Dr. J. Mark Wrighton, currently assistant professor of Political Science at University of New Hampshire, served on the Graduate Council and as GSS president while earning his Ph.D. at Iowa. more...
L.B. Sims Outstanding Master's Thesis Award
The L. B. Sims Outstanding Master's Thesis Award will be awarded annually to recognize and reward distinguished scholarship at the master’s level at The University of Iowa.
The winner of the L. B. Sims Award will receive a $500 honorarium and a certificate from the Graduate College. In addition, the Graduate College will submit the winner's thesis as the institution's nomination for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) Distinguished Thesis Award. MAGS will select two winners who will each receive $500, and be recognized at the MAGS Annual Meeting, April 2-4, 2008. The Graduate College will recognize the award winner at a ceremony Friday, March 28, 2008.
This award recognizes the excellent
scholarship and research that is carried out by University of Iowa
graduate students pursuing Master’s degrees—a group for which fewer
opportunities for such recognition have been provided
than for
students pursuing doctoral degrees.
Nomination Process
Nominations for the 2008 award
are due Wednesday,
October 24, 2007.
Nomination materials should be sent to Dan Berkowitz, Associate Dean,
Graduate College, 205 Gilmore Hall. Information on the
award follows below and has been distributed to
departments electronically.
- Nominations will be accepted in any discipline in which the University of Iowa offers a Master’s degree. However, original works accepted by the University “in lieu of thesis” (e.g. works of art) may not be nominated.
- A nominee must have been awarded the Master’s degree within the calendar year from October 1, 2006 to September 30, 2007. Since the intent of the competition is to recognize scholarship by students who are pursuing their first graduate research degree, individuals who received a Ph.D. (or comparable research degree) in any discipline prior to the writing of the Master’s thesis are not eligible. However, recipients of a first professional degree awarded prior to the writing of the thesis may be nominated.
Each department may nominate to the Graduate College one candidate. For the 2008 award, a student must have received the master’s degree between October 1, 2006 and September 30, 2007. The nominees’ theses should represent highly original research that makes a significant contribution to their field. A subcommittee of the Graduate Council will screen departmental nominations and select the University’s nominee for the prize.
Nomination materials sent to the Graduate College must include:
- Two copies of the thesis,
- An abstract. The abstract, describing the research and its significance, must not exceed 300 words and contain the title of the thesis and the name of the author but not the name of the institution i.e., University of Iowa. Departments nominating theses for this award should submit a hard copy as well as an electronic copy of the required abstract with the nomination. The abstract of the winning thesis must be submitted to MAGS electronically
- A letter from the thesis supervisor
- A curriculum vitae
UI Award Winner Recognized at Regional Level
In 2000, award winner Gitti Salami (School of Art and Art History) was nominated for and won the MAGS award for the superb quality of her thesis. The Graduate College looks forward to celebrating this honor with future nominees.
If you have any questions regarding the competition, please contact Dan Berkowitz, Associate Dean, at 335-2136 or via e-mail at dan-berkowitz@uiowa.edu or John Keller, Associate Provost and Dean, at 335-2142 or via e-mail at john-keller@uiowa.edu.