Graduate Financial Support

Deadline for scholarships, assistantships and fellowship opportunities is February 15 each year.

Approximately 95% of current full-time, on campus graduate students in ECCB are supported by departmental teaching assistantships, grant-based research assistantships, or internal and external graduate fellowships and grants, amounting to over $200,000 per year. Research and travel grants are also available from the department and university.

Scholarships and Financial Aid

Texas A&M offers many financial aid options to help you pay for college costs. Visit the Scholarships and Financial Aid website to learn about applying for financial assistance.

Financial Assistance

Graduate and Professional Studies

Visit the OGAPS to find resources and funding opportunities specifically for graduate students.

Connect with OGAPS

Assistantships

Teaching assistantships (GAT)

Available either as matching for graduate fellowships or allocated to individual faculty members through a rotation system. Contact your faculty advisor on the availability of TA positions.

If you are interested in a teaching assistantship, fill out the Graduate Teaching Assistant application.

Apply now

Research assistantships (Research assistantships (GAR)

Grant-based graduate student support. Contact your faculty advisor on availability of RA positions.

Departmental Scholarships and Awards

The Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology offers several scholarships for graduate students. Students must be enrolled full time during the semesters the scholarship is awarded. Scholarship awards vary depending on the availability of funds each year. Student must complete the University Scholarship Application between October 15 and February 1 each year.

Will Roach ’84 Memorial Graduate Fellowship

Distributions from this endowment will be used to provide one or more fellowships to full-time graduate students with a demonstrated passion for wildlife biology, in good standing, and pursuing a graduate degree in Ecology and Conservation Biology from Texas A&M University.

Award: $1,000

Richard J. Baldauf ’51 Endowed Graduate Fellowship

Vola and Dr. Fred ’59 Palmer Scholarship

Distributions from this endowment will be used to provide one scholarship to a full-time graduate student in good standing conducting research and studying in areas of upland game bird research, ungulate research, and or ecology research related to ecology and conservation biology in the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology. Student must have a minimum 3.0 GPR.

Award: $1,000

Frank W. Gould Award for Graduate Research Support in Plant Systematics

Proceeds from the fund are to be used for fellowships for graduate students who are studying taxonomic or plant systematics and to support taxonomic studies of individual graduate students in their collections of native plant materials, travel to professional meetings or publications of completed papers and theses.

W.B. Davis Endowed Scholarship

Proceeds from this fund are to support graduate or undergraduate students in studying wildlife ecology and conservation with a minimum GPR of 3.0. Recipients must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States.

Award: $1,000

Cliff W. Spencer ’98 Scholarship

Proceeds from this fund may support full-time undergraduate and graduate students in good academic standing and pursuing a degree in wildlife, fisheries, or a related ecology and conservation biology degree.

Award: $1000

Prospective Student Graduate Departmental Fellowships and Assistantships

The Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology invites nominations for graduate assistantships and fellowships available to qualified incoming graduate students matriculating each fall semester funds are available. Outstanding prospective doctoral students are given first priority for awards. However, exceptional prospective master’s students (thesis-based) are also considered, where applicable. A call for nominations for available fellowships will be sent each fall for the following academic year.

McMillian – Ward Memorial Endowed Graduate Fellowship

This assistantship provides support to an incoming ECCB graduate student whose course of study and research will focus on forest ecology and management in East Texas.

Funding Details
Doctoral students: $25,000/year stipend (paid in monthly increments) plus tuition, fees, and health insurance benefits for up to three years. Each awardee is required to serve as a teaching assistant for one semester per year while supported on this funding.

Master’s students: $21,000/year stipend (paid in monthly increments) plus tuition and health insurance benefits for up to two years. Students are responsible for paying fees. Each awardee is required to serve as a teaching assistant for one semester per year while supported on this funding.

Dishman – Lucas Endowed Graduate Fellowship

This assistantship provides support to an incoming ECCB graduate student whose course of study and research will focus on forest ecology and management.

