AJ Nicholson has been awarded a fellowship from the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). The NSF GRFP supports outstanding graduate students whose work addresses pressing scientific and societal challenges. AJ studies how artificial intelligence is reshaping end‑of‑life and hospice care, with a focus on the ethical questions these technologies raise for patients, families, and care providers.
Junaid Khan has been awarded a Monte Carlo General Education Network (MCgen) Fellowship, a highly competitive, National Science Foundation–funded award that supports early‑career researchers in theoretical nuclear and particle physics. Junaid was selected as one of four recipients nationwide and will receive $23,500 to support a six‑month research residency at the University of Cincinnati, one of two national host sites alongside UC Berkeley. During the residency, he will collaborate with leading experts and contribute to research supporting the future Electron‑Ion Collider, a U.S. Department of Energy research facility.
Juliana Antonio has been selected for the 2026 CAS Future Leaders program, a highly competitive initiative run by CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society. The program recognizes early‑career scientists with strong potential for leadership and impact across industry and research. Juliana was chosen as one of 31 participants from a global applicant pool representing institutions such as MIT, Stanford, Northwestern and ETH Zürich. Through the program, she will participate in leadership development and mentorship opportunities and present her research at the ACS Fall 2026 Conference.
Dr. Rachel Ball-Phillips, Assistant Dean of Fellowships and Awards, wants to talk with you about fellowship opportunities. Enrolled graduate students are invited to make an appointment at the link below. She may also be reached by email at rmball@smu.edu.
Juliana Antonio, our Graduate Fellowship Consultant, joined the Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards in the spring of 2025. An NSF GRFP Fellow, Juliana is a Ph.D. student in the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry program in the Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences. She assists SMU graduate students with identifying fellowship opportunities and provides writing support for their applications.
The Fellowships Writing Boot Camp is for graduate students to understand all components of a successful fellowship application and complete a strong draft of the application components for the fellowship of their choice.
“For international students, it is necessary to understand how academic processes work in this country. This class not only teaches students how to apply to fellowships, but how to understand the processes behind them.” -STEM graduate student and fellowship workshop attendee
"This boot camp was a great way to develop my skills for grant writing, and also served as a place to connect with students outside my discipline and grow my network here at SMU. It was so nice to collaborate with other students and share ideas with people from a variety of scholarly backgrounds."-humanities graduate student and fellowship workshop attendee.
STEM Fellowships Workshop Syllabus
Humanities and Social Sciences Workshop Syllabus
Students who are looking for financial aid should reach out to the Graduate Financial Office. Additionally, the document below provides an overview of the types of funding support that may be available for graduate study at SMU and whom to contact.
Who can help me find funding for my graduate program?
The University of Illinois is a great tool for graduate students looking for awards. This database includes options to filter based on citizenship, degree type, and general field. Start broadly with search terms, and then use the keyword text search to narrow down the results.
All SMU students have access to the SPIN database. This database provides a broad array of funding opportunities, so it is necessary for students to identify applicant type under preferences. There are many helpful tutorials for the SPIN database under the “Help” tab.
The UCLA database is a great tool for graduate students looking for both graduate and post-doctoral awards. Students have options to filter by award type, citizenship, degree program, and academic level. Start broadly, and use the search bar at the top to narrow your results.