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Graduate Education at Southern Miss

Through an extensive selection of outstanding degree and certificate programs and professional development opportunities, graduate students at The University of Southern Mississippi acquire the knowledge and skills for success. Our graduates impact the world in such diverse fields as ocean science, psychology, social work, nursing, business, and the arts. Currently, over 3,000 students from across the globe are pursuing degrees in a broad variety of degree and certificate programs across all academic colleges.

Opportunities for Professional Development

As part of our commitment to providing a holistic educational experience, the Graduate School offers graduate students professional development opportunities to build the transferable skills necessary for success in both academic and non-academic careers.

In partnership with the Jimmy A. Payne Foundation, the Southern Miss Graduate School is thrilled to offer competitive Dissertation Completion Grants for the 2025-2026 academic year. These awards are intended to reduce the burden of dissertation-related expenses for students while helping to decrease students鈥� time to degree.

To be considered for a Dissertation Completion Grant, students must have achieved the status of 鈥渄octoral candidate,鈥� which necessitates completing all required graduate coursework, obtaining a passing score on one鈥檚 doctoral comprehensive examinations, and successfully defending a doctoral project proposal or dissertation prospectus. Students must be enrolled full-time and be in good academic standing with the Southern Miss Graduate School. Students must also commit to completing their dissertations and all degree requirements by the summer 2026 term. Applicants may request up to $2,000 to be used within the final year of their doctoral program. This initiative is open to students in all doctoral programs at Southern Miss.

The Graduate School hosts an all-day Doctoral Project, Thesis, and Dissertation Bootcamp each fall and spring semester. This workshop is designed to support master鈥檚 and doctoral students at any stage of their project鈥攆rom proposal development to final Aquila submission.

Led by Graduate School and Writing Center staff, the bootcamp will cover key topics such as the writing process, proper citation practices, document formatting guidelines, and the Aquila submission process. Students will also receive hands-on guidance in using and editing official templates. The day will include both structured presentations and dedicated time for participants to make progress on their own theses, dissertations, or doctoral projects.

Graduate Coordinator Workshops

The Graduate Schools facilitates four Coordinator Workshops throughout the academic year. The sessions are facilitated by current USM graduate faculty or Graduate School staff and concentrate on creating successful mentoring approaches, fostering strong connections, utilizing faculty and student resources, and equipping mentors with strategies to resolve conflicts. Graduate coordinators and mentors can gain integral knowledge and abilities for developing an effective and meaningful mentoring program that benefits graduate students' academic and professional growth.

Mentorship Lunch and Learn

This is an in-person mentoring workshop designed to help new and continuing faculty sharpen their skills as effective and positive mentors in their work with graduate students. The workshop will be roundtable discussions of case studies of realistic interactions between graduate mentors and students. For new faculty, this workshop will also satisfy the mentorship training requirement to receive graduate faculty status.

Mentorship Training Program

The Southern Miss Graduate School, in partnership with the Center for Faculty Development, is offering a Graduate Faculty Mentor Training Program during the 2025鈥�2026 academic year. This program, led by experienced faculty trained through CIMER, will provide practical guidance on effective mentoring, addressing disparities, and building strong mentor鈥搈entee relationships. Faculty interested in enhancing their mentorship skills are encouraged to register.

New Faculty and Teaching Assistant Orientation

On Friday, August 14, 2026, new teaching assistants will participate in a full-day New Faculty and Teaching Assistant Orientation from 8:00am to 4:00pm. The morning session will run from 8:00am to 12:00pm, followed by lunch and afternoon sessions from 12:00pm to 4:00pm. The orientation will include presentations on utilizing the Center for Faculty Development, an instructor鈥檚 perspective of SOAR, strategies for engaging students, assessing academic performance, academic dishonesty, Title IX, and professional expectations as a TA.

Graduate Mentor of the Year Award
This award honors an outstanding faculty member who demonstrates exceptional commitment to mentoring graduate students and fostering their success as confident, capable, and independent scholars. Nominees must be current Southern Miss graduate faculty members with at least five years of service at USM. Evaluation criteria include a mentor鈥檚 accessibility and professionalism, ability to set and uphold clear expectations, guidance in research or creative work, support for scholarly and professional opportunities, and dedication to students鈥� overall academic and career development.

Emerging Graduate Mentor Award
This award recognizes a rising faculty member whose impactful mentorship is already making a meaningful difference in the lives and success of graduate students. It celebrates individuals who bring enthusiasm, innovation, and a strong commitment to supporting student growth, scholarship, and professional development while helping shape the future of the academic community.

Mentorship characteristics that will be evaluated include:

Being accessible and approachable to their students while modeling professionalism.
Setting and communicating clear expectations and holding students to high standards of performance.
Providing guidance on students' research/creative projects and monitoring their academic progress.
Encouraging and helping students establish their own records of scholarship or performance by supporting travel to professional meetings and conferences; submitting articles or creative works for publication or exhibition; encouraging networking with professional colleagues.
Supporting students' professional development broadly

Required Documents:
1. Nomination Form completed by a current graduate student.
2. Letter from the nominator addressing the attributes listed above.

3. Two additional letters of recommendation, (a) one from a former or current student, and (b) one from the school director or faculty colleague.

The winners will receive a cash award and a commemorative plaque which will be presented at the annual Graduate Research Symposium Awards Luncheon.

Professionals in Preparation is a professional development program designed to help students improve their transferable skills (leadership, effective communication, problem solving, management, etc.) making them more marketable and effective in an increasingly competitive job market. The two-semester program consists of:

鈥� Monthly seminars and workshops
鈥� Mentorship training
鈥� Participation in communication competitions

The Proposal Project aims to strengthen grant-writing skills of graduate students through training and practice and increase the number of externally-funded fellowships and traineeships awarded to graduate students at Southern Miss. Grant-writing workshops will be held each fall and spring semester, providing training to enable students to identify potential funding sources, to prepare competitive proposals, and to navigate the submission process.

The Susan A. Siltanen Graduate Student Research Symposium provides graduate students with an opportunity to present their research to faculty, staff and students in a friendly competitive environment through oral and poster presentations. The symposium aims to enhance the scholarly environment and highlight the creative and innovative research conducted by Southern Miss graduate students.

The Graduate School hosts its annual Three Minute Thesis Competition each November. The Three Minute Thesis (3MT庐) is an academic research communication competition developed by the University of Queensland in Australia. 3MT participants are asked to describe their thesis or dissertation in a three-minute presentation, clearly conveying the complexities of their topic and research to a nonacademic audience. The competition provides an excellent opportunity for students to hone their 30-second elevator pitch and win monetary prizes while doing so. 3MT is open to all graduate students, and students enrolled in 100% online programs can participate virtually.

Each semester, USM Graduate students have the opportunity to apply for the Fall 2026 Graduate Competitive Travel Award. The funds may be used to support graduate student participation in a virtual or in-person professional conference, exhibition, or other appropriate venue for purposes of presenting research or other forms of creative work in conjunction with a student鈥檚 program of study.

Applicants may request up to $500 to be used for virtual conference registration fees or domestic travel or up to $1000 for approved international travel.

Application Deadline: Friday, July 17, 2026

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A Carnegie R1 research university, USM garnered $91 million in sponsored funds.

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USM graduate students represent 58 countries and 48 states.

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USM offers 31 doctoral, 51 master's, 17 graduate certificates, and 6 micro-credential programs.

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