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Auburn Graduate School Scholarship 2027 - $37,000/yr PGRF

Deadline Approximate - each college sets its own nomination deadline 121 days left · Hosted by Auburn University · Published

The Auburn Graduate School Scholarship most people are searching for is the Presidential Graduate Research Fellowship, and it is worth understanding how it actually works before you go looking for a form to fill in. There isn't one. Auburn's Graduate School funds incoming doctoral students through nomination rather than open competition, and the package on offer is substantial: a minimum of $37,000 a year, made up of a $15,000 Presidential Fellowship paid from the President's Office, a Dean's Fellowship of at least $7,000, and a graduate research assistantship of at least $15,000, with colleges free to pay above those floors to stay competitive. On top of the cash sits a full graduate tuition waiver covering both in-state and out-of-state rates, and the award runs for three years. Each of Auburn's 12 colleges can make new awards annually for a fall semester start, though the number varies by college and by year depending on funds and the quality of the nominees. The catch worth knowing early is the eligibility line: nominees cannot already be enrolled in a doctoral or terminal professional degree programme at Auburn. It is aimed at new entrants, whether you are a current Auburn undergraduate, a current master's student, or applying from outside. Recipients carry the title of Presidential Graduate Research Fellow. Student fees and the graduate enrollment fee stay on you.

Plus full tuition waiver
$37,000/yr min
PhD and terminal degrees
Doctoral entry
Target mid-Jan 2027
Set by college
No citizenship bar stated
Auburn, Alabama
How to apply Am I eligible? Official website

What is the Auburn Graduate School Scholarship 2027?

The Auburn Graduate School Scholarship is the name people search for, but the award behind the search is the Presidential Graduate Research Fellowship, and knowing the difference saves you a lot of wasted clicking. Auburn's Graduate School does not run an open scholarship competition with a form and a closing date. It funds incoming doctoral students through nomination, and the money is real: a minimum of $37,000 a year, assembled from a $15,000 Presidential Fellowship paid out of the President's Office, a Dean's Fellowship of at least $7,000 from your college, and a graduate research assistantship of at least $15,000. Colleges can pay above all three floors, and Auburn openly encourages them to when they want to land a particular student. A full graduate tuition waiver covering in-state and out-of-state rates comes attached, and the whole package is guaranteed for three years of doctoral study.

The structure tells you who the fellowship is for. Auburn built it to raise its research profile by pulling strong new people into doctoral and terminal professional programmes, so the eligibility line that trips applicants up is the one about existing students: nominees cannot already be enrolled in a doctoral or terminal professional degree programme at Auburn. Current Auburn undergraduates and master's students count as new applicants and can be nominated, as can anyone applying from outside. Each of Auburn's 12 colleges can make new awards each year for a fall start, with the number varying by college and by year according to available funds and how strong the nominees are. Recipients carry the title of Presidential Graduate Research Fellow, enrol full time at 9 hours in Fall and Spring plus at least one in summer, and take part in at least one Graduate School professional development session every semester.

Because nomination is the only way in, the useful strategy looks nothing like a scholarship application. Your nomination packet is built by your proposed major professor or department chair and sent as a single PDF to your college's Associate Dean for Research, containing the Nomination Cover Form, a letter of nomination, a statement of financial support from the chair confirming the department will fund its share, and your CV. Selection leans on how much a fellow is expected to lift the research and scholarly productivity of the programme they join, which is another way of saying a faculty member has to want you specifically. So write to potential supervisors, tell the Graduate Program Officer for your intended programme that you want to be considered, and do it early. Auburn's own guidance to prospective students is exactly that. You also need an application already lodged with the Graduate School, since nobody can be nominated without one.

