GSA Academic Enhancement Scholarship
The purpose of this scholarship is to ease the financial burdens of various school-related costs that will occur during the semester. This would include: conference attendance and professional development workshops/courses; books, equipment, or travel for academic/dissertation research; and other school-related emergencies (computer repair/replacement, unexpected university fees, etc.).
One scholarships is offered in the amount of $100. Applications will be reviewed by GSA officers and, upon approval, entered into a lottery drawing. The award can only be received once per academic year.
In order to be eligible for the scholarship, you must have participated in at least three (3) GSA events, including at least one GSA meeting during the previous semester. Other participation includes attending events (Graduate Research Symposium, the bake sale, happy hour) or contributing to events (volunteering for or donating to the bake sale). First year students are exempt from these requirements for the Fall semester award. We have kept track of attendance and participation, so if you are unsure if you have met the requirement or if you have any questions about these requirements, please ask.
Jacob J. Climo Excellence in Mentorship Award
Mentoring relationships are an important and essential component of graduate education. The teaching, support, and advice that come from a good mentoring relationship are invaluable for graduate students. While one expects some sort of mentoring relationship with one’s major advisor and committee members, often these types of relationships come from other sometimes-unexpected places and people.
In giving this award the Graduate Students of Anthropology recognize outstanding mentors, and remember one such person, Dr. Jacob Climo, in particular. Dr. Climo was known for informal conversations in passing about whatever a student was working on. Days or even weeks later, Dr. Climo would approach the individual again, clearly having seriously thought about that brief and seemingly unimportant conversation. It was not unusual to find him generously offering ideas, lending a book from his library, or recommending a direction for further research. Because his interests were so wide, these kinds of encounters were not restricted to any particular sub-discipline or even those in anthropology. Dr. Climo’s contagious enthusiasm for learning and broad range of interests in anthropology, combined with this intellectual generosity and genuine interest in student’s work, made him an exceptional mentor.
With the Jacob Climo Mentoring Award, the Graduate Students of Anthropology (GSA) will recognize exceptional mentors in the Department of Anthropology. Because of the special nature of these relationships, this award may not be given out every year, and may instead be reserved for individuals who truly deserve recognition in their capacity as graduate student mentors. As with other awards, nominations will be solicited from the wider body of anthropology graduate students by the GSA yearly.
Graduate Students in Anthropology Peer Award
To be eligible for nomination, the student must:
- Be a graduate student in the MSU anthropology department
- Be nominated by fellow students
- Have exhibited and sustained exceptional performance as outlined in the “Selection Criteria”
Selection Criteria: The contributions made by the student should be explained so that the following can be evaluated (specific examples of these criteria should be cited in the nomination materials):
- A student’s superior initiative or involvement in the GSA or other department related activities that went “beyond the call of duty”
- Involved in or makes significant contributions to the functioning of activities and/or administration of the MSU Department of Anthropology (and related programs)
- Fosters and promotes the goals of the department by encouraging teamwork and collaboration within the department and among colleagues