UAB Graduate School is transitioning to a new and improved application platform on May 24. All applications will need to be submitted by May 17 to ensure your information successfully migrates to our new system. All incomplete applicants will need to start a new application in our new system. Note: as long as your application is submitted by this date, you can still send us supporting documents like transcripts or test scores.
In addition, the graduate school application will be down for the transition on May 24 at 8am until May 25 at noon. If you do not want to start an application now, you can fill out the form below to be notified when our new system launches.
The Compass Bank National Alumni Society Endowed Scholarship was established through generous gifts from the UAB National Alumni Society to be used for the purpose of creating an endowed graduate student award fund at The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Spendable earnings from the Compass Bank Mortgage Financial Services Endowed Award in Graduate Education fund will be used to provide financial assistance to exceptional students who are enrolled in a UAB graduate program.
Requirements
The following guidelines will be used in administering and making awards from the Compass Bank Mortgage Financial Services Endowed Award in Graduate Education.
Applicants must:
- be currently enrolled in, or admitted to, a degree-granting program in the Graduate School at UAB
- demonstrate solid academic achievement and have earned at least a grade point average of 3.2 in coursework completed prior to the time of application
- complete the scholarship application and return it to the Graduate School Dean's Office in LHL G03 by Sept. 30, 2024
- seek two letters of recommendation from individuals who are acquainted with the student’s academic and service achievements on campus
- compose a 2-page essay on the topic “How have you been impacted by your service to UAB and the community?” (Note: Applicant should describe his/her service contributions within the campus and/or the community. Participation in organizations and activities promoting the applicant’s service should be outlined in this essay.)
Selection & Awarding
The selection committee will select the recipient based on the student’s academic merit, letters of recommendation, essay, and interview. There are no restrictions to applicants based on sex, race, nationality, country or origin, physical disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation.
Applicants will be notified via letter regarding their status after the selection committee has met.
This is an annual award valued at $1,500.
Note: Given COVID-19, Ireland travel awards will be postpone until further notice.
The Ireland research travel awards are strategically targeted to provide students with unique and valuable opportunities. The research travel scholarship, which awards a maximum of $1,000, is not designed to send someone to a professional meeting; it’s designed to enable a student to capture an educational opportunity that doesn’t exist at UAB. These travel scholarships are highly competitive, and in the past have funded a wide range of researching, including a trip to the Library of Congress to study historic documents and taking a course on neuroimmunological diseases at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole. These travel awards provide elite educational experiences that enrich not only our students, but UAB as a whole.
This award is funded by an endowment established at UAB by Caroline Ireland and the late Charles W. Ireland.
Interested students should contact their graduate program directors, who are responsible for making nominations. In addition to the nomination form, a letter of recommendation is also required. Students are encouraged to check this link or the Graduate Student tab of BlazerNET for the announcement of the next competition, which will be held in the spring of each year.
Recipients
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2018 Recipients
Morgan Zipperly, Neurobiology
Dae Hyun, Health Services Administration
Jessica V. Jasien, Vision Science
Mandy Biles, Psychology
Jacelyn Peabody, Medicine -- CFRC
Melissa Bentley, Cell, Development, amd Integrative Biology
Mohammah Abdelgawwad, Pathology
Kwaku Osei, Vision Science
Lindsay MacMillan, Biology
Yumi Kim, Physical Therapy
Yuliya Voskobiynyk, Neurology
Carla Ammons, Psychology
Stephanie Mueller, Psychology
Julie Trapani, Psychology
Kayla Steward, Psychology
Ustun Sunay, Physics
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2017 Recipients
Sarah Adkins, Biology
Haley Bednarz, Psychology
Elizabeth Bevan, Biology
Amy Bonka, Biology
Ashlyn Burch, Physics
Sandra Cutts, Civil, Construction & Environmental Egr
Megan Dudley, Psychology-Behavioral Neuroscience
Dominique Everett, Materials Science & Engineering
Timothy Curtis Howton II, Biology
Prajakta Shreeram Kulkarni, Biomaterials
Avantika Naidu, Physical Therapy
Shyam Panthi, Vision Science
Cameron Postnikoff, Vision Science
Kellie Regal, Pathology
Ross M Reid, Biology
Dustin Revell, Cell, Molecular, Dev Biology
Yue Zhang, Psychology
The Samuel B. Barker Award for Excellence in Graduate Studies, named for UAB’s first graduate dean, Dr. Samuel Booth Barker, was introduced in 1995. Each Spring since then, students (at the master's level and at the doctoral level) who will graduate in the Spring, Summer, or Fall of the calendar year, may be nominated for "the Barker award" by their department's graduate program director. The Dean of the Graduate School chooses the final recipients from the group of nominees, whose names appear on plaques outside the Graduate School office as continuing evidence of their accomplishments.