Dates are the murkiest part and deserve honesty rather than a confident-looking number. Each college sets its own nomination and notification deadlines internally, and Auburn publishes none of them centrally, which is why the mid-January 2027 date on this page is a planning target rather than a published cutoff. The dates Auburn does publish are admission processing minimums: materials in at least 45 days before the first day of class for domestic applicants, at least 90 days for international applicants, with most departments deciding several months earlier than either. Treat those as the latest possible moment rather than the plan. Two more practical points before you build a budget: student fees and the graduate enrollment fee are not covered by the fellowship, and support past year three falls to your department and college. If the nomination route does not work out, Auburn's ordinary path is a departmental assistantship, which carries an automatic Graduate Tuition Fellowship paying resident and non-resident tuition at 0.33 FTE or higher and reclassifies you as in-state at 0.25 FTE. For comparable doctoral funding elsewhere, the Georgetown PhD Scholarship guide covers a package awarded with the admission decision, the Notre Dame Doctoral Program guide sets out another fully funded route, and the Purdue University Scholarship guide shows how a large public campus handles merit money. Current terms are published on the Auburn Presidential Graduate Research Fellowships page.

Who can apply

Eligibility

Your progress 0 / 7
  • ✓
    Entering a doctoral or terminal professional degree
    The fellowship exists to attract strong students into Auburn's doctoral and terminal professional programmes. Master's-only applicants are outside its scope, and the award is tied to the programme you intend to pursue rather than to the Graduate School at large.
  • ✓
    Not already enrolled in an Auburn doctoral programme
    Auburn states this one plainly: nominees cannot be already enrolled in a doctoral or terminal professional degree program at Auburn University. Current Auburn undergraduates and master's students qualify as new applicants, as do external applicants. If you are already a year into an Auburn PhD, this is not your award.
  • ✓
    An application already in with the Graduate School
    To be considered you must have applied or been accepted to the Graduate School. Nomination cannot happen in a vacuum, so the admission application comes first and the fellowship decision follows it.
  • ✓
    A nomination from your college
    You must be nominated by the respective college dean or their designee for the programme you intend to pursue. In practice the packet is built by your proposed major professor or department chair and submitted to the college's Associate Dean for Research. There is no student-submitted route.
  • ✓
    A research case your programme wants to make
    Selection turns heavily on the expected positive impact of the fellow on the research and scholarly productivity of the programme they are joining. A department nominates you because it wants your work in the building, which makes early contact with a potential major professor the single most useful thing you can do.
  • ✓
    Full-time enrolment once you hold it
    Fellows must enrol full time, which Auburn defines as 9 hours in Fall and Spring and at least one hour in summer. Requirements for international students may differ. Fellows also have to make satisfactory annual progress as judged by the Graduate School, the department chair and the major professor.
  • ✓
    One professional development session a semester
    Fellows are required to take part in at least one professional development opportunity per semester offered by the Graduate School. Colleges can add their own expectations for fellows within their units on top of that.
What you get

Benefits

  • Total annual package $37,000 minimum
  • President's Fellowship $15,000 a year from the President's Office
  • Dean's Fellowship $7,000 a year minimum, from the college
  • Graduate research assistantship $15,000 a year minimum, or the college or department minimum if higher
  • Tuition Full graduate tuition waiver, in-state and out-of-state
  • Duration Three years, guaranteed subject to performance and continuation guidelines
  • Title Presidential Graduate Research Fellow
  • Student fees Not covered, billed to you
  • Graduate enrollment fee Not covered
  • Year four onwards Not covered by the fellowship, falls to your department and college
  • Direct student application None, nomination only
  • Monthly stipend Set by the hiring department for teaching, research or other campus work
  • Graduate tuition fellowship at 0.33 FTE or higher Resident and non-resident tuition paid, up to 15 attempted hours a semester
  • Graduate tuition fellowship at 0.25 to 0.32 FTE 50% tuition support at the in-state rate
  • Residency reclassification Assistants at 0.25 FTE and above are treated as in-state for tuition charges
  • Health insurance Automatic enrolment in the graduate student plan at a reduced rate
  • Application process None for the tuition fellowship, it follows the assistantship automatically
  • Assistantships below 0.25 FTE No tuition support provided
  • Awarded by the Graduate School No, assistantships are awarded by your home academic department
What to prepare

