.
- No recipient may receive the fellowship more than once.
- Within three months of completion of the award period, the recipient shall provide a written report of no more than 1000 words to the Biology Department chair. The report should explain how the fellowship was used to enhance the recipient's graduate education.
- To apply, email your application to Dr. Voyles-Ensor.
- Letters of reference should be emailed directly to the Biology Business Manager by the referees.
To apply for one of these scholarships, fill out and submit the application form linked to below, including your CV, a personal statement, and two letters of support from the Department of Biology faculty. If you are doing research with non-biology faculty, an additional letter from your research mentor is welcome. Letters of recommendation should be submitted directly to the Department of Biology office (SFB 100).
Application deadline: March 1, annually
Faculty and grant writing support
Proposal development and processing support is available to all College of Science faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduate students. Find out how the research support team can help you.