Designed to bolster a growing culture of research at LAU, the Graduate Research Scholarships (GRS) have been renewed for a fifth year, supporting graduate students with fully waived tuition and a stipend. The scholarship is ideal for research-oriented students who wish to pursue a PhD, an academic career or professional research after their master’s.

The scholarships, which have benefited more than 200 students since 2020, continue to be competitive sought-after springboards for students aiming to realize their research potential across 17 different fields of study—this year covering most of LAU’s in-person graduate programs.

The scholars are required to submit a research paper to a peer-reviewed journal before graduating, which could stem from their thesis or a side project with a faculty member who has a similar research interest.

Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies and Research and Professor of Economics Walid Marrouch spoke about the impact this requirement has had on the rate of published papers at LAU.

“As of last summer, we have had more than 50 peer-reviewed publications, with the publication rate of GRS scholars being around 50 percent, compared to 15 percent of the general graduate student population at the university,” he said.

The Office of Graduate Studies and Research is expecting this figure to increase this year with the additional incentives, including a stipend, offered to the young researchers, who are required to enroll in the graduate program on a full-time basis.

The GSR Office has also moved the application deadline from July 15 to March 31 this year, to notify prospective graduate students of the admissions decision as early as possible.

“This scholarship provides ideal conditions for students wishing to prepare for doctoral studies abroad,” noted Dr. Marrouch. “With relatively small class sizes, faculty supervisors are closely following up with, mentoring and training students to write publishable research papers,” he said.

Other forms of graduate studies financing at LAU are the Graduate Assistantship—which last year covered 80 percent of the graduate student population—and the US Middle East Partnership Initiative Graduate Program. The university has also reduced the graduate deposit fees by 70 percent, from $1,000 to $300, for all graduate students and waived it entirely for GRS recipients.

“At LAU, we are deeply committed to fostering a vibrant and driven community of graduate students. These initiatives are integral to our strategy for realizing that vision” emphasized Dean of Graduate Studies and Research Samer Saab.

Furthermore, the broad research network of LAU faculty members has helped several graduate students join prestigious PhD programs in North America and Europe, while others have landed competitive industry jobs that require research experience.

Students interested in applying can do so online before March 31, 2024 and are welcome to contact the Office of Graduate Studies and Research for any query.