Funding Opportunities

Students in Ecuador Current students are invited to pursue these opportunities for funding various aspects of their studies with MSU Entomology.

Travel and research support

Graduate students have access to several special funding resources and continual travel support from our endowment funds. Each year we help support travel to a professional meeting for all students. We also help support international travel once in the degree program. We have research grants for both M.S. and Ph.D. students, and we support other special initiatives, such as student-selected guest lecturers and specialty courses with distinguished guest speakers from other institutions.

The Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior Program offers a second (joint) Ph.D. degree with Entomology and other departments. Students are urged to consider this excellent option. In addition to department resources, the EEBB Program also funds summer research up to $1,000 and partial annual travel support to professional meetings.

Teaching assistantships

A limited number of teaching assistantships (TA) are potentially available for faculty to support graduate students to teach in MSU’s Integrative Studies in General Science (ISB) program, teaching science to non-science majors. This is an excellent way to build your teaching portfolio and gain real-world experience in the classroom, and the TA typically lasts for two years, providing repeated student evaluation and feedback on our teaching. The Graduate School also has a Certification in College Teaching program that can provide excellent training if teaching is part of your career goals.

Bug House fellowship

The Bug House relies on student guides to help with visiting class tours, open houses and other events. It is a great opportunity for entomology students to pass on their knowledge about insects and interact with the public. To encourage participation by our graduate and undergraduate students, the Bug House offers fellowships and scholarships to any guide who participates in a minimum of 10 Bug House events per calendar year. This could include being lead or assistant guides for school tours or helping out with open houses or other events. Lead guides give a presentation and oversee the tour and accrue $30 per tour. Assistant guides hand out live insects and accrue $20 per tour. Guides participating in other events accrue $10 per hour for the time put in for that event. Fellowships and scholarships are awarded at the end of the year and recognized at the annual Entomology Awards Ceremony in April.

For more information, contact the Bug House directors Gary Parsons (parsonsg@msu.edu) or Amanda Lorenz-Reaves (lorenzam@msu.edu).

Endowed fellowships

Fellowship funding opportunities are available at the university level. For details, please visit the Graduate School funding page and the MSU Financial Aid website.

External fellowships include:

The Department of Entomology has student fellowships supported by endowments from generous donors to our department. These fellowships are only available to current students in our department.

Internal fellowships include:

Gordon E. Guyer Fellowship in Aquatic Entomology
J.E. and Jean M. McPherson Graduate Student Travel Award
Mark and Kathleen "Scriber Scholar Award in Butterfly Biology and Conservation"
Merritt Endowed Fellowship in Entomology
Ray and Bernice Hutson Memorial Entomology Endowment Fund Research Proposal
Ray and Bernice Hutson Memorial Entomology Endowment Fund Travel Proposal
Rhodes (Gene) Thompson Memorial Fellowship
Roger and Barbara Hoopingarner Endowed Graduate Fellowship in Entomology

Gordon E. Guyer Fellowship in Aquatic Entomology

This fellowship was established by Gordon E. Guyer, a former faculty member and Chairperson of the Department of Entomology, as well as a former president of Michigan State University. This fellowship helps support a graduate student in the Department of Entomology whose graduate program is focused on Aquatic Entomology.

Eligibility:

MSU Entomology graduate students studying aquatic entomology.

Required application materials:

A letter of nomination from the student's major professor.
One additional letter of support.

See past Gordon E. Guyer Fellowship in Aquatic Entomology award winners.

Go back to list of internal fellowships.

J.E. and Jean M. McPherson Graduate Student Travel Award

The J. E. and Jean M. McPherson Graduate Student Travel Award was created by the McPhersons to celebrate their long term association with MSU and the importance they place on students actively participating in professional meetings. Both Jay and Jean received degrees from MSU. Like many young people, they met at MSU and were married in the Alumni Chapel. Upon receiving his PhD, Jay became professor of entomology in the Department of Zoology, Southern Illinois University. He also was very active with the Entomological Society of America (ESA) including being an ESA Fellow, an Honorary Member and President. This award was established to encourage student involvement in the ESA and celebrate the critical role entomologists play in science and society. Support includes travel, lodging and registration fees.

