UGS Excellence Awards
The UGS Excellence Awards are intended to recognize the outstanding achievements of FIU graduate students and faculty mentors who are committed to the development of the next generation of scholars. Recipients will be recognized at our awards ceremony on Thursday, April 16, 2026.
The nomination deadline for all of the awards is by 11:59 pm on Thursday, March 5, 2026.
This year’s award categories can be found below – nomination links are located within each guideline document:
STUDENT AWARDS
- Graduate Student Engagement: recognizes nominees who have demonstrated significant local, regional, or global community engagement initiative(s) with a community partner that has led to demonstrable community impacts.
- Graduate Student Outstanding Creative Project: recognizes nominees who have outstanding creative activity of local, national, or international significance.
- Graduate Student Outstanding Paper or Manuscript: recognizes nominees who have contributed to the body of literature in their discipline via an outstanding paper or manuscript.
- Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant: recognizes exceptional contributions made by a Graduate Teaching Assistant to the educational excellence of FIU.
FACULTY AWARDS:
- Outstanding Graduate Program Director: recognizes a program director’s accomplishments and contributions to the success of a program.
- Mentorship of Graduate Students: recognizes excellence in the teaching and mentoring of graduate students outside the formal classroom experience.
