The Office of Graduate Education

Graduate Education Awards and Grants

Betty and Gifford Johnson Travel Awards

Applications are being accepted beginning Monday, October 2.

Graduate students in all degree programs are encouraged to attend and present their creative or scholarly work at regional, national, or international conferences in their disciplines. To support this, the Office of Graduate Education is accepting applications for the Betty and Gifford Johnson Travel Awards.

Awards in this program cover conference travel expenses for up to $2,000 (half from School/Department/Research Group and half from Graduate Education). This funding is not a substitute for other forms of funding that currently exist. Rather, the intent is to support research activities in instances where other sources are inadequate or unavailable.

Applications must be submitted before the first day of the conference. Applications are accepted at any time, but applications submitted before the 15th of the month will be reviewed that month by the committee, and applications submitted after the 15th will be reviewed the following month.

Please note that this award is a reimbursement. Award recipients must submit their itemized receipts after the conference concludes and work with their department for the refunds. Graduate students who have applied to participate or have already been accepted to participate in a professional conference, symposium, or workshop should submit an application, a one-page proposal, confirmation of the school funding, and a statement of support from a faculty member.

Questions? Email [email protected]

Best Dissertation Award

The Best Dissertation Award is awarded to a student from each PhD-granting school. All dissertations from the previous calendar year are eligible for the award. Faculty committees within each school determine the winner, and there is no application process required from students. The awards are given in the spring.

David Daniel Thesis Award

Each year, this award recognizes an exceptional doctoral student in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science and the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. It is supported by an endowment established in 2006 by the former UT Dallas president. There is no application process required from students, and faculty committees in both Engineering and Natural Sciences meet separately to determine the winner from each school. The awards are given in the spring.

Dean of Graduate Education Dissertation Research Award

2024 Deadline: April 15, 2024 at 5pm.

Application forms will be available in January 2024, and completed applications must be submitted to the Office of Graduate Education no later than  5 p.m. on Monday, April 15, 2024. Funds may be requested for up to $5,000 to support research during the dissertation year. Funds may be requested for equipment, supplies, paying participants, research-related travel, limited support for research assistants, or other related expenses (these funds cannot be used to pay your salary). Awards will be announced in May 2024.

Priority will be given to applicants who have applied for external funding. You are strongly urged to start applying now for external funding so that you can receive priority consideration for the Dean of Graduate Education Research Award.

Students may receive only one dissertation award while at UT Dallas. However, students may revise and resubmit unsuccessful applications for consideration during future application cycles.  

Download Application

Questions? Email [email protected]