The Graduate School - University of Maryland

Endowed Awards

Student Awards:

The Dr. Mabel S. Spencer Award for Excellence in Graduate Achievement

Dr. James W. Longest Memorial Award for Social Science Research

The Michael J. Pelczar Award for Excellence in Graduate Study

The Phi Delta Gamma Graduate Fellowship

Faculty Award:

Kirwan Faculty Research and Scholarship Prize

Student Awards

The Dr. Mabel S. Spencer Award for Excellence in Graduate Achievement

The Spencer Award, established by the daughters of Dr. Mabel S. Spencer, honors the memory and outstanding professional achievements of Dr. Spencer. It carries a stipend of $15,000 and candidacy tuition remission (if not covered by other tuition remission)..

Dr. Spencer taught at the University of Maryland from 1948 to 1968. Her energy, dynamic personality, and commitment to bringing about positive change made her a leader in the University community. Dedicated to programs and activities that advanced the interests of women at the University, Dr. Spencer was also known for her extraordinary ability to communicate with and provide assistance to her students, especially those from underrepresented minorities and from foreign countries.

Nominations for the Mabel S. Spencer Award must be made by the nominee’s Graduate Director. Nominations of women are especially encouraged for this award. A program may nominate up to two candidates.

Criteria for the Spencer Award:

A nominee must:

Have an outstanding record in graduate studies;
Have a demonstrable potential to contribute to his or her field of study;
Be a doctoral candidate as of the first day of classes, Fall 2009;
Submit a 1,000-1,500 word personal statement (to be included with the Graduate Director’s nomination packet) discussing academic experiences, accomplishments, challenges overcome, goals for the immediate post-doctoral period, and long-term career aspirations.

Nomination packets must include:

Nomination cover page (click here).
Letters of recommendation from:
- The Director of Graduate Studies or Department Chair;
- The dissertation supervisor; and
- A faculty member (in addition to the dissertation supervisor) who has worked closely with the nominee in some capacity.

The nominee’s personal statement (see above).

Please submit each nomination package electronically as a single pdf file attached to an email, to Judith King in the Graduate School at spencer-award@umd.edu by Monday, March 9, 2009.

Dr. James W. Longest Memorial Award for Social Science Research

The Longest Award, established by Mary Jack Wintle (Mrs. James W. Longest), honors the memory and outstanding personal and professional achievements of Dr. James W. Longest. It provides $2,000 to support doctoral dissertation research in the social sciences with potential benefits for small and/or disadvantaged communities. Candidacy tuition remission also will be granted for each of two semesters (f not covered by other tuition remission).

Dr. James W. Longest served on the research faculty of Cornell University for ten years before coming to the University of Maryland in 1967. Dr. Longest retired and became Professor Emeritus in 1990. He took great interest in assisting students, for whom he set high professional standards, and continued advising students until his death in November 1992. Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Longest supported an interdisciplinary approach to problem solving in the areas of community development and the delivery of services in rural areas.

Criteria for the Longest Award:

A nominee must:

Be a doctoral student advanced to candidacy and within two years of receiving the degree;
Have an outstanding record in graduate studies;
Have a history of involvement in some form of service to an external or campus community;
Submit a statement of 1,000-5,000 words describing his or her community involvement and how the funds will be used to support dissertation research in the social sciences with potential benefits for small and/or disadvantaged communities.

Nomination packets must include:

Nomination cover page (click here);.
Letters of recommendation from:

The Director of Graduate Studies or Department Chair;
The dissertation supervisor; and
A faculty member (in addition to the dissertation supervisor) who has worked closely with the nominee in some capacity.

The nominee's personal statement (see above).

Nominations for the Longest Award must be made by the nominee's program director. A program may nominate up to two candidates.

Please submit each nomination package electronically as a single pdf file attached to an email, to Judith King in the Graduate School at longest-award@umd.edu by Monday, March 9, 2009.

The Michael J. Pelczar Award for Excellence in Graduate Study

The Michael J. Pelczar Award for Excellence in Graduate Study offers $1,000 to an outstanding doctoral candidate who has demonstrated excellence beyond his or her course work, and who has served at least one academic year as a teaching assistant with a commendable performance.

Criteria for the Pelczar Award:

A nominee must:

Be a doctoral student advanced to candidacy;
Have demonstrated a high level of accomplishment in research;
Have demonstrated excellence beyond course work (e.g., a dissertation that makes a significant contribution to a discipline, publications in national or international journals, election to honorary societies, and honors or awards by other groups); and
Have served at least one academic year as a teaching assistant with a commendable performance.

Nomination packets must include:

Nomination cover page (click here);
Letter of support from the student's advisor, describing the accomplishments of the student;
The student's Curriculum Vitae;
Other information that would support the application.

Nominations for the Pelzcar Award must be made by the nominee's program director. A program may nominate up to two candidates.

Please submit each nomination package electronically as a single pdf file attached to an email, to Judith King in the Graduate School at (pelczar-award@umd.edu).by Monday, March 9, 2009.

The Phi Delta Gamma Graduate Fellowship

The Phi Delta Gamma Graduate Fellowship offers $1,000 to a student who "best exemplifies interdisciplinary scholarship achievement."

Criteria for the Phi Delta Gamma Fellowship:

A nominee:

Must be enrolled in a graduate degree program at the University of Maryland;
Must exemplify the spirit of interdisciplinary focus in research; and
May be at any stage of his/her program, not necessarily the dissertation stage.

(Membership in Phi Delta Gamma is not required.)

Nomination packets must include:

Nomination cover page (click here);
Letter of support from the student's advisor, describing the accomplishments of the student;
The student's Curriculum Vitae;
Other information that would support the application.

Nominations for the Phi Delta Gamma Graduate Fellowship must be made by the nominee's program director. A program may nominate up to two candidates.

Please submit each nomination package electronically as a single pdf file attached to an email, to Judith King in the Graduate School at (pdg-fellowship@umd.edu) by Monday, March 9, 2009.

Faculty Award:

The Kirwan Faculty Research and Scholarship Prize

Former University of Maryland President William E. Kirwan and Patricia Kirwan generously established a fund to support the Kirwan Faculty Research and Scholarship Prize. This annual prize recognizes a faculty member for a highly significant work of research, scholarship, or artistic creativity completed within the last three years. The prize can be awarded for a publication, an invention, a performance, or any other activity within the faculty member's academic discipline. All current full-time tenure-track or tenured faculty are eligible. The prize carries an honorarium of $5,000 and is awarded at the Fall Convocation.

See http://www.faculty.umd.edu/FacAwards/cpawards.html#Kirwan for more information and application instructions.

Nomination materials should be submitted electronically in a single PDF file to Judith King in the Graduate School at (kirwan-graduateprize@umd.edu).by Friday, February 13, 2009.

For a roster of previous winners of endowed awards, please click here.