The Graduate Student Leadership Award celebrates graduate students who have engaged in outstanding service that has positively impacted the University of Illinois campus or wider communities. How that leadership has been demonstrated can vary widely.
The Graduate College and its student advisory group, SAGE (Students Advising Graduate Education), invite applications of graduate students who have exhibited outstanding service for the 2024-25 Graduate Student Leadership Awards. The Graduate College will grant two awards, one designated for a master's student winner and one for a doctoral student winner.
Dates
The deadline to submit all application requirements is 11:59 p.m. (Central) on Monday, January 20, 2025.
The winners will be announced in mid-February.
Awards
The two winners will each receive a $500 award.
Awards to graduate students will be dispersed through the student’s university account. Awards may be subject to tax withholding.
Application Requirements
To apply, each of the following must be submitted by the deadline:
1. Completed application form, which includes:
- CV or resume
- Responses to the following three prompts:
- Describe specific contributions you have made to either the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's campus or wider communities
- Explain how your efforts produced a positive impact on those communities
- Tell us how your contributions exemplify leadership qualities you have gained or developed through experiences as a graduate student
2. Two (2) recommendations:
- Recommendations should come directly from two separate individuals who can speak to the student's leadership qualities and/or give a first-hand account of the student's leadership. The Graduate College welcomes recommenders both from within and outside of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
- Recommendations for both master's students and doctoral students are submitted online using this form: Graduate Student Leadership Awards Recommentation Form
Eligibility
To be eligible to participate, entrants must be a graduate student in good academic standing at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and be registered during the Spring 2025 term. (Students in J.D. or M.D. programs are not eligible. Students in an M.D./Ph.D. program are eligible if they are registered in their Ph.D. program in Spring 2025.)
Previous Winners
Read more about our previous winners below:
Questions?
Please contact the Graduate College at gradsuccess@illinois.edu with any questions about the application process. If you require any disability-related accommodations to submit your application, please let us know through email.