Student Awards for Academic Excellence
Each spring, UT Austin, with the generous support of the University Co-op, recognizes up to five undergraduate students for superior scholarly or creative achievement. Two students receive awards of $2,500 each, two students receive awards of $5,000 each, and one student receives the top award of $12,000.
The Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost provides a concurrent award of half the value of each student’s award to the academic department in which the scholarly work was supervised. The Co-op Awards Selection Committee consists of university faculty members who choose the recipients.
A faculty member must submit student nominations for this award.
Deadline: March 21, 2018 (11:59 PM)
Eligibility
Nominees must be either a junior or senior currently enrolled at UT Austin or have received their undergraduate degree in December of 2017. Submitted work should be finished or close to finished (e.g., a complete draft of a thesis or research paper). Previous University Co-op / George H. Mitchell Awards recipients are eligible only if the submitted work is a completely different project. Both the student application and the faculty nomination, with all their supporting materials, must be received by the deadline in order for the application to be considered.
The application for the Co-op / Mitchell award is in 2 parts:
Part 1: Online Student Application
The following materials must be uploaded by the student applicant:
- The student project (paper, thesis, publication, video, artwork, etc.) in a single digital file. If you are providing a YouTube, Vimeo, or similar link, please prepare a document briefly describing your project and referencing your link.
- A 1-2 page CV or resume highlighting activities and achievements during your years of study at UT Austin.
- A 1 page statement in which you place your project in the context of your educational experiences at UT Austin and your future occupational work or graduate school plans. Describe how you see the project or work for which you have been nominated fitting into your vision for yourself as a developing young scholar or artist in your field. (Limit 1 page, 12 point font.)
- A scanned copy of your academic summary, which is available through the Registrar’s Office at no cost.
Part 2: Online Faculty Nomination
A faculty member must submit a letter of nomination for the student applicant using the nomination link on this page. The letter should be on departmental letterhead and should describe in detail how the nominee has demonstrated superior scholarly or creative achievement through a notable paper or thesis, research project, creative or artistic endeavor, or other product of the student’s academic work. In case of a collaborative project, describe the student’s contribution and why it is substantial. The committee will pay particular attention to your explanation of the significance of the work in the context of the relevant field of study.
