Research Excellence Award
Award Submission Deadlines:
| Term | No later than |
|---|---|
| Fall Semester | No later than November 15 |
| Spring Semester | No later than April 15 |
| Summer Semester | No later than July 15 |
All nominations can be submitted online by designated faculty members or department staff. Follow the selection process for your department/program. Submissions by students are not allowed. Up to three reminders will be sent to departments in the weeks leading up to the deadlines. Please be mindful of the deadlines and adhere to them.
Purpose of Program
The purpose of these awards is to recognize graduate students for outstanding research accomplishments as documented in their theses and dissertations. These students are also expected to be academically superior and able not only to do research, but also to develop a well written product. The intent of this program is to recognize "the best of the best" graduating students who have submitted theses and dissertations.
Description of Awards
Each Research Excellence Award consists of:
- a letter of commendation from the ISU President,
- a certificate of achievement signed by the ISU President and the Graduate College Dean,
- an honor cord to be worn at commencement, and
- an official notation on the student’s transcript.
If Research Excellence Award winners will not be graduating at the time these awards are given, they should keep their honor cord and wear it when they graduate. A citation will be listed by their name in the ISU Commencement Program. 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.
Eligibility
The student does not need to graduate in the semester they receive the award, but they should be very close to finishing. Students need to be far enough along in their thesis/dissertation for you to recognize the excellence qualities of excellence established by your department. Recipients of these awards must be enrolled at ISU at the time the awards are given; students who have graduated are not eligible for these excellence awards. If the student has already graduated, they can be nominated for the Karas and Zaffarano Graduate Awards.
A student is eligible for only one Research Excellence Award per degree; however, it is possible to grant a student both a Teaching and a Research Excellence Award for the same degree during his/her academic career.
Award Process
Deadlines for the Research Excellence Awards are posted on the website. Up to three reminders will be send to departments in the weeks leading up to the deadlines. Please be mindful of the deadlines and adhere to them. The process of selection will be the responsibility of each department or interdepartmental program. We encourage departments/programs to establish their own criteria and selection processes. All award submissions are made online and can be submitted only by authorized staff or faculty. Submissions by students are not allowed.
Completing the award form
Department selections are submitted online and can be submitted only by authorized staff or faculty. Submissions by students are not allowed.
- The recipient needs to be a current student. Students do not have to be graduating in the semester they receive the Research Excellence Awards. However, they cannot receive excellence awards after they have graduated.
- Do not use all caps when filling out this form.
- Required: Check with the student and find out exactly how they would like their name listed on the certificate and in the letter. We cannot guarantee reprints if a name is incorrect after you have made the final check. (i.e. Joe Smith entered; student wanted Joseph E. Smith)
- Identify who will be responsible for verification and distribution of the awards.
- Identify people who would like to be notified “FYI” when the awards are submitted.
After the form has been submitted
- Upon completion of the nomination form, the submitter (and others indicated FYI) will receive an automatic e-mail stating that information for the Research Excellence Award has been submitted.
- Following the deadline, the person who is identified for verification and distribution will receive an e-mail to respond whether “no edits are needed” or “edits needed.” It is very important that the student’s name is listed exactly how they want it on their certificate. We cannot guarantee reprints if a name is incorrect after the final check.
- The person identified for verification and distribution will also verify how the award letter, certificate, and honor cord will be distributed (campus mail or pick up), and will verify name and address for delivery.
- Names submitted can be checked on the Research Excellence website, View all Research Excellence Award nominees here.
Award Distribution
Letters, certificates, and honor cords will be distributed to departments (person/address indicated on nomination form) no later than Dead Week at the end of each semester. If a student is not graduating this semester, it will be the student’s responsibility to keep the honor cord and wear it during his/her graduation ceremony.
Departments will be responsible for presenting the awards and will have the opportunity to supplement the award with a cash prize at that time. Each student name submitted will be given an award and it will be the responsibility of each department to monitor the submission and accuracy of the awards. The honor cords should be kept by the student and worn during their graduation ceremony.
The Graduate College will notify the Registrar’s Office and the Commencement Office so that the award appears on the student’s transcript and in the Commencement program.
Awards will not be given after the student has graduated. Any corrections or adjustments should be settled before the student graduates.
If you have any questions about this program, please email the Graduate College: .
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