Funding

EEB students are funded through a combination of research assistantships, teaching assistantships, and fellowships.

Our students are extremely successful at obtaining competitive awards, with approximately a third of EEB students funded via fellowships. Nearly 20% of our current students have won NSF Graduate Research Fellowships (GRFP), which is twice the nationwide average of funded applicants. EEB students have also received many other prestigious awards including NSF INTERN and DDIG Fellowships, Fulbright Fellowships, National Geographic Explorer Grants, and major fellowships from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Defense (DoD), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

EEB students are also eligible for a number of MSU recruitment, continuing, and completion fellowships administered by their home colleges and the graduate school. For more information on graduate financial aid, visit the MSU Graduate School's website.

Funding arrangements are made between a student, their major advisor, and the home department. Students are encouraged to discuss funding with their advisor early and often.

EEB offers funding to our graduate students under the following programs:

Summer Fellowship in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior

Summer fellowships are available to graduate students via a competitive process. A call for applications is announced to the student listserv early in the spring term. To maximize the availability of funds, we strongly encourage faculty advisors to provide matching funds when possible. Fellowship funds are dispersed in the form of a fellowship paid directly to the student and do not include benefits or a tuition waiver.

Priority will be given to students who are near completion of their degrees, have actively participated in EEB activities, and show evidence of scholarly accomplishments. Such accomplishments may include prior presentations at scientific meetings, papers published and/or submitted, and grants and fellowships obtained. Participation in teaching, outreach, and service will also be factors for consideration. While the summer fellowships will be made on a competitive basis, constraints on other available support may also be considered in the decision process.

The top two students are awarded the Don Hall Fellowship, which comes with an additional award of $1000.

Professional Horizons Grant

Travel grants are available to EEB students and postdocs for partial support to attend professional conferences (including registration fees for virtual meetings) or to participate in other scientific activities involving travel. The latter might include a special course or workshop, visiting another laboratory to learn a specialized technique, or attending a leadership development program. Students receiving travel support to attend a conference are expected to present their research as an oral presentation or poster. Travel grants cannot be used to support travel to field sites, whether local or distant, that are part of a student’s regular research activities. Calls for applications are announced to the student listserv.

EEB Excellence in Quantitative Methods Teaching Assistantship 

EEB assigns the teaching assistantships for our quantitative course sequence: IBIO/PLB/ENT 830 and 831 through a competitive process. Each teaching assistantship comes with stipend, tuition, and health insurance for the semester. Applicants should be EEB students in good standing and are required to have previously taken the 830-831 course sequence. Selected TAs are expected to have a strong interest in quantitative methods and an enthusiasm for teaching. A call for applications for both classes is announced to the student listserv annually during the spring term.