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Nominations are now being accepted for the 2026-27 Groundbreaking Graduate Student award, a program recognizing excellence in graduate student research, scholarship and creative activity. Current UMass Amherst master’s or doctoral students in any field are eligible for this award.

Faculty members may nominate eligible students whom they advise/mentor using the form linked on this page. Once a faculty member submits a nomination, the nominated student will receive an email from Kuali Build notifying them to log in and submit their supporting information and materials. Students should add <[email protected]> to the “safe sender” list in their email client, or check their spam folder, to ensure they receive notifications.

The deadline for both faculty and students to submit nomination forms is Friday, Oct. 23.

Faculty members are strongly encouraged to submit nominations well before the deadline, and to coordinate with their nominated student, to allow sufficient time for the student to submit their own supporting information and materials. This includes documentation of the students’ accomplishments, such as securing external grants, honors or awards, publishing impactful research, contributing scholarly products to their field or taking a leadership role in community outreach efforts related to their research. 

For more information about the nomination process or to submit a nomination, visit this page.