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MG Awards and Scholarship Guidelines

MG Awards and Scholarship Guidelines

 

2026 MolGen Scholarship & Research Award Application

Application deadline: Monday, February 23rd, 5:00 pm.

Email bragg.137@osu.edu to apply!
 

Eligibility:

The OSU undergraduate must be:

  • a Molecular Genetics major. 
  • conducting undergraduate research at OSU and have an OSU faculty advisor who has agreed to be responsible for overseeing the research project. 
  • enrolled as a full-time student for Spring 2026, Autumn 2026, and Spring 2027 semesters. 
  • in good academic standing at the time of application.
     

MolGen Scholarships:

Provides funds toward student tuition costs through the financial aid office. Awarded funds can only be used toward tuition during semesters of enrollment (typically AU and SP).

  • TJ Byers Memorial Scholarship Fund
  • Elizabeth Wagner Scholarship Fund
     

MolGen Research Award:

Provides a stipend for students to fund a research laboratory experience in the summer (student must not be enrolled), OR provides funds toward student tuition costs during semesters of enrollment (typically AU and SP, but can also be in SU semester).

  • Jim Hopper Memorial Undergraduate Research Fund
     

Components required in your Application document:

  1. Personal Statement: Write a personal statement describing your background/educational journey, your interest in the field of Molecular Genetics and research, and how this scholarship would contribute to your education/professional preparation and future career plans. 
    1. Formatting requirements: PDF format; 2 pages maximum; single-spaced; 1" margins; 11 pt font. 
  2. Project Description: The project must have a title, and the narrative should include the following sections: Introduction/Background (including a project purpose statement), Methodology, and Expected Outcomes. References should be included. Please also clearly describe your role(s) and responsibility(ies) on the research project. 
    1. Formatting requirements: PDF format; 2 pages maximum, excluding references; single-spaced; 1" margins; 11 pt font. 
  3. Advising Report 
  4. Resume (1 page maximum, include projected date of graduation and GPA. Indicate the total number of research hours completed to date, including both current and prior research experiences if any)
  5. All components should be compiled into a single PDF file. 
    1. Filename: Lastname_Firstname_MG2026 (Example: A student named Anita Hopper would save her file as "Hopper_Anita_MG2026.pdf") 
  6. Items below are not needed in the PDF, but should be given in your email with your application. 
    1. First and Last Name 
    2. OSU Email Address
    3. Student ID 
    4. What award(s) you are applying for (MG Scholarship and/or MG Research Award) 
    5. Major and Minor 
    6. Faculty Research Advisor First and Last Name
       

Additional Requirement:

A letter of support must be provided by the student's OSU faculty research advisor. The letter should be submitted directly by the faculty advisor to bragg.137@osu.edu. The letter should be one page maximum and include 1) a brief history of your relationship to the applicant (e.g. how long has the student been doing research in your lab, how many hours is the student devoting to research), 2) the applicant’s potential for research and a future career in the sciences and your role as a mentor and 3) the respective contributions of the student and PI to the proposed research detailed in the proposal.

Letters of support must be submitted as a PDF document and saved as follows: StudentLastName_FacultyLastName_MG2026.pdf. For example, Susan Cole (faculty) writing a letter of support on behalf of Samantha Bragg (student) would be saved as: Bragg_Cole_MG2026.pdf.
 

Other Awards:

Any student awarded a MolGen Scholarship or Research Award must disclose any other scholarships/awards they have been granted to the Department of Molecular Genetics. The ability for the student to accept or decline the MolGen award will be dependent on the amount and timing of the other scholarships/awards.

Questions? Contact Samantha Bragg at bragg.137@osu.edu