Graduate Student Awards

The Department of Sociology at the University of Kentucky has three awards given to graduate students each year.  All award winners will be honored at the department's Annual Awards Ceremony.

• The Graduate Student Teaching Award recognizes the outstanding contributions its
  graduate students make to its undergraduate teaching mission. All graduate students who have taught their own course in our undergraduate curriculum are eligible. The award consists of (1) an individual plaque and (2) placement of the recipient's name on a plaque to be displayed in the department. Those interested in applying should submit six copies of their vita and teaching portfolio to the Director of Graduate Studies.
• The John A. O'Donnell Award recognizes the outstanding academic performances of its
  graduate students.  Recipients have "demonstrated an exceptional degree of creativity and intellectual vigor" and are recognized by "virtually everyone (faculty and students)" as "truly outstanding." All graduate students who are ABD (i.e., those who have successfully defended their dissertation proposal) are eligible. The award consists of (1) an individual plaque, (2) a one-year subscription to a major sociological journal, and (3) placement of the recipient's name on a plaque to be displayed in the department.
• The Howard Beers Summer Fellowships support collaborative research efforts between
  faculty and graduate students. All graduate students are eligible. The award consists of a one-time stipend of $2,000.  Those interested in applying should assemble a packet of materials that includes six copies of a cover letter indicating with which faculty member the study is being undertaken, the nature of the graduate student-faculty collaboration, the dissemination goals of the study (e.g., presentation at a professional meeting, publication in a peered review journal, applied or extension distribution, etc.), a short proposal (5 to 10 pages) describing the study, the student's vita, and a supporting letter from the faculty mentor about the faculty member's mentoring role and the study's importance for the student's career. Preference will be given to students who have not previously received the Beers award.