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University Distinguished PhD Dissertation Award

Deadline: Monday, April 27, 2026

According to plans developed by faculty committees and approved by the Graduate Council, each degree granting program of the IU Graduate School Bloomington may nominate one truly outstanding Ph.D. dissertation for consideration. The Awards Committee of the Graduate Faculty Council will consider such criteria as originality, documentation, significance, accuracy, organization, and style.

In addition to recognizing outstanding Ph.D. Dissertations, the University Distinguished Ph.D. Dissertation Award competition is also to solicit competitive applicants for nomination to the

Note: To be eligible for CGS/ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award all nominated dissertations must be in the ProQuest database by the deadline.

Award

2 awards of $5,000 each. 1 award will be given in each category, which match the fields of competition for this year’s CGS/ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award.

Eligibility

Ph.D. students must have received a Ph.D. degree during the two previous academic years. For the 2026 award, applicants must have completed doctoral degree requirements and the dissertation between the period of July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2026.

Fields of Competition

The broad fields of competition are based on the CGS/ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award and alternates between Biological/Life Science and Humanities and Fine Arts or Social Sciences and Mathematics, Physical Sciences, and Engineering every two years. For 2026, the fields are Social Sciences and Mathematics, Physical Sciences, and Engineering.

Below is a non-inclusive list of the the fields considered to belong to the broader fields. These are general dissertation/research topic fields - not majors. Please email ugsaward@iu.edu if you have any questions.

Biological/Life Sciences fields includes biology; botany; zoology; ecology; embryology; entomology; genetics; nutrition; plant pathology; plant physiology; anatomy; biochemistry; biophysics; microbiology; pathology; pharmacology; physiology; and related fields. Also included are agriculture, forestry, and related fields.

Humanities field includes history; philosophy; language; linguistics; literature; archaeology; jurisprudence; the history, theory and criticism of the arts; ethics; comparative religion; and those aspects of the social sciences that employ historical or philosophical approaches.

Social Sciences field includes agricultural economics; geography; anthropology; archaeology; economics; education; sociology; government (political science); demography; and psychology.

Mathematics, Physical Sciences, and Engineering fields include 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.

Access the Nomination Form

Nomination Process

Each degree-granting program of the IU Graduate School Bloomington is allowed one nominee of a truly outstanding dissertation in each category. Nominations may be made by the Director of Graduate Studies or Departmental Chair by submitting the following:

1. Completed
2. 3 letters of support, of which one must be from the dissertation supervisor, another from a member of the dissertation committee, and the third from a person of the nominee chooses. These letters should evaluate the significance and quality of the dissertation work.
3. A curriculum vitae (not to exceed five pages)
4. An abstract of the dissertation not to exceed five double-spaced pages. Appendices containing non-textual material, such as charts or tables may be included as additional pages. All pages should be numbered, and each should bear the name of the nominee.
5. An electronic copy of the dissertation. If selected, dissertation must be in ProQuest database to be eligible to be nominated for CGS/ProQuest Ph.D. Distinguished Dissertation.

Recent Winners

2025 Biological/Life Sciences and Humanities and Fine Arts

"," Benjamin Koch, Cell, Molecular and Cancer Biology Program

Richard Raber, Department of History

2024 Social Sciences and Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Engineering

Yusuf Canbolat, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

"Fulfilling Privacy and Security Compliance in Software Supply Chain", Yue Xiao, Department of Computer Science

2023 Biological/Life Sciences and Humanities and Fine Arts

Sean Sidkey, Departments of Comparative Literature and Religious Studies

2022 Social Sciences and Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Engineering 

Ahmed Lachheb, Department of Instructional Systems Technology

2021 Biological/Life Sciences and Humanities and Fine Arts

Denisa Jashari, Department of History
 
"Identifying the Pathogen Blocking Mechanism of the Symbiont Wolbachia Pipientis in Arthropods", Tamanash Bhattacharya, Department of Microbiology

2020 Social Sciences and Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Engineering 

  Anna Keune, Department of Learning and Development Science

Gregg Thomas, Department of Biology and Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering