Academic Excellence FAQs

The GMBR Selection committee makes a recommendation to the President of Texas A&M University for the President’s approval.

Faculty, staff, or administrators within a college may submit a candidate’s application to their college’s nomination committee. Students may not self-nominate.

Applicants for the Brown-Rudder or Gates-Muller awards must be nominated through the College in which their major resides.

The recipients of the Brown-Rudder and Gates-Muller awards are kept confidential until their announcement and presentation at the LAUNCH Recognition Ceremony in May, shortly before the May graduation ceremonies. The awards are also announced at the college graduation ceremonies of the recipients.

Applications from college candidates are solicited from January through February. College nominations are submitted to the GMBR selection committee by early March for presentation in May.

For the Brown-Rudder, a student must have earned a GPR in the top quarter of his/her college, have completed at least one-half of their degree requirements at TAMU, have displayed the personal traits of President Earl Rudder, be or have held positions of leadership in one or more major student organizations or in state/nationally recognized student organizations or social, church, or similar organizations, have an exemplary conduct record, have displayed a great love of TAMU and a willingness to uphold our principles, and have earned their baccalaureate degree by the end of the coming (May) spring semester or the previous two (December or August) graduation ceremonies.

For the Gates-Muller, a student must have earned a GPR in the top third of his/her college, have completed at least one-half of their degree requirements at TAMU, have displayed the personal traits of President Robert Gates, be or have held positions of leadership in one or more major student organizations or in state/nationally recognized student organizations or social, church, or similar organizations, have an exemplary conduct record, have displayed a great love of TAMU and a willingness to uphold our principles, NOT be a recipient of the Brown-Rudder Award, and have earned their baccalaureate degree by the end of the coming (May) spring semester or the previous two (December or August) graduation ceremonies.

The campus-wide GMBR Selection committee is an anonymous group of students, staff, and faculty nominated by the Vice President for Student Affairs, the Dean of Faculties and Associate Provost, the Vice President for Finance and Administration, and the Commandant of the Corps of Cadets.

Yes. The review process is designed to provide a holistic assessment of each applicant. Grades are only one factor of the application.

Yes. You can submit an application in each college and it is possible to win the Dean's Excellence Award from both colleges.

Yes. The review process is designed to accommodate applicants who have significant experience and participation in fewer categories as well as those who have only shallow participation in all categories. Since the goal of the award is to acknowledge and reward excellence you may find that the review process will favor these applicants over those who appear to be a "jack of all trades and master of none."

It depends. While it is expected that applicants may not be "superstars" in every category the Dean's Excellence Award seeks to encourage and acknowledge students who show depth and promise in more than one area.

No and no. You do not have  to be a member of Phi Kappa Phi to submit an application and you are not required to join Phi Kappa Phi if you are selected as an awardee. We do hope that applicants and awardees will show interest in Phi Kappa Phi and the benefits of membership.

No and no. You do not have to be a member of any campus honors program to submit an application and you do not have to join the University Honors program if you win. We do encourage all students at the university to challenge themselves and participating in an honors program can provide significant benefits to your academic endeavors.

The letter of recommendation system is designed to require a NetID and password to login. This ensures the legitimacy of the references that are received.

Yes. Letters may come from anyone who meets the given criteria (see Letters of Recommendation section) and is not an undergraduate student.

Personal letters, no matter the title or authority of the person who authors them, have no weight in an application process. You are much better served by getting a letter from someone who knows you and your work directly and in a professional capacity.

No. The page limit is firm and each document written by the applicant can be no longer than 1 page. Unofficial transcripts and letters of recommendation may be longer than 1 page. Applicants who do not follow the directions will not be considered.

No. Unfortunately the review process at this time does not accommodate applications from students who do not belong to a specific college.