The nominees for the Barker Awards must be:
- a currently enrolled graduate student,
- with an anticipated graduation date of April, August, or December of the year in which the nomination is being submitted,
- who has excelled in their academic programs.
Student contributions to the community are also considered, but are secondary. A nomination packet consists of the nomination form, the students curriculum vitae or resume, and two letters of support explaining why the program has nominated the student.
Past Recipients
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2023 - 2020
2023
Doctoral RecipientCasey Mahoney-Crane, Neuroscience, Graduate Biomedical Sciences
Master's Recipient
Banks Stamp, Public Administration
2022
Doctoral RecipientsLacy Goode, Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Neuroscience
Boyi Guo, Biostatistics
Bharat Mishra, Biology
Doris Pu, Medical/Clinical Psychology
Shameka Phillips, NursingMaster's Recipients
Machelle Campbell, Public Administration
Mary Margaret Gunn, Nutrition Sciences
Jacob Paiste, Physics
Dalton Patterson, Multidisciplinary Biomedical Science
Benjamin Rich, Community Health and Human Services2021
Doctoral RecipientsSabrina Heiser, Biology
Valene Garr Barry, Nutrition Sciences
Macy Stockdill, Nursing
Riley Hightower, Graduate Biomedical Science, Neuroscience
Leland Fleming, Graduate Biomedical Science, NeuroscienceMaster's Recipients
Audra Gottier Weber, Business Administration
Aldric Gardiner, Management Information Systems
Blake Beaton, Criminal Justice
Angela Richardson, Nutrition Sciences
Sam Phillips, English2020
Doctoral RecipientsRose Creed, Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Neuroscience
Catherine Scull, Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics
Wesley LaBarge, Biomedical Engineering
Katie Cederberg, Rehabilitation Science
Sumner Harris, Physics
Master's Recipients
Jessica Robbins, English
Bethany Langer, Multidisciplinary Biomedical Science
Robert Ezekiel, Art History
Trey Gordon, Public Administration
Kory Dees, Biomedical and Health Sciences -
2019 - 2010
2019
Mark Pepin, Doctoral Level, Medical Scientist Training Program and Biomedical Engineering
Antonio Foles, Master's Level, Health Behavior2018
John Donnelly, Doctoral Level, Epidemiology
Firooz Jahani, Master's Level, Public Administration2017
Jennifer Bail, Doctoral Level, Nursing
Ibawolatei Iyegha, Master's Level, Accounting2016
Jay Bhatt, Doctoral Level, Neuroscience
Marie Sutton, Master's Level, English2015
Julie Schram, Doctoral Level, Biology
Jessica Deitzer, Master's Level, Criminal Justice2014
Stephanie N. Brosius, Doctoral Level, Neuroscience
Joanna C. Wilson, Master's Level, Art History2013
Roberta Challener, Doctoral Level, Biology
Stephanie Cardwell, Master's Level, Criminal Justice2012
Juan Calix, Doctoral Level, Microbiology
Jacob Nelson, Master's Level, Mechanical Engineering2011
Katie Gibbs, Doctoral Level, Biology
James Gothard, Master's Level, English2010
Craig Aumack, Doctoral Level, Biology
Bonnie Kathleen Culpepper, Master's Level, Biomedical Engineering -
2009-2000
2009
Ozioma C. Okonkwo, Doctoral Level, Medical/Clinical Psychology
Sally E. Culpepper, Master's Level, English2008
Scott W. Keith, Doctoral Level, Biostatistics
Christopher Null, Master's Level, History2007
T. Scott Isbell, Doctoral Level, Pathology
John C. Mahan, Master's Level, English2006
Francisco Hernandez, Doctoral Level, Computer and Information Sciences
Lauren Rast, Master's Level, Physics2005
Paula Chandler-Laney, Doctoral Level, Psychology-Behavioral Neuroscience
Rosie O'Bierne, Master's Level, Anthropology2004
Chenxi Wang, Doctoral Level, Nutrition Science
Dina Hagler, Master's Level, English2003
William J. Tyler, Jr., Doctoral Level, Psychology-Behavioral Neuroscience
Barbara J. Adams, Master's Level, Health Informatics2002
Jeremy R. Patterson, Doctoral Level, Physics
Catherine M. Stevens, Master's Level, Art History2001
Bryan A. Moore, Doctoral Level, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics
Aysha D. Bey, Master's Level, English2000
Shelley E. Haydel, Doctoral Level, Microbiology
Donna L. Cox, Master's Level, History -
1999 - 1995
1999
Scott Jenkins, Doctoral Level, Psychology-Behavioral Neuroscience
Helene Dubois, Master's Level, Electrical and Computer Engineering1998
Hunter Moseley, Doctoral Level, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics
Traci Parnell, Master's Level, Art History1997
Sara J. Sudmeier, Doctoral Level, Chemistry
Staci S. Simon, Master's Level, History1996
Philip Chen, Doctoral Level, Pathology
Daniel P. Swenson, Master's Level, Biology1995
Peter P. Sayeski, Doctoral Level, Physiology and Biophysics
Julia A. Hagle, Master's Level, Health Information Management
The Graduate School has established an incentive plan designed to encourage more students to apply for individual fellowships. Since May of 2007 when this incentive plan was announced, more than 547 Ph.D. students have submitted new individual fellowship applications. To date, 143 fellowships have been funded. Excluding applications still pending, the success rate for these applications has been 26 percent.
Goal: Many UAB graduate students would be competitive for individual fellowships, but many who are eligible to apply for a fellowship do not apply. The Graduate School has established an incentive plan designed to encourage submission of applications from students enrolled in disciplines in which individual fellowships are available.
Details
The Graduate School will provide a monetary incentive for students to apply for individual fellowships funded by extramural agencies or foundations. Graduate students who apply for an individual fellowship (e.g. NSF Individual, NIH NRSA, or other) will be awarded $500 from the Graduate School through the UAB Financial Aid office as a reward for submitting the application. To qualify for this award, the application must be reviewed prior to submission by the student’s program director or mentor, who must provide a written verification to the Graduate School that the application is considered to be competitive. After submission of the grant application, the student will provide a PDF of the application to the Graduate School and the incentive reward will be authorized when the student provides evidence that the application has been received by the granting agency. The $500 award is given for first submissions only.
If a student’s application is funded, the student will receive an additional financial reward:
- For an NIH NRSA or other grant that provides less than the base stipend currently being offered to all students in that student’s program, the student will receive supplementation of the fellowship stipend to an amount equal to the base stipend plus $1,500 per year for the term that the grant is funded. The supplemental funding will be provided by the Graduate School. If the stipend amount from the external award is equal to or greater than the equivalent of $1,500 more than the current base stipend in the student’s program, the student is entitled to receive the full amount of the stipend. Apply for provision of the supplement from Graduate School resources.
- If a student receives an NSF predoctoral fellowship, he/she will receive no supplement to his/her stipend during the three year term of the NSF fellowship. This stipulation is necessary because the NSF stipend of $34,000 exceeds the current maximum stipend recommended by the Graduate School. After the NSF grant terminates, the student’s mentor or department will be responsible for providing the current base stipend in that student’s program and the Graduate School will provide the $1,500 supplement until the student completes his/her degree requirements.
Eligibility & Requirements
This plan is available to students in any graduate program discipline in which extramural individual fellowship funding is available (including students in CAS and the School of Engineering, beginning July 1, 2016). To be eligible for both the reward for submitting the application and the supplement to a student’s stipend, the award must provide more than half the current base stipend in the student’s program. Applications for and receipt of travel and other small grants will not be eligible for an incentive award under this program.
To receive the application incentive of $500, the following materials are required:
- A letter from the student’s advisor verifying that the advisor reviewed the application and believes that it is competitive
- Documentation that the amount of the fellowship provides greater than half of the student’s current base stipend
- An electronic or hard copy PDF of the application
- Verification of receipt of the application by the funding agency