Eligibility:

Recipients must be MSU Department of Entomology graduate students that have demonstrated at least one of the following:

Significant research ability.
Obtained an exceptional overall grade point average (75 GPA or higher).
Exhibited dedicated community or university service.

Required application materials:

Requests for these funds should be emailed to Entomology chairperson Bill Ravlin at ravlin@msu.edu (copy Heather Lenartson-Kluge at lenartso@msu.edu). Include in the request:

Dates of travel.
Purpose of travel.
A paragraph describing how you meet at least one of the eligibility criteria.
A current CV.

The J.E. and Jean M. McPherson Graduate Student Travel Award funds will only be awarded for students to attend either the annual Entomological Society of America Meeting or the annual North Central Branch ESA meeting. A call for application submissions will be sent out by the Chairperson’s Office prior to each meeting.

Go back to list of internal fellowships.

Mark and Kathleen "Scriber Scholar Award in Butterfly Biology and Conservation"

This award was established by Mark and Kathleen Scriber to foster continued research and/or public science education outreach in butterfly biology and conservation. Awards will normally be effective for summer or fall semester following selection. Awardees must be enrolled the semester in which they receive the award.

Eligibility:

MSU graduate or undergraduate students in Entomology, Integrative Biology, or EEEB.
Focus on research and public science education outreach in butterfly biology and conservation.
Minimum 3.0 GPA

Required application materials:

Submit research proposal based on attached Research Funding Announcement (RFA).
RFA Cover Page
Project Budget Form

See past Graduate Student Scriber Scholar Award winners.

Go back to list of internal fellowships.

Merritt Endowed Fellowship in Entomology

This fellowship was established by Richard Merritt, a former faculty member and Chairperson of the Department of Entomology, and his wife, Pam, an MSU alumni. This fellowship helps support a graduate student in the Department of Entomology whose graduate program is focused on aquatic, medical or forensic entomology.

Eligibility:

MSU Entomology graduate student studying aquatic, medical or forensic entomology

Required application materials:

A letter of nomination from the student's major professor.
One additional letter of support.

See past Merritt Endowed Fellowship award winners.

Go back to list of internal fellowships.

Ray and Bernice Hutson Memorial Entomology Endowment Fund Research Proposal

Eligibility:

MSU Entomology graduate and undergraduate students

Required application materials:

Submit research proposal based on attached Research Funding Announcement (RFA).
RFA Cover Page
Project Budget Form

See past Graduate Student Hutson award winners.

Go back to list of internal fellowships.

Ray and Bernice Hutson Memorial Entomology Endowment Fund Travel Proposal

Eligibility:

MSU Entomology undergraduate and graduate students
Must be in good academic standing
One request per academic year for domestic travel
One request during degree program for international travel

Required application materials:

Letter to chairperson at least 30 days in advance of the travel, including the name of the professional meeting, location, total cost and benefit of attending.

Travel awards can be requested at any time during the academic year.

Go back to list of internal fellowships.

Rhodes (Gene) Thompson Memorial Fellowship

Gene Thompson, a former Acting Division Director for the Michigan Department of Agriculture, died in July 1997. In his memory, Sigurd and Sheila Nelson, close friends who knew Gene from his student days, have established a recruiting fellowship in support of an entomology student in applied entomology (which covers pretty much everything entomologists do).

Eligibility:

New or current MSU Entomology graduate student studying applied entomology.
Exceptional academic record in current graduate degree program.

Required application materials:

A letter of nomination from the student's major professor.
One additional letter of support.

See past Gene Rhodes Thompson Fellowship award winners.

Go back to list of internal fellowships.

Roger and Barbara Hoopingarner Endowed Graduate Fellowship in Entomology

This fellowship was established by Roger Hoopingarner, a faculty member of the Department for 38 years who retired in 1997. The fellowship helps support a student enrolled in the area of apiculture, honey bee science or pollination.

Eligibility: