With the generous support of donors and the CU Boulder community, the Graduate School offers awards, grants, and fellowships that support the outstanding research, creative work, and teaching of our graduate students. Congratulations to our award winners and many thanks to the faculty and staff who support them in their research, creative work, and teaching, as well as to the donors whose generosity make these awards possible.
Graduate Part-Time Instructors Teaching Appreciation Award Recipients
These awards recognize excellent graduate student teachers for their hard work, creativity, and continued excellence in teaching.
- Cali Banks, Department of Art & Art History, Fall 2020
- Jake Carias, Department of Sociology, Spring 2021
- Joelle Cicak, Department of Art & Art History, Spring 2021
- Rachel Chai, Department of Geography, Fall 2020
- David Chu, Department of Classics, Fall 2020
- Jennifer Cole, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Spring 2021
- Christopher Dengler, Department of Philosophy, Spring 2021
- Bailey Duhe, Department of Anthropology, Fall 2020
- Sara Fischer, Department of French & Italian, Fall 2020
- Kevin France, Department of Physics, Fall 2020
- Daniel Garzon, School of Education, Spring 2021
- Greg Gondwe, Department of Journalism, Fall 2020
- David Gunderman, Department of Applied Mathematics, Fall 2020
- Erkan Gunes, Department of Political Science, Fall 2020
- Emily Hite, Department of Anthropology, Spring 2021
- Shirely Huang, Department of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences, Spring 2021
- Shruthi Jagadeesh, Department of Geography, Spring 2021
- Brooke Latham, Department of Classics, Spring 2021
- Samantha Moya, Department of Political Science, Spring 2021
- Joy Mueller, Department of Applied Mathematics, Spring 2021
- Leah Powers, Department of French & Italian, Spring 2021
- Elisa Riga, Department of German & Slavic Languages & Literatures, Spring 2021
- Àjené Robinson-Burris, Department of Philosophy, Fall 2020
- Jayne Simpson, Department of Communication, Fall 2020
- Justin Trupiano, Department of Critical Media Practices, Fall 2020
- Kun You, Department of Asian Languages & Civilizations, Fall 2020
- Christine Zabala, School of Education, Fall 2020
Dissertation Completion Fellows
These fellowships provide one academic semester of financial support. Graduate School and Reynolds Dissertation Completion Fellows receive one full year of academic support toward their research.
MFA Completion Fellow
This fellowship provides one academic semester of financial support.
Summer Fellows
These fellowships provide $6,000 stipends over the summer term to support students working on their dissertation.
- Alexandra Alexiev, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
- Sheena Barnes, Department of History
- Joseph Carzoli, Department of Integrative Physiology
- Jessica DiCarlo, Department of Geography
- Sarah Fahmy, Department of Theatre & Dance
- Sara Fischer, Department of French & Italian
- Jamie Glass, Department of Geological Sciences
- Logan Rae Gomez, Department of Communication
- Tessa Gorte, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
- Payne Hennigan, Department of Economics
- Nicollette Laroco, Department of Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering
- Nathaniel Mathews, Department of Applied Mathematics
- Samantha Molnar, Department of Computer Science
- Jonathan Quartin, Department of Mathematics
- Marley Olson, Department of Sociology
- Danielle Quichocho, Department of Advertising, Public Relations, Media Design
- Urooj Raja, Department of Environmental Studies
- Gagan Sapkota, Department of Philosophy
- Alyssa Strickler, Department of Linguistics
- Andrew Tomaschke, Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Griëtte van der Heide, Department of Anthropology
- Michael Wheeler, Department of Mathematics
- Patrick Wynne, Department of Mathematics
Donor Award Recipients
These awards are made possible by the Graduate School's generous donors. The Figueroa Family Fellowship provides financial support to a science or engineering student committed to positively impacting the cu boulder community and beyond. The Carol B. Lynch Memorial Fellowship provides a $2,500 fellowship to a student in the sciences whose research interests are interdisciplinary. The Sheryl R. Young Memorial Fellowship provides a $4,000 fellowship to a student in the sciences. The Brenda M. Romero CU Dissertation Award provides a $1,000 award to students enrolled at CU Boulder, CU Denver, and the Anschutz Medical Campus whose work relates to music (or sound studies) and social justice.

