Academics

Graduate School honors University and Distinguished Graduate Fellows

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The 2015-16 recipients of University Graduate Fellowships and Distinguished Graduate Fellowships were honored during the Graduate School’s annual reception for this select group of first-year doctoral candidates, held Sept. 29 at the Nittany Lion Inn.

“I want to congratulate our graduate scholars on their first achievement at Penn State, in having received the distinction of University Graduate Fellows and Distinguished Graduate Fellows,” said Regina Vasilatos-Younken, vice provost for graduate education and dean of the Graduate School. “Each incoming fellow and scholar can be very proud of the accomplishments that brought you to this point in your respective academic careers. Along with a sense of pride, you should also feel a sense of responsibility. We expect great things of you. I invite you to use this first year in your program to fully explore your intellectual opportunities and consider the multitude of disciplinary and interdisciplinary avenues that are available to you.”

Vasilatos-Younken emphasized the renowned strengths of the research institutes within the Office of the Vice President for Research, college-based institutes, the Applied Research Laboratory and the Electro-Optics Center, and encouraged the fellows to consider attending the Graduate School’s Graduate Exhibition this spring as observers and, in the future before completing their degrees, as participants. The event is an annual celebration of research and the creative achievements of Penn State’s graduate students.

“I can promise that you will be amazed by the array of research and graduate scholarship being conducted at Penn State, and will come away with a new appreciation for how other disciplines contribute to the world,” Vasilatos-Younken said.

University and Distinguished Graduate Fellowships are the University’s most competitive graduate-level awards. The fellowships are highly prestigious financial support packages that include a stipend, tuition remission, and a health insurance subsidy.

The Graduate School sponsors 100 University Graduate Fellowships for highly competitive incoming research doctorate students each year. Selection of University Graduate Fellows is made within the academic colleges. Distinguished Graduate Fellowships are endowed through the collaborative funding efforts of donors, the Graduate School, and the academic colleges. Selection of Distinguished Graduate Fellows is determined within each college and with concurrence of the Dean of the Graduate School. 

For additional information, contact the Graduate School’s Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards Administration at l-gs-fellowships@lists.psu.edu or 814-865-2514. 

Last Updated October 2, 2015