Miriam and Saul B. Cohen Prize for Geographic Excellence
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Undergraduate Award

A competitive award, the value of which can change from year to year, given in recognition of an excellent independent research project or senior honors thesis in Geography or Environmental Studies. This recognizes the student who goes above and beyond the regular requirements of the major and completes a significant independent research project while an undergraduate.

Submission criteria:

1. The project must be conducted by the student. If it is conducted in collaboration with a faculty funded research project, the faculty member must certify that the student conducted the portion of the research that is under consideration for the award.
2. The submission is of a written paper or senior honors thesis solely authored by the student. (Exception: Students who work in a professor's research lab and follow the protocol of indicating the professor as a co-author may submit a paper written in such a manner. The faculty advisor must certify that the student conducted the research and is the primary author of the paper.)
3. The faculty member who supervised the research will submit the research paper or honors thesis to the Undergraduate Cohen Prize committee by close of business on April 19, 2017 with a cover letter certifying that the student conducted the research and that the faculty member finds this paper/thesis to be an outstanding example of research and writing for an undergraduate student completing a degree in Geography or Environmental Studies. The faculty member´s supporting memorandum and both hard copy and a digital copy must be submitted..

Review of submissions:

Submissions will be reviewed by the Undergraduate Cohen Prize committee and a decision will be made no later than April 28, 2017 and the winner will be announced at the departmental dinner on May 12, 2017.

Evaluation criteria:

While excellent undergraduate geographic or environmental research will vary across subfields, there are common criteria for evaluation, similar to those used for peer review:

1. Well-presented research question grounded in appropriate literature and within a clear conceptual framework.
2. Evidence of independent original thought and design.
3. Well-written with appropriate graphics ad appropriate supporting evidence, whether quantitative, qualitative, cartographic, or other.
4. Well-documented and able to pass an examination for plagiarism through TurnItIn, SafeAssign, or other comparable software.
5. Completed as an independent research project or senior honors thesis.
6. Research papers written as part of class work, or independent study, honors, or capstone experiences, qualify for submission.

 

Graduate Award

A competitive award, the value of which can change from year to year, given in recognition of excellent Masters-level Geographic Research, either for the thesis or the exam-option paper. GIS Certificate students who complete an independent research project that meets the criteria below are also eligible for this prize.

Submission criteria:

1. The project must be conducted by the student. If it is conducted in collaboration with a faculty funded research project, the faculty member must certify that the student conducted the portion of the research that is under consideration for the award.
2. The submission is of a written paper in the format of a manuscript to be submitted for peer review solely authored by the student. (Exception: Students who work in a professor's research lab and follow the protocol of indicating the professor as a co-author may submit a paper written in such a manner. The faculty advisor must certify that the student conducted the research and is the primary author of the paper.) Students are not to submit a copy of their MA thesis but are encouraged to submit papers based on their thesis research.
3. The faculty member who supervised the research will submit the research paper to the Graduate Cohen Prize committee by close of business on April 19, 2017 with a cover letter certifying that the student conducted the research and that the faculty member finds this paper to be an outstanding example of research and writing for a graduate student completing an MA degree in Geography. The faculty member´s supporting memorandum and both hard copy and a digital copy must be submitted.

Review of submissions:

Submissions will be reviewed by the Undergraduate Cohen Prize committee and a decision will be made no later than April 28, 2017 and the winner will be announced at the departmental dinner on May 12, 2017.

Evaluation criteria:

While excellent graduate geographic research will vary across subfields, there are common criteria for evaluation, similar to those used for peer review:

1. Well-presented research question grounded in appropriate literature and within a clear conceptual framework.
2. Evidence of independent original thought and design.
3. Well-written with appropriate graphics and appropriate supporting evidence, whether quantitative, qualitative, cartographic, or other.
4. Well-documented and able to pass and examination for plagiarism through TurnItIn, SafeAssign, or other comparable software.
5. Completed as an independent research project in fulfillment of the thesis or paper requirement of the MA degree.
6. Papers written for classes or independent study courses qualify for this prize.