Compete for Scholarships
Graduate students can compete for awards in creativity, research, and entrepreneurship at the GradShow – so no matter what field you study, you’ll be eligible for at least one award!
Students are automatically entered into their corresponding college-specific awards; students within interdisciplinary programs are entered into the University-Wide award.
All research proposals are automatically considered for the “Great Minds in Research” and all creative works are automatically considered for the “Distinction in Creativity” award.
Additional awards are based on specific criteria. Upon submission, you will be asked to elect which additional awards you would like to be considered for. Award criteria and amounts are described below. Award values are subject to change and may be distributed as decided upon by the GradShow planning committee.
Awards Ceremony
The day concludes with an awards reception in the LSC Grand Ballroom. All award winners will be announced, and refreshments will be provided. Come socialize and network with students, staff, and faculty from across CSU.
College-Specific Awards
University-Wide Graduate Programs Awards
Presented and offered by the Graduate School and CSU Libraries to top scholars in interdisciplinary programs.
- 1st Place: $600 award
- 2nd Place: $400 award
- 3rd Place: $300 award
College of Agricultural Sciences Awards
The Top Scholar Awards honor graduate students whose research advances the college’s mission to feed the world and develop solutions to climate change. These awards recognize scholars whose work reflects a shared commitment to creating a more sustainable and food-secure future.
- Top Scholar Awards: Three $500 awards
College of Business Award
The Dean’s Award for Research Excellence is awarded to the College of Business graduate student that provides a creative research solution to a substantive business problem.
- Top Scholar Award: $500 award
College of Health and Human Sciences Awards
CHHS is pleased to provide Excellence in Research and Creative Scholarship awards.
- Excellence in Research and Scholarship: three $500 awards
- Excellence in Creative Scholarship: one $500 award
College of Liberal Arts Awards
Awards graduate students in liberal arts disciplines / departments for highest achievements in creative and performing arts, including visual arts, music (solo and ensemble), theatre, dance, poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction.
- Highest Achievement in Visual and Performing Arts: two $500 awards
- Scholarly/Research-Based Poster Presentations: three $500 top scholar awards
College of Natural Sciences Awards
The Outstanding Scholar Award honors graduate students whose scholarship exemplifies the college’s commitment to cutting-edge research in foundational and applied sciences.
- Outstanding Scholar: four awards of $1,000 each
College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences Awards
CVMBS celebrates the achievements of our outstanding scholars who engage in basic, clinical, and translational research for the benefit of animals, people, and the planet.
- Top Scholar Awards: five $500 awards
Warner College of Natural Resources Awards
The Graduate Student Achievement award recognizes excellence in graduate student scholarship and research that sets the foundation for outstanding career-long contributions to the natural resources field.
- Three $500 awards
Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering Awards
WSCOE Excellence in Research Awards honor graduate students demonstrating research excellence and outstanding potential as a scholar.
- Top Scholar Awards: three $500 awards
Special Sponsor Awards
Distinction in Creativity Award
The Distinction in Creativity award is presented collaboratively by the Graduate School and Office of Vice President for Research. This award recognizes the passion and personal contributions of these talented graduate students and honors their commitment and efforts in their area of work.
- First place: $250 award
- Second place: $150 award
- Honorable mention: $150 award
Great Minds in Research Award
The Great Minds in Research award is presented collaboratively by the Graduate School and the Office of Vice President for Research. This award recognizes graduate student submissions that contribute to the excellence and advancement of research, scholarship, and entrepreneurial efforts at CSU.
- First place: $250 award
- Second place: $150 award
- Honorable mention: Ten $100 award
Business for a Better World Award
This College of Business award highlights outstanding scholarship from business graduate students with projects that offer sustainable solutions to substantive problems affecting a population.
- First place: $500
CSU Writes: Written Excellence Award
The CSU Writes scholarship recognizes an outstanding poster and presentation that reflects characteristics of excellent writing in its clarity, concision, structural alignment, and overall impression—from title to references.
