NEW for 2023-24 cycle: Eligibility has been expanded to include creative projects.
Description: The Political Geography Undergraduate Student Research Award is a $100 award for the best research paper (or creative work informed by research) on a political geography topic written by an undergraduate student, regardless of membership in the AAG or participation at the Annual Meetings.
Guidelines:
1. The 2024-25 cycle deadline is December 15, 2024.
2. The competition is open to all undergraduate students, or those who have completed an undergraduate degree since the last award has been made.
3. Entries must be on a topic in political geography.
4. A research project submitted for this award may not be submitted to any other AAG-affiliated organizations or Specialty Groups.
5. The entries must be research projects, and not reviews. Entries can include research papers or creative work informed by research (for example: podcast episodes with transcripts, websites or blogs, zines, interactive media, StoryMaps, etc.). For creative work, just as in a research paper, the author’s research question and thesis should be clearly stated and supported with appropriate peer-reviewed and primary sources. Submissions, regardless of format, should include disciplinary-appropriate in-text citations and works cited/bibliography. Submissions in the form of a research papers must not be longer than 10 pages, double-spaced, 12 point font, Times New Roman, 1” margins (excluding references). Students should seek advice from the faculty member endorsing their paper or from the award committee chair regarding questions about their submission format.
6. Entries must be endorsed and submitted by the student’s professor/instructor/advisor.
7. Digital copies of written submissions must be submitted as PDFs. Other submission formats may include: website links, audio files, etc. Regardless of format, all submissions should be made by the student’s professor / instructor / advisor to the current Undergraduate Student Paper Award Committee Chair by the deadline. The professor/instructor/advisor should briefly indicate their endorsement of the applicant’s entry in their email submission (see above).
8. Submissions will be judged foremost on their contributions to research in political geography, as well as their clarity and methodological and theoretical soundness.
9. All monetary prizes are awarded at the discretion of the Undergraduate Student Paper Award Committee. Awards will normally include one winner to receive $100 and up to three Honorable Mention awards ($50 each). If no acceptable entries are made, the committee can decide to not give the award in any given year.
10. The awards will be formally announced at the PGSG Business Meeting and the cash awards will be distributed to the awardees at that time. The awardees’ names and research project titles will be forwarded to the AAG for publication in the AAG Newsletter.
11. Any questions pertaining to eligibility will be resolved by the Undergraduate Student Research Award Committee, listed here.
12. The award committee cannot provide feedback on individual research submissions.