2024-2025 CHBGS Distinguished Dissertation/Thesis Award General information

The Council of Historically Black Graduate Schools (CHBGS) will award one doctoral dissertation and one master’s thesis award for the 2025 Distinguished Dissertation and Thesis Awards cycle.

Awards

The Dissertation Award honorarium is $1000. The Thesis Award honorarium is $500. In addition, reasonable travel expenses will be covered for the winners of each category to attend the CHBGS Annual Meeting. All award recipients will be acknowledged at the 55th Annual Conference of the Council of Historically Black Graduate Schools in Dallas, Texas on March 18-19, 2025.

Eligibility

Nominations are limited to current CHBGS member institutions. Each institution member may submit one nomination for the dissertation award and one for the thesis award. Current and previously graduated students are eligible to participate. Eligible graduate students must have completed their degree requirements within two years of their nomination and have an approved thesis or dissertation.

Nomination Guidelines

Graduate Deans or their designees from CHBGS member institutions may submit one thesis and/or one dissertation nomination. Nomination Materials are due by January 8 at 11:59 PM.

Application Components and Submission Guidelines

(Note: Nominations that do not adhere strictly to these instructions will not be considered).

• Research statement (1-2 pages) outlining the research context and contribution to the discipline, prepared by the nominee
• Resume or CV (2 page maximum)
• Web link or electronic copy of the thesis/dissertation (for recent graduates)
• Letter of support from the major professor, focusing on the criteria for evaluation (clarity, scholarship, methodology, contributions).

All materials must be submitted as a single PDF using the following naming format:

• CHBGS ThesisAward_LastName_FirstName_Institution.pdf
• CHBGS DissertationAward_LastName_FirstName_Institution.pdf

Evaluation Criteria

Submissions will be evaluated by a committee of CHBGS deans and faculty based on:

• Clarity of style and presentation (25%)
• Scholarship (25%) • Research methodology (25%)
• Contributions to the field or discipline (25%).

Deadline

Graduate Deans or their designees from CHBGS member institutions may submit Nomination Materials for one thesis and/or one dissertation nomination by January 8 at 11:59 PM using this link CHBGS 2024-2025 Dissertation/Thesis Award Submission.

If you have questions, please contact Dr. John E. Smith Jr., [email protected], 601-977-7937.