Research Excellence Awards for Fall 2007 - Summer 2008

Research Excellence Award Guidelines

(Awards for Outstanding Research/Creativity by Graduate Students)

Nomination Deadlines:

Fall 2007 Sememster Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Spring 2008 Semester Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Summer 2008 Semester Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Submit nominations to Felicity Douglas, Graduate College, 1137 Pearson, 50011-2206. Note - Late nominations will not be accepted except by prior arrangement.

Awards Mailed:

Fall 2007 Sememster Monday, December 3, 2007
Spring 2008 Semester Monday, April 28, 2008
Summer 2008 Semester Monday, July 28, 2008

NOTE: If you have questions, please contact Felicity Douglas in the Graduate College: 294-1958, or fdouglas@iastate.edu.

Purpose of Program: The purpose of these awards is to recognize graduate students at the time of their graduation for outstanding research accomplishments as documented in their theses and dissertations. These students are also expected to be academically superior and able to not only do research, but develop a well-written product. The intent of this program is to recognize up to 10% of graduating students who have submitted theses and dissertations. The document Research Excellence Entitlements (Excel document) shows the number of degrees awarded by departments and programs over the 5 years 1999-2004 and the resulting entitlements for research excellence awards. Please notice that in some areas degrees may be counted under several departments. The Research Excellence Program is administered by the Graduate College with additional support from the Graduate and Professional Student Senate. Awards are offered each semester and summer session. Note: Students must be graduating in the semester in which they are nominated

Description of Awards: Each Research Excellence Award consists of a letter of commendation from the ISU President and a certificate of achievement signed by the Graduate Dean and the ISU President. Recipients are recognized at Commencement – each is given an honor cord, cited in the ISU Commencement Program and recognized during the ceremony; the award is also noted on the student's transcript. Each term a formal photograph is taken of recipients with the ISU President, the Provost, and/or the Graduate Dean. Funding is not available through this program to offer cash prizes. However, departments are encouraged to use their own funds for this purpose whenever possible. Any cash prize should be handled directly by the department.

Nomination Procedure: The process of selection is the responsibility of each department or interdepartmental program. See the top of this page for the nomination deadline for awards for this semester.

A Research Excellence nomination form is available on the website, or you may create your own. Each nomination should include:

  1. Name of the student selected (Note: The name of the student will appear on his/her certificate exactly as it is submitted in the nomination papers)
  2. Name of the nominating department or program
  3. Name of home department (if different from nominating dept.)
  4. Name of student's major professor
  5. Kind of degree (master’s or Ph.D.) student is expected to receive this semester (NOTE: Student must be nominated during the term he/she plans to graduate)
  6. Student ID number
  7. Amount of cash prize to be given, if any, by nominating department in conjunction with this award
  8. Name of person in your department to whom the award will be mailed at the end of this semester e.g. yourself, or the graduate secretary, chair, or DOGE (Note: Awards are not mailed to the students)
  9. The name and signature of the Department Chair (or other authorized person)
  10. A brief description of the work the student has done - no more than one page (please do not submit copy of thesis/dissertation)

Award Method: Awards will be mailed to departments at the end of each semester, at the beginning of Dead Week. (The exact dates are given at the top of this page.) Departments will be responsible for presenting the awards to the students and will have the opportunity to supplement the award with a cash prize at that time. Each nominee will be given an award provided the student has been cleared for graduation and the department has sufficient entitlement to cover the award (or has made provisions to do so in special cases).

Click here to read the Research Excellence Awards Frequently Asked Questions.

If you have any questions about this program, please call Felicity Douglas in the Graduate College : 294-1958, or fdouglas@iastate.edu.

Note: all dates and deadlines for the year are given at the top of this page

The Fountain of the Four Seasons with the Campanile in the background.

The Fountain of the Four Seasons, one of many pieces on campus created by Christian Petersen, has graced the front of the Memorial Union since 1941.