Distinguished Thesis Award
DISTINGUISHED THESIS AWARD
Nomination Deadline: October 15 at 11:59 pm, annually
The Graduate College seeks to honor outstanding research at the master’s level at Bowling Green State University. The Distinguished Thesis Award is granted annually as a way to recognize and promote excellence in research and thesis advising. BGSU follows the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) guidelines for annual thesis awards. This year’s MAGS/ProQuest Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award has limited the acceptance of nominations to the disciplines of Mathematics, Physical Sciences, Engineering, and Social Sciences (see notes below for definition of these areas and for future competition areas). The intent of the competition is to recognize distinguished scholarship by students who are pursuing their first graduate research degree.
Description of the Award: The Graduate College Distinguished Thesis Award consists of a student honorarium of $500, a certificate of citation, and a $100 award of recognition for the thesis advisor. In addition, the recipient of the Graduate College Distinguished Thesis Award is eligible to become the subsequent BGSU Graduate College nominee for the Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award sponsored annually by MAGS for the awardee’s disciplinary field of competition for the MAGS Thesis Award. The 2025 MAGS fields of competition are Mathematics, Physical Sciences, and Engineering, and Social Sciences. See notes below for definition of these areas and for future competition areas.
The Nominating Process: Graduate Coordinators are invited to solicit nominations from their graduate faculty for the Graduate College Distinguished Thesis Award. A program may submit only one nomination to the Graduate College. If more than one nomination is forwarded to the Graduate Coordinator, it is the responsibility of the graduate faculty to meet to determine which nomination will be forwarded to the Graduate College. In keeping with the competition requirements set by the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools, the effective date of degree award, or the completion of master’s degree requirements and thesis, must lie in the period of July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2024. The nomination must be submitted by the Graduate Coordinator.
Supporting Materials: Nomination materials must include the following items submitted as one PDF file:
- One (1) copy of the thesis
- Thesis abstract, not to exceed 300 words. (Abstract must contain the title of the thesis and the name of the author)
- Letter of nomination from the Graduate Coordinator on behalf of the graduate faculty
- One letter of support from either the thesis advisor or another referee in the student’s graduate program
- A one-page resume of the nominee.
Selection Criteria: The successful nominee’s thesis should represent superior work in the nominee’s discipline or interdisciplinary area of concentration. The thesis will be judged on substantive and methodological quality, originality of thought, and clarity.
Award Selection Committee: The Graduate College Awards Committee, comprised of faculty scholars from BGSU, will evaluate nominations and select the winner.
Deadline for Nominations: All materials must be submitted electronically to The Office of the Graduate Dean at gradcol@bgsu.edu by 11:59 pm on October 15th.
Notes:
- Fields to be considered for the 2025 award (completion date between July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2024):
- Mathematics, Physical Sciences, and Engineering: mathematics; statistics; computer sciences; data processing; systems analysis; chemistry; earth sciences; physics; geology; meteorology; astronomy; metallurgy; geophysics; pharmaceutical chemistry; aeronautical, architectural, biomedical, ceramic, chemical, civil, and electrical engineering sciences; environmental health engineering; geological, mechanical, mining, nuclear, and petroleum engineering.
- Social Sciences: agricultural economics; geography; anthropology; archaeology; economics; education; sociology; government (political science); demography; and psychology.
- Future awards areas
- The MAGS Award operates on a two-year cycle in regard to fields of competition. Please plan your submissions accordingly, as we can only consider a thesis once.
- 2026
- Anticipated completion date July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2026
- The fields of competition for 2026 will be Biological/Life Sciences, and the Humanities and Fine Arts.
** Awards may be subject to taxation
Updated: 10/04/2024 02:28PM