Spring is a wonderful time for the Graduate Student Association (GSA). During April, the GSA awards almost $70,000 in awards and scholarships to graduate students at the University of Nevada, Reno.

These scholarships and awards recognize our graduate students for their identities, accomplishments, service, teaching, research and just being overall outstanding.  

The GSA aims to recognize outstanding graduate students as their diligent and dedicated work is what continues to drive the University of Nevada, Reno to be an R-1 Carnegie Institution.

This awards program, dedicated solely to graduate students, continues to set expectations and competition among this student population to excel not only as graduate students but as contributing members of the community we inhabit. The GSA awards a multitude of awards such as:

• Milton Glick Memorial Scholarship: A $1,000 scholarship awarded to two first-generation graduate students (those that are the first in their family to pursue a graduate education). The scholarship was created in honor of Dr. Glick, a former president of the University of Nevada, Reno, who had a passion for first-generation college students;
• Research, Travel and Materials Grant: A grant of up to $2,500 awarded to multiple graduate students. This merit-based grant allows graduate students the opportunity to compete for monetary support for their research and scholarly projects. The goal is to provide funding opportunities for innovative scholarly activities of graduate students from a breadth of disciplines;
• Outstanding Graduate Student Service Award: A new award this spring giving $1,000 award to graduate students. This award is given to honor those with a distinguished record in service, completed during their collegiate career in benefit of the university and or communities at large.

These are only a few of the many awards given to the incredible graduate students at the university. However, one important population contributing to the success of graduate students is their mentors, and because of this, the GSA created the Vada Trimble Outstanding Mentor Award to honor such individuals. The recipients of this can be either academic or administrative faculty members that have been great mentors and advocates for graduate students. This award comes with $500 and a certificate honoring their achievement.

“GSA Spring Awards is a way to recognize the hard work that our graduate students do. It’s a tradition that GSA has been doing for years to acknowledge the academic achievements and the non-academic achievements of a graduate student," said Roshika Roshika, cell and molecular biology Ph.D. graduate student.

The awardees of the GSA Spring Awards are not only given a monetary gift along with a certificate but are celebrated at the annual Spring Awards Banquet, which is one of the GSA’s largest celebration events. This event is a celebration of award recipients with their loved ones to showcase their efforts and is often attended by distinguished faculty and administrators.

The GSA Spring Awards are a highly competitive process in which over 250 applications are received every year and are judged based on specific criteria set. These awards would not be possible if not for the judges who volunteer their time to review the many applications and these individuals are our very own university faculty. These awards are able to make a difference in the life of a graduate student and further promote the retention of our amazing students.

"The GSA Spring Awards are an amazing resource for graduate students. The awards range from scholarships to research grants. During my time at UNR, I received several scholarships and awards as well as a grant to complete my fieldwork. The awards I received were instrumental in helping me complete my dissertation,"  said Christina McSherry, Ph.D., spring 2022 anthroplogy graduate.

The Graduate Student Association is a graduate student-run organization, formed in 1967, and has proudly promoted the welfare and interest of graduate students at the University of Nevada, Reno since its founding days.