Graduate Recruitment, Enhancement and Travel (GREAT) Program Staff and Faculty Resources

The Graduate Recruitment, Enhancement and Travel (GREAT) Program was proposed by Texas A&M’s Council of Principal Investigators (CPI), Texas A&M’s faculty research leaders, who were seeking a way to elevate graduate and professional education by recruiting more high-achieving students. The GREAT Program launched in fall 2022 and provides funding to supplement external national fellowships (multi-year and dissertation), federal training grants, and federal research grant supplements, as well as reimburses travel expenses for prospective fellows to visit our campus. Staff, faculty, and administration are encouraged to view this two-page summary of the GREAT Program components.   

Through the GREAT Program, we better position ourselves to attract high achieving students to Texas A&M graduate and professional programs by offering supplemental funding for national fellows and trainees that is competitive with the nation’s top graduate schools.   

For more details or a list of fellowships, federal training grants, and federal research grant supplements that are eligible for GREAT Program funding, visit grad.tamu.edu/GREAT. 

Request Forms

The Graduate Recruitment, Enhancement and Travel (GREAT) Program supplemental funding request forms must be submitted by college/department/IDP staff or administrators on behalf of doctoral students awarded an eligible external fellowship. Likewise, the request form must be submitted by the faculty PI/staff/or administrators on behalf of doctoral students funded from eligible training grants or eligible federal research grant supplements.

Request forms submitted by doctoral students will not be considered. 

 Below are links to each of the GREAT Program request forms:

• Request form for doctoral students awarded an eligible external nationally competitive fellowship (multi-year and dissertation)
• Request form for doctoral students funded by an eligible federal training grant
• Request form for doctoral students funded by an eligible federal research grant supplement to broaden participation.
• Request form for a recruitment travel award

College/department/IDP staff or administrators do NOT need to submit a request form for NSF GRFP fellows or IMSD T32 Fellows.

Active (tenure status) NSF GRFP Fellows -- The Grad School communicates with these fellows and posts the NSF GRFP and GREAT Program supplemental funds. 

Active (reserve status) NSF GRFP Fellows – The Grad School communicates with these fellows and their chairs to confirm faculty/department/program funding commitments and GREAT Program supplemental funding amounts. The employing department will be responsible for posting GREAT Program supplemental funds and requesting reimbursement each semester.

IMSD T32 Trainees funded from project funds -- The Grad School posts the GREAT Program supplemental funds. 

IMSD T32 Trainees funded on a department assistantship – The employing department posts GREAT Program supplemental funds and requests reimbursement each semester.

Request for Funding and Notification Process

1. Request form is submitted.
2. Request form routes to the Department Head/IDP Chair for review and approval of:
   1. Faculty, department, IDP funding 
3. Graduate and Professional School receives the request form for review and approval of:
   1. Fellowship/grant eligibility
   2. Fellowship/grant funding
   3. Faculty/department/IDP funding
4. Graduate and Professional School sends a funding commitment letter to the submitter with a Cc to the Department Head/IDP chair and business office POC. This communication includes recommended GREAT Program business procedures for the posting of funds and serves as the mechanism to confirm:
   1. Fellowship/grant funding
   2. Faculty/department/IDP funding 
   3. GREAT Program Supplemental funding
   4. Process for faculty, department, IDP to post GREAT Program supplements and request reimbursement from the Grad School at the end of each semester.
5. Department Head / IDP Chair or their designee sends a signed funding commitment back to the Graduate and Professional School.   
6. Department/IDP posts the funds to the student’s account. 
7. Graduate and Professional School sends an award letter to the doctoral student summarizing their funding for the current academic year. Copied on this correspondence is the student’s committee chair, the Department Head/IDP chair, and the GOC Dean.
   1. In scenarios where funding is expected to continue in the following academic year, the Graduate and Professional School will initiate discussion with the department/IDP in late spring to verify 
      1. Fellowship/grant funding
      2. Faculty/department/IDP funding 
      3. GREAT Program Supplemental Funding
8. At the end of each semester, the department/IDP should use the GREAT Program Reimbursement Form to request reimbursement for supplemental funding payments posted to the student’s account. 

QUESTIONS 

GREAT Program Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)