Graduate School
The Proposal Project
The University of Southern Mississippi Graduate School’s Proposal Project helps graduate students develop grant-writing skills and pursue external funding for fellowships, traineeships, and eligible residency programs.
Students selected for the program can receive a $500 award after submitting an approved proposal to an eligible external funding agency or fellowship program. The proposal does not have to be funded to receive the award.
Important: The proposed budget must include stipend support or meet one of the other eligible funding requirements listed below. Proposals requesting only travel funding, equipment purchases, or similar expenses are not eligible.
Proposal Project Deadline: Friday, November 13, 2026
Grant Writing Workshops
Student Eligibility Requirements
To participate in the Proposal Project, students must:
- Be a master’s, specialist, or doctoral student in good academic standing.
- Be enrolled when submitting the proposal and remain enrolled throughout the project period if the proposal is funded.
- Complete at least one grant-writing workshop, either by attending a live session or watching a recording and submitting the accompanying survey.
- Propose a project for an eligible external funding opportunity that meets the program’s budget requirements.
Students may receive no more than one Proposal Project award per academic year.
How to Receive the $500 Award
Attend at least one grant-writing workshop or watch a recording and submit the accompanying survey.
Submit a one-page LOI to the Graduate School by Friday, November 13, 2026. The LOI allows the committee to review your eligibility, proposed funding opportunity, budget, and project.
- Your name, degree program, and school.
- Your advisor’s or committee chair’s name.
- The proposed project title and a brief description.
- A brief budget description that identifies the proposed stipend or other eligible support.
- The name of the external funding agency or fellowship program and a link to its website.
- The proposal submission deadline.
A committee representing the University’s colleges will review and rank submitted LOIs. Students who receive a top-five ranking may qualify for the $500 award after submitting an approved proposal and completing the remaining requirements.
If a top-five student does not submit an approved proposal, the next student in the ranking may become eligible.
Work with your major advisor or committee chair to develop and submit your proposal to the external funding agency or fellowship program.
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Be submitted to an eligible external funding agency, such as a government agency, private foundation, or business or industry organization, or to an eligible fellowship program.
- Meet the sponsor organization's application requirements and all applicable University, state, and federal policies.
- Be reviewed and approved by your major advisor or committee chair before submission.
- Follow your discipline’s standard proposal submission process. Many proposals require advance consultation with the Office of Research Administration (ORA) for budget development, agency forms, and internal approvals.
- Full stipend support at or above the University of Southern Mississippi’s base stipend level, plus fringe benefits, for one or more terms.
- Full-time tuition and fees for one or more terms.
- Full support for a writer’s or artist’s residency or a similar eligible program.
After submitting the approved proposal, ask your major advisor or committee chair to provide a letter to the Graduate School’s Assistant Director for Professional Development and Outreach, Shaadi%20Shoubaki.
The letter must confirm the advisor’s support for the project, approval of the proposal, and submission to the external funding agency or fellowship program.
Once the Graduate School receives the advisor’s verification letter and confirms that all requirements have been met, the $500 award will be issued by check or direct deposit. The external proposal does not have to be funded for the student to receive the award.
Contact the Graduate School’s Assistant Director for Professional Development and Outreach, Shaadi%20Shoubaki, for assistance with the Proposal Project.