2025-2026 Professional Development Award – Presented by
The Graduate School
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. 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 to prepare:
- 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 next full council meeting. 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.
There will be two “rolling deadlines” for each semester (Spring, Fall). The source of funds is finite, and when funds are depleted, no more applications will be funded. Please read below and the Funding Guidelines before you apply.
Fall Semester (for events 7/1/25 through 12/31/25):
- Deadline #1: October 13, 2024 Deadline #2: November 3, 2025
Spring Semester (For events 1/1/26 through 6/30/26)
- Deadline #1: February 2, 2026 Deadline #2: March 30, 2026
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 2025 (Events from July 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025) – First deadline is October 13, 2025. Notifications of awards will be sent after the October 29th full council meeting. IF funds remain for 2nd round of application review, the 2nd and FINAL FALL SEMESTER deadline is: November 3, 2025. Notifications would go out to applicants after November 19th 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.
Spring 2026 (Events from January 1, 2026 through June 30, 2026) – First deadline is February 2, 2026. Notifications will go out to applicants after Feb. 18th full council meeting.
FINAL DEADLINE: March 30, 2026*. Notifications would then go out to applicants after April 15th full council meeting.
Full council meeting dates listed here: https://cogs.msu.edu/governance/
NOTE: Do not apply for events that take place AFTER June 30, 2026 until the FY 26-27 Applications are posted, sometime after Aug 1, 2026.
*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