Document checklist

Documents gathered 0 / 8
  • ✓
    Auburn graduate admission application
    Submitted through Auburn's online application portal. This is the piece you control and it has to be in before any nomination can go forward. The fee is $60 for domestic applicants and $70 for international applicants.
  • ✓
    PGRF Nomination Cover Form
    A Graduate School form that heads the nomination packet. Your nominating faculty member completes it, not you, and it goes into the packet as part of a single PDF.
  • ✓
    Letter of nomination
    Written by your proposed major professor or your department chair. This is the document that argues your research case to the college, so the relationship you build before applying does real work here.
  • ✓
    Statement of financial support
    Provided by the department chair or head, confirming the unit will carry its share of the package. The Dean's Fellowship and the assistantship stipend come from the college and department rather than the President's Office, so this statement is what makes an award possible.
  • ✓
    Your resume or CV
    A copy goes into the nomination packet. Publications, conference work, lab or field experience and any research funding you have attracted are what the selection panel reads it for.
  • ✓
    Official transcripts
    Required for admission from every institution you have attended. Unofficial copies are accepted for the initial review, but official transcripts are needed once you accept an offer or registration holds stay in place.
  • ✓
    Letters of recommendation for admission
    Up to three may be required, set by the department rather than the Graduate School. Check your programme's requirements in the application portal, since the number varies.
  • ✓
    English proficiency scores, international applicants
    Official TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo English Test results sent directly by the testing service. Auburn will not consider an application until an official score arrives. For TOEFL tests taken after 21 January 2026 the threshold is a total of 4.5 or higher on the iBT26 scale, with at least 4.0 in each component; for earlier tests it is 79 overall with at least 16 in each component.
Step by step

How to apply

Start from Auburn's areas of study list and identify the doctoral programme and, more importantly, the faculty member whose research you want to join. Because the nomination comes from a proposed major professor or department chair, this contact is the real first step rather than a nicety.
Auburn's own advice to prospective students is to indicate interest in the fellowship to the Graduate Program Officer for your intended programme as early as possible for a fall semester start. Do this before you submit, not after, because internal nomination calendars run ahead of the admission deadlines.
Apply online through Auburn's portal with transcripts, any departmental test scores and the recommendation letters your programme asks for. The Graduate School itself does not require the GRE or GMAT, though individual programmes may ask for scores, sometimes specifically for funding consideration.
Auburn's published minimums are 45 days before the first day of class for domestic applicants and 90 days for international applicants, but those are processing floors, not funding deadlines. Most departments make decisions several months ahead, so aim for the winter before a fall start.
The nomination packet goes by email as a single PDF to the college's Associate Dean for Research and contains the Nomination Cover Form, a letter of nomination from your proposed major professor or department chair, a statement of financial support from the chair or head, and your CV. You supply the CV; the rest is on them.
Auburn publishes the Associate Dean for Research for each of its 12 colleges with direct contact details, and invites prospective students to contact them to express interest in being nominated. If your department is slow, this is the legitimate next door to knock on.
Ask what the college is actually paying, since the Dean's Fellowship and assistantship figures are minimums and colleges are encouraged to go above them. Ask about student fees too, which the fellowship does not cover, and about funding arrangements if your doctorate runs past three years.
When

Deadline and timeline

Application deadline
Approximate - each college sets its own nomination deadline
121 days left
Sep - Nov 2026
Identify programmes and potential major professors, make contact, and tell the Graduate Program Officer you want to be considered for a Presidential Graduate Research Fellowship.
Nov 2026 - Jan 2027
Submit the Auburn graduate admission application with transcripts, recommendations and any programme-required test scores. International applicants arrange official English proficiency scores.
Jan - Mar 2027
Departments assemble nomination packets and send them to each college Associate Dean for Research. College nomination deadlines are internal and vary.
Spring 2027
Colleges notify nominees on their own schedules. The number of awards varies by college and year with available funds and the quality of nominees.
Aug 2027
Fall semester start. Fellowships begin in the fall and run for three years.
2027 - 2030
Full-time enrolment, satisfactory annual progress, and at least one Graduate School professional development session each semester keep the award in place.
Questions

FAQ

What is the Auburn Graduate School Scholarship?

