COALS Outstanding Student Awards

Undergraduate students are encouraged to apply for one of the Outstanding Student Awards handed out each spring during Ag Convocation.  This year’s date for Ag Convocation will be the Saturday of Family Weekend, April 9, 2022.

The two categories of awards are:

• Senior Merit Awards: The highest award given to undergraduates in our college, a student must have over 90 hours and be projected to graduate during the 2022 calendar year. Students who are graduating in May 2022, and are selected for the college’s Senior Merit award will also be considered as possible nominees for the university’s highest awards given to a graduating senior: the Brown Foundation-Earl Rudder Memorial Outstanding Student Award, the Robert Gates-Muller Family Outstanding Student Award, and the E. King Gill Selfless Service Sward.
  • Non-Traditional Students are encouraged to apply for the Senior Merit Award as there are criteria specifically designed for their unique academic and life experiences.  A non-traditional student is defined as any student who has life experiences that create a non-traditional collegiate experience, including any of the following: over age 25, married or partnered, having children, a veteran of a branch of the Armed Services, a student who works full-time, or a student who is enrolled part-time.
• COALS/Alpha Zeta Awards: Awards for the college’s Outstanding Freshman, Sophomore and Junior.  This is the highest award given to non-seniors by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Link & Instructions for Submitting Your Senior Merit Award Application

• Link to Senior Merit Award Application
  • Click on Apply under Application Tools.
  • You will be taken to a new page where you will need to log in as a Texas A&M user with your Net ID and password
  • The application system allows the user to save a draft of their application and return when ready to submit. Please make sure to save your work frequently.
• Application Includes
  • Application: Demographic information required (i.e., Name, Major, UIN, etc.)
    • Under the field Primary Department, you will need to click AGLS which will open a listing of departments. Please click on the department your major is housed is. A listing of majors and departments can be found here.
  • College Awards Sample Activity Sheet
    • Areas that need to be included on your sheet include Texas A&M University Activities, Community Involvement, Professional & Civic Activities, Employment, Internships & Research, Awards, Honors & Publications.  Non-Traditional Students may also include a section on Life Experiences.
    • Please click on the link for a sample template that you are free to use by filling in your own unique information.
    • Highlighted areas on the template pertain to Non-Traditional students only.
    • 3-page limit for the activity sheet
  • Statement of Purpose: How do you plan to utilize your degree in the future?
    • Your statement needs to be at least half a page in length but no more than one page in length.
    • Please focus your statement on what you plan to do post-graduation with your degree.
    • Times New Roman, 12 point font, double-spaced format
  • Unofficial Copy of TAMU Transcript
    • Please upload a PDF of your unofficial transcript. A copy of your transcript can be found in the My Record tab in Howdy in the box labeled “Grades & Transcripts”. Click on the link titled “View Unofficial Transcript (PDF)” to download a PDF copy to upload.
• The deadline for submission is by 5:00 PM, Monday, January 24, 2022.

This form is available for undergraduate students to submit their application for a COALS Outstanding Freshman, Sophomore, or Junior Student Award.