Figueroa Family Fellowship, First Place
Maximilian Bailey, Department of Integrative Physiology

Figueroa Family Fellowship, Honorable Mention
Gabriella Johnson, Department of Computer Science

Figueroa Family Fellowship, Honorable Mention
Julia Potocnjak, Department of Integrative Physiology

Carol B. Lynch Memorial Fellowship

Sheryl R. Young Memorial Fellowship

Brenda M. Romero CU Dissertation Award in Music and/or Sound Studies and Social Justice
Renata Barreto, Department of Critical Media Practices
Brenda M. Romero CU Dissertation Award in Music and/or Sound Studies and Social Justice
Benjamin Cefkin, College of Music
Cynthia H. Schultz Graduate Student Small Grant Recipients
These awards are made possible by the generous donation of the Schultz family, and in Loving Memory of John & Cynthia Schultz.
Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grant Recipients
The Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grants are competitive awards sponsored by the Graduate School that support the research, scholarship and creative work of graduate students from all departments at CU Boulder. Funding for the Beverly Sears Graduate Student Grants program comes mainly from private donations. Some awards are made possible by the generous donation of an individual or family, often in honor of a family member. The highest-ranked proposals are considered for a Named Graduate Student Grant.
- Stephan Allen, Department of Integrative Physiology
- Roberto Azaretto, Department of Critical Media Practices
- Brittney Banaei, Department of Theater and Dance
- Fiona Bell, ATLAS Institute
- Kristin Calahan, Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Renata Carvalho Barreto, Department of Critical Media Practices
- Xiaoling Chen, Department of Geography
- Zane Cupec, College of Music
- Jing Deng, Leeds School of Business
- Nicholas Dragone, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
- Anden Drolet, Department of Anthropology
- Sebastian Duenas Ocampo, Department of Environmental Studies
- Stephanie Ellyse Schneider, Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Caitrin Engle, Department Anthropology
- Lucia Escamilla Gonzalez, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
- Chet Falk, Department of Materials Science & Engineering
- Alex Flores, Department of Psychology
- Anna Gilmour, Department of Psychology
- Airy Gonzalez Peralta, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
- Rachel Havranek, Department of Geological Sciences
- Peter Innes, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
- Taylor Johaneman, Department of Geography
- Varsha Srikanth Koushik, Department of Computer Science
- Nicollette Laroco, Department of Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering
- Ferrell McClean, Department of Anthropology
- Sergei Motov, Department of German & Slavic Languages & Literatures
- Duong Nguyen, Department of Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering
- Anna Paraskevopoulos, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
- Will Patterson, Department of Integrative Physiology
- Adrienne Scott, Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Kailey Shara, ATLAS Institute
- Samantha Sheppard, Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences
- Bertha Bermudez Tapia, Department of Sociology
- Chia-Nien Tsai, Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Corinne Walsh, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
- Kimberley Warren, Department of Critical Media Practices
Three Minute Thesis Winners
In the Three Minute Thesis (3MT), competitors describe their research in three minutes. They use only one static slide, in front of a panel of judges and a live audience. This event is held annually at the beginning of the Spring semester and is free and open to the public.

Varsha Rao
Department of Chemical & Bioligal Engineering, First Place

Shirley Huang
Department of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences, Second Place

Vishal Ray
Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, People's Choice Award
Professional Development Digital Credential Badge Recipients
The Graduate School at CU Boulder is offering digital credential badges that may be earned by current graduate students and postdocs participating in our professional development opportunities. These digital badges are online microcredentials that allow students to showcase skills, competencies or achievements they have gained through learning experiences.
Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award Recipients
These awards recognize outstanding faculty for their mentorship of graduate students and contributions to graduate education.
- Nichole Barger, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Christine Brennan, Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
- Dan Doak, Environmental Studies
- Francoise Duressé-Stimilli, Art and Art History
- Jaelyn Eberle, Museum Studies
- Jennifer Fitzgerald, Political Science
- Leila Gómez, Spanish and Portuguese
- Bradley Hayes, Computer Science
- Jerry Jacka, Anthropology
- Jan Lenaerts, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
- Ann-Marie Madigan, Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences
- Donna Mejia, Theatre and Dance
- Valerie Otero, Education
- David Root, Psychology and Neuroscience
- Ricarose Roque, Information Science
- Rebecca Scarborough, Linguistics
- Deborah Whitehead, Religious Studies
- Emily Yeh, Geography
- Luis Zea, Aerospace Engineering