- Written Excellence: $500
Drivers of Innovation: CSU STRATA
The Drivers of Innovation award highlights the leading edge of the most innovative research originating from CSU research. Awardees in this category have presented innovative research capable of solving commercial needs that benefit society. Additionally, the awardees have demonstrated a solid capability to communicate their science clearly as well as a superior ability to visually represent their research in a manner that is accessible to all audiences.
- One platinum award: $500
Global Impact Award
Office of International Programs seeks to honor three graduate students who demonstrate an active commitment to making a Global Impact through research. Examples might include field research that was conducted at an international location, research that was accomplished by partnering with an international organization or institution, or research that has the capacity to address a significant global challenge.
- Top Scholar: Three $400 awards
Graduate Analytical Excellence Award
Sponsored by the Analytical Resources Core, this award recognizes outstanding graduate-level research that demonstrates exceptional analytical skill and innovation. The award will be presented to a graduate student whose work exemplifies excellence in analytical methods and contributes significantly to advancing their field of study. This award highlights the critical role of analytical research in driving scientific progress across disciplines.
- Top Scholar: $350
Graduate Student Council: New Graduate Student Award
Graduate Student Council (GSC) offers this award in partnership with the Graduate School to welcome new graduate students to CSU and help these emerging scholars reach their full potential.
Awarded to graduate students in the first three semesters of their graduate work, with special consideration to projects focused on informing policy that may benefit graduate students and further the goals of GSC.
GSC leadership team and our administrative advisors will judge this award.
- Research Top Scholar: Four $300 awards
- Creative Arts Top Scholar: One $300 award
One Health Institute's Award for Research Excellence
CSU’s One Health Institute implements the transdisciplinary One Health approach understanding the interconnectedness of the health of humans, animals, and the environment. Global drivers such as climate change and land use change are affecting health and bringing animals and people in contact in new ways leading to risk for new diseases and effects on health. We implement the One Health approach to solve complex problems through research, training, outreach, and advocacy to influence best practice and policy. Through the OHI Research Excellence Award, one outstanding graduate student is recognized for their research excellence.
- One Research Excellence Award: $500
Former Recipients
View former recipients of past GradShow events:
Top presenters advance to other competitions
Disclaimer
Awards Subject to Change
While we do our best to provide correct and current information regarding the award categories and amounts, occasionally this information may change. All awards and award amounts are subject to change.
Discretionary Scholarship Awards
All awards are provided in the form of Discretionary Scholarships and are acknowledged by the Office of Financial Aid as a resource to support the student’s cost-of-education. The addition of the scholarship could cause a student to have total financial aid in excess of their cost-of-education, which would adjust accordingly.
Thank you
The GradShow Committee
- Dr. Colleen Webb, Dean
- Ludy Avalos
- Vince Avalos
- Allison DeWaele
- Lynna Dicamillo
- Cheyenne Dolin
- Vigor Lam
- Maggie Mataczynski
- Sara Mei
- Serena Penn
- Cassandra Puletapuai
- Amber Winters
Graduate School Support
- Colleen Webb, vice provost for graduate affairs and dean of the Graduate School
- Jozsef Vigh, associate dean of the Graduate School
- Sara Anne Tompkins, associate dean of the Graduate School
- Hillary Chlebisch
- Sandy Dailey
- Dustin Grantham
- Brandon Fuller
- Teresa McClure
- Jennifer Wang
Office of the Vice President for Research
OVPR generously supports the GradShow, and as a valued partner, ensures this interdisciplinary event can continually support the research, creative, and entrepreneurial growth of CSU graduate students.
Special Thanks to Presenters and Judges
Thank you for joining us at the GradShow. Special appreciation goes to all of the graduate students who presented, as this celebration would not be possible without your willingness to share your creative works and scholarship. An additional thank you to the judges who volunteered. Your time and efforts truly made all the difference in allowing us to recognize and celebrate graduate student excellence here on campus.