Funding Details
Doctoral students: $25,000/year stipend (paid in monthly increments) plus tuition, fees, and health insurance benefits for three years. Each awardee is required to serve as a teaching assistant for one semester per year while supported on this funding.

Master’s students: $21,000/year stipend (paid in monthly increments) plus tuition and health insurance benefits for two years. Students are responsible for paying fees. Each awardee is required to serve as a teaching assistant for one semester per year while supported on this funding.

Carder Graduate Assistantship

This assistantship provides one year of support to an incoming ECCB graduate student interested in studying urban and community-based forest resource management.

Funding Details
Doctoral students: $25,000/year stipend (paid in monthly increments) plus tuition, fees, and health insurance benefits for one year. Each awardee is required to serve as a teaching assistant for one semester per year while supported on this funding.

Master’s students: $21,000/year stipend (paid in monthly increments) plus tuition and health insurance benefits for one year. Students are responsible for paying fees. Each awardee is required to serve as a teaching assistant for one semester per year while supported on this funding.

Eligibility

Have an undergraduate GPA of 3.3 or above, or have an M.S. degree in a relevant field;
Be a new doctoral or master’s student majoring in ECCB;
Have already applied for graduate admission to Texas A&M University and have a complete application package on file;
Meets the criteria of the gift agreement, and
Must not be related to a Board of Regents Member

Graduate Diversity Fellowships

These competitive fellowships are available from the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies (OGAPS) for incoming masters or doctoral students. Your faculty nominates you for the fellowship. You must have a complete graduate school application on file with ECCB by December 1 prior to your incoming fall semester. Recipients are chosen by a university-wide selection committee. ECCB provides matching funds, in the form of a teaching or research assistantship. (More information available at the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies Dr. Dionel Avilés ’53 and Dr. James Johnson ’67 Fellowship Program)

Find Opportunities

Funding and Research Opportunities for Minorities and People of Color.

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Fellowships

Excellence Fellowship

This competitive fellowship is available to incoming masters (thesis option only) and doctoral students. Your future advisor may nominate you for this fellowship.

Graduate Merit Fellowship

This competitive fellowship is available to incoming masters (thesis option only) and doctoral students. Your future advisor may nominate you for this fellowship. The ECCB department provides a match in the form of a teaching assistantship.

Lechner Scholars Fellowship

This scholarship is supported by the Walter W. Lechner Estate Endowment. The scholarship is awarded to new, incoming graduate students through a competitive process. The scholarships can range from $500-$4,000. The funds can be used toward tuition, fees, and books. All recipients of this scholarship are designated Lechner Scholars. The student must be nominated by their mentor. The mentor must submit a letter of support detailing why the student is deserving of this scholarship and a copy of the student’s CV. The students CANNOT nominate themselves for this award.

Tom Slick Fellowship

The Tom Slick Graduate Research Fellowship Program in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences provides financial support for students who conduct research relevant to the agriculture of Southwest Texas; the research must be conducted in the State of Texas. This competitive fellowship is awarded to outstanding doctoral students who have completed preliminary exams to support completion of their dissertation. See the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences funding opportunities page.

Willie Mae Harris Fellowship

The Willie Mae Harris Fellowship was established by the Mr. John Richard Harris to support graduate students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The fellowship is $12,000 for the academic year. The graduate student must be an outstanding MS (thesis option) or PhD graduate student who has served as a Graduate Assistant Teaching (GAT) for at least two semesters. This fellowship is to reward outstanding Graduate Assistant Teaching (GAT) and relieve them of a portion of their teaching load towards the end of their graduate program so they can focus on their thesis or dissertation research.

U.S. Senator Gramm Doctoral Fellowship

This competitive fellowship is available to currently enrolled doctoral students. Its purpose is to recognize outstanding teaching and research by doctoral students. Your advisor or another faculty member nominates you for this fellowship; you must provide some materials for the nomination package. Nominations are first routed through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; those selected by the college are then evaluated by a university-wide committee.