It is best understood as Auburn's Presidential Graduate Research Fellowship, the Graduate School's flagship award for students entering doctoral and terminal professional degrees. There is no separate scholarship called the Auburn Graduate School Scholarship with its own form. The fellowship pays a minimum of $37,000 a year alongside a full tuition waiver and runs for three years. Auburn's other Graduate School money comes through departmental assistantships with automatic tuition fellowships attached, and through a set of smaller nominated awards.

How much does the Presidential Graduate Research Fellowship pay?

A minimum of $37,000 a year. That total is built from three parts: a $15,000 Presidential Fellowship funded by the President's Office, a Dean's Fellowship of at least $7,000 from the college, and a graduate research assistantship of at least $15,000, or the college or department minimum if that is higher. Colleges are encouraged to raise the stipend and the Dean's Fellowship above those floors with their own funds to stay competitive, so an actual offer can be larger. A full graduate tuition waiver covering both in-state and out-of-state rates comes with it.

How do I apply for the Auburn Graduate School Scholarship?

You cannot apply for the fellowship directly. It runs entirely on nomination: your proposed major professor or department chair submits a packet to your college's Associate Dean for Research, and the college dean or their designee nominates you. What you can do is apply for doctoral admission and tell the Graduate Program Officer for your intended programme that you want to be considered, which Auburn advises doing as early as possible for a fall start. You must have applied or been accepted to the Graduate School to be eligible for consideration.

What is the Auburn Graduate School Scholarship deadline for 2027?

Auburn publishes no single university-wide date. Each college sets its own nomination and notification deadlines internally, which is why this page treats mid-January 2027 as a target rather than a published cutoff. The dates Auburn does publish are admission processing minimums: all materials at least 45 days before the first day of class for domestic applicants and at least 90 days for international applicants. Those are floors for getting processed, not for getting funded, and most academic units decide months earlier. Contact your college's Associate Dean for Research for the real internal date.

Can international students get the Auburn Presidential Graduate Research Fellowship?

Auburn states no citizenship or visa restriction on the fellowship, and the programme rules refer directly to international fellows by noting that full-time enrolment requirements may differ for international students. That points to international doctoral entrants being able to hold the award. Auburn welcomes international applications generally, with an application fee of $70, official TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo scores required, and materials due at least 90 days before term starts. Since nomination is controlled by the college, ask the Graduate Program Officer and the Associate Dean for Research about their practice before counting on it.

Do I need the GRE for Auburn graduate admission?

Not for the Graduate School itself, which does not require the GRE or GMAT. Individual programmes and departments may still require official scores for admission or specifically for funding consideration, so check the programme website or ask the Graduate Program Officer. Auburn's ETS institution code is 1005 if you do need to send GRE scores. Some programmes have suspended or waive the requirement on an exception basis.

What does the Auburn graduate tuition fellowship cover?

This is the separate, automatic award attached to assistantships, and it is the route most Auburn graduate students actually take. Hold a qualifying assistantship at 0.33 FTE or higher and you receive a Graduate Tuition Fellowship paying resident and non-resident tuition for attempted hours each semester, up to 15 hours. At 0.25 to 0.32 FTE you get 50% tuition support at the in-state rate, and below 0.25 FTE there is no tuition support. Assistants at 0.25 FTE and above are also classified as in-state for tuition charges. There is no application process for it.

What other scholarships does the Auburn Graduate School offer?

A set of smaller awards, most of them nominated rather than applied for. The Merriwether Fellowship pays $2,000 to a doctoral student, with nominations due 15 February and one nominee per department. The Williams Graduate Awards and the Senn Fellowship for former Auburn Division I athletes each pay $1,000 with a 15 September deadline. Distinguished Dissertation Awards pay $500 with an April deadline and Master's Thesis Awards pay $250 with a July deadline. The Frank Sturm Memorial Fellowship, administered by the Graduate Student Council, is one students submit applications for themselves.

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