2024-2025 Professional Development Award – Presented by
The Graduate School
*Applications are CLOSED for Fall 2024 Events. You may apply for Spring 2025 events
(Eligible events that take place from 1/1/25 – 6/30/25)
Virtual professional development opportunities are eligible. For more information regarding travel impacted by COVID-19, please see: https://msu.edu/together-we-will/travel/
Award Information:
COGS thanks The Graduate School for their generous funding of this award.
This program is intended to support graduate/professional students attend events or engage in activities that enhance their professional development. A qualified event includes but is not limited to a local, regional, national or international workshop, academic competition, convention, or association meeting in which the primary goal of event participants is to obtain or hone a skill set useful to their profession both creative and scholarly. Please read the Professional Development Funding Guidelines before applying. Professional development awards cannot be used to fund presentations at conferences. If you are presenting research at a conference, please apply for a Conference Award.
The maximum award amount is $500.00. All graduate and professional students are limited to no more than $500 worth of COGS Professional Development Award funds during their MSU academic career. Especially during this time of remote engagement opportunities, events may cost less than $500. With that in mind, the committee has updated the guidelines to clarify that students may win a maximum of $500. And you may apply more than once if you have not used the full $500, but any funds will be limited to reaching the total $500 limit per student. (NOTE: Funds are dispersed as a fellowship award from The Graduate School via the financial aid office to the student’s student account. Only enrolled graduate/professional students can receive this award.) These awards may not be used for tuition based programs such as study abroad. Please be sure to check all financial aid options through those programs.
To submit an online application, you will need:
- Statement of Justification: In 500 words or less, please explain how you believe the skills, learning, or experience the event offers will be useful to you during your graduate degree or your career thereafter (access guidelines section 3 for more details). You should make technical details of this experience clear to a broad audience. Applicants should clearly identify and explain how their professional development activity honed or improved their skill(s) or developed their knowledge. Attending an event does not guarantee funding. If the event is administered by another institute of higher education, please explain how the event differs from similar events at Michigan State University.
- Letter of recommendation: Please have your major professor or advisor write a letter (1) confirming your attendance at the event and (2) explaining how this experience will contribute to your academic career. If you professor wishes to submit the letter directly to our office, it can be emailed to office@cogs.msu.edu. PLEASE NOTE: Letter of Recommendation is part of the application and must be submitted on or before the application deadline to be considered.
After each stated deadline, applications are reviewed at Finance Committee meetings and awarded by approval by vote at full council. Number of awards approved depends on available funds for the current semester award budget. Once applications pass the initial review process, Finance Committee may apply randomized lottery for selection of final awardees if eligible applications exceed available funding.
APPLICATION DEADLINES:
Applications are due by 5pm est on the stated due date. Please note: We are unable to consider late applications.
COGS FUNDS ARE LIMITED, SO APPLICANTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY BY THE EARLIEST POSTED DEADLINE FOR THE SEMESTER THEY ARE ATTENDING THEIR CONFERENCE. ONLY IF funds remain after the first review period, will applications be reviewed for subsequent posted deadline(s) for that semester. Once no more funds remain for a given semester, then no further applications for conferences taking place for that semester will be considered. (You may apply early for the next semester’s conference, but your application won’t be reviewed until the posted review period for that semester.) Website will be updated as to the availability of funds after each initial review period.
Fall 2024 (Events from July 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024) – First deadline is September 26, 2024. Notifications of awards will be sent after the October 18th full council meeting. * Please note that a blind lottery may be needed if more eligible applications are received than can be covered by available funds.
NO remaining funds available for FALL 2024.
Spring 2025 (Events from January 1, 2025 through June 30, 2025) – First deadline is January 30, 2025. Notifications will go out to applicants after Feb. 19th full council meeting.
FINAL DEADLINE (depending on available funds): March 27, 2025*. Notifications would then go out to applicants after April 16th full council meeting.
ALL AWARD NOTIFICATIONS will be sent following full council meetings. Check for dates here: https://cogs.msu.edu/governance/
NOTE: Do not apply for events that take place AFTER June 30, 2025 until the FY 25-26 Applications are posted, sometime after July 1, 2025.
*Number of awards approved depends on available funds for the current semester award budget. Once applications pass the initial review process, Finance Committee may apply randomized lottery for selection of final awardees, if eligible applications exceed available funds.
Please check with your department, and The Graduate School if you need additional funding sources for attending a conference: https://grad.msu.edu/travel
Financial Aid Notice: If you have completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, then you should be aware that receipt of a fellowship, scholarship, award or assistantship may reduce your eligibility for federal student loans. Please note the following: 1) you must be enrolled for the semester that your fellowship/award is awarded; 2) fellowships & awards are taxable; 3) if you owe MSU any money, your award will be reduced by that amount prior to deposition Please contact the Office of Financial Aid at finaid@msu.edu if you have questions.
Please call the COGS office with any questions: (517) 353-9189 or email: office@cogs.msu.edu
