College of the Liberal Arts

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Award for Excellence in Research

Purpose

To recognize high quality contributions to the humanities and the social sciences by enrolled graduate students working toward their advanced degrees.

Specifics

There will be two awards made each year--one in the humanities and one in the social sciences--for the best article or book published or forthcoming by a graduate student registered in the College. The article or book should have been published or forthcoming during the calendar year 2008. The director of graduate studies from each program may nominate no more than one candidate in each category, as appropriate; nominations are due NOVEMBER 15 . To qualify, the student should normally be in residence during the semester in which the nomination is made.

Criteria

The overriding criterion is excellence. To be considered, the student should be the sole author, or, in the case of joint authorship, the senior author (as attested to by the director of graduate studies). Considerable weight will be accorded to the standing of the journal or the press publishing the research. Normally, papers should be in refereed journals. For forthcoming publications, all requested revisions must be complete by the time of nomination.

Process

The director of graduate studies should submit by email a 1-2 page nomination (Microsoft Word or PDF) which speaks to the quality of the student's research. If the nomination is for a book, the quality of the press should be addressed and documented in the nomination statement. If an article is being nominated, the following additional information should be submitted: (a) the circulation of the journal; (b) the number of articles submitted annually; (c) the number of articles accepted annually, (d) the establishment date of the journal, and (e) the relative ranking of the journal as a publication outlet in the particular disciplinary area. The nomination should also include a copy the article or book or, if forthcoming, the acceptance letter, as well as a copy of the student's vita.

The award consists of $300 and a suitable plaque.

Nominations should be submitted via PDF format to Brandy Bower at BVB2@PSU.EDU.

If you have any questions please call us at (814)865-1439.