Can I submit a nomination for myself?

• Yes, you can submit a nomination for yourself.  By nominating yourself, you assume responsibility for contacting your publisher, and having copies of your book sent to the relevant awards committee.

Do I have to be a member of APSA to be eligible to win an APSA Award?

• No, you do not need to be a member of APSA to be eligible for an APSA Award.

Do I have to be associated with an institution in the United States to be eligible to win an APSA Award?

• No, you do not need to be associated with an institution in the United States to be eligible for an APSA Award.

Do I have to be an American citizen in order to be eligible to win an APSA Award?

• No, you do not need to be an American citizen to be eligible for an APSA Award.

Do I have to be a political scientist in order to be eligible to win an APSA Award?

• This depends on the award.  Since 2014, journalists and scholars from cognate disciplines have been selected as winners for APSA book awards.  Please read each award’s description carefully and contact [email protected] if you have any further questions.

Can I submit myself for more than one award at a time?

• Yes, you can submit yourself for more than one APSA Award at a time, although it is very unusual for any work to win more than one prize in a year.

If this is my first book about political science, but not the first book I have ever had published, is it eligible for the Theodore J. Lowi Award?

• No.  For a book to be eligible for the Lowi Award, it must be the first book that you have ever published.

Is my book eligible for an APSA Award this year?

• Books must be published within the last calendar year to be eligible for this year’s round of awards (books for the 2018 awards must be published in 2017).

Is my dissertation eligible for an APSA Award this year?

• Dissertations must have been successfully defended within the past two calendar years to be eligible for this year’s round of awards (dissertations for 2018 should be defended in 2016 or 2017). 

How many dissertations will be accepted each year, per school or political science department?

• APSA will accept a maximum of two nominations from each PhD-granting department for the William Anderson, Edward S. Corwin, Harold D. Lasswell, and Leonard D. White dissertation awards.  APSA will accept no more than one nomination from each PhD-granting department for the Merze Tate, Gabriel A. Almond, Leo Strauss, and E.E. Schattschneider dissertation awards.  Nominations from non-PhD departments and institutions are also welcome if the nominee is currently employed there.

This lecture commemorates the life and scholarship of renowned scholar of legislative politics Barbara Sinclair.  Each year a speaker will be selected to deliver the annual Barbara Sinclair Lecture, held in the fall.  Speaker selection recognizes achievement in promoting understanding of the U.S. Congress and legislative politics.  Co-sponsored by the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, School of Public Affairs, American University.

Learn more about the lecture here. 

The Frank J. Goodnow Award is made for distinguished service to the profession and the American Political Science Association, not necessarily a career of scholarship.  This service may be by individuals, groups, or public and private organizations who have played a role in the development of the political science profession and the building of the Association.

APSA Distinguished Teaching Award [$1,000]: For outstanding contributions to undergraduate and/or graduate teaching of political science at a two- or four-year institution.

John Gaus Award [$2,000]: For a lifetime of exemplary scholarship in the joint tradition of political science and public administration and, more generally, to recognize achievement and encourage scholarship in public administration.  The recipient delivers the Gaus Lecture at the Annual Meeting.

Hubert H. Humphrey Award [$1,000]: For notable public service by a political scientist.

Carey McWilliams Award [$750]: For a major journalistic contribution to our understanding of politics.

Benjamin E. Lippincott Award [$5,000]: For exceptional work by a living political theorist that is still considered significant after a time span of at least 15 years since the original publication (supported by University of Minnesota).  Given biennially; next awarded in 2019.  Also listed in Book Awards.

James Madison Award [$2,000]: For an American political scientist who has made a distinguished scholarly contribution to political science.  Given triennially; next awarded in 2020.

Charles Merriam Award [$500]: For a person whose published work and career represent a significant contribution to the art of government through the application of social science research.  Given biennially; next awarded in 2019.

Ithiel de Sola Pool Award [$2,000]: For a scholar selected to present a lecture exploring the implications of research on issues of politics in a broad range of scholarship pursued by Ithiel de Sola Pool.  Given triennially; next awarded in 2019.

Hanes Walton, Jr. Career Award : For a political scientist whose lifetime of distinguished scholarship “has made significant contributions to our understanding of racial and ethnic politics and illuminates the conditions under which diversity and intergroup tolerance thrive in democratic societies.”  Given biannually; next awarded in 2019.

Gabriel A. Almond Award [$750]: For the best doctoral dissertation in the field of comparative politics.

William Anderson Award [$750]: For the best doctoral dissertation in the general field of federalism or intergovernmental relations, state and local politics.

Edward S. Corwin Award [$750]: For the best doctoral dissertation in the field of public law.

Harold D. Lasswell Award [$1,000]: For the best doctoral dissertation in the field of public policy (co-sponsored by the Policy Studies Organization).

Merze Tate Award [$750]: For the best doctoral dissertation in the field of international relations, law and politics. Formerly the Helen Dwight Reid Award.

E.E. Schattschneider Award [$750]: For the best doctoral dissertation in the field of American government.

Kenneth Sherrill Prize [$200]: For the best doctoral dissertation proposal for an empirical study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) topics in political science.

Leo Strauss Award [$750]: For the best doctoral dissertation in the field of political philosophy.

Leonard D. White Award [$750]: For the best doctoral dissertation in the field of public administration (supported by University of Chicago).

To qualify for a nomination, dissertations must have been successfully defended within the past two calendar years. 

For 2018, APSA will accept a maximum of two nominations from each PhD-granting department for the William Anderson, Edward S. Corwin, Harold D. Lasswell, and Leonard D. White dissertation awards.  APSA will accept no more than one nomination from each PhD-granting department for the Merze Tate, Gabriel A. Almond, Leo Strauss, and E.E. Schattschneider dissertation awards.  Nominations from non-PhD departments and institutions are also welcome if the nominee is currently employed there.  Self-nominations are accepted.  For questions about the 2018 dissertation nomination policy, please contact [email protected].

Franklin L. Burdette/Pi Sigma Alpha Award [$750]: For the best paper presented at the previous annual meeting.  Program Division Chairs of the previous year's annual meeting are invited to submit one paper from their division as a nomination for the best paper of the annual meeting.   

Robert A. Dahl Award [$750]: Awarded annually to an untenured scholar who has produced scholarship of the highest quality on the subject of democracy.  Also listed in Book Awards.

Heinz I. Eulau Award [$750]: For the best articles published in the American Political Science Review and Perspectives on Politics during the previous calendar year.

Ralph J. Bunche Award [$1,000]: For the best scholarly work in political science published in the previous calendar year on ethnic and cultural pluralism.

Robert A. Dahl Award [$750]: Awarded annually to an untenured scholar who has produced scholarship of the highest quality on the subject of democracy.  Also listed in Paper & Article Awards.

Gladys M. Kammerer Award [$1,000]: For the best political science publication in the previous calendar year in the field of U.S. national policy.

APSA-IPSA Theodore J. Lowi First Book Award [$750]: For the author of a first book in any field of political science that shows promise of having a substantive impact on the discipline, regardless of method, specific focus of inquiry or approach to subject.  APSA and IPSA give award in alternating years.  Next APSA Lowi Award to be given 2019.

Victoria Schuck Award [$1,000]: For the best book published in the previous calendar year on women and politics.

Benjamin E. Lippincott Award [$5,000]: For exceptional work by a living political theorist that is still considered significant after a time span of at least 15 years since the original publication (supported by University of Minnesota).  Given biennially; next awarded in 2019. Also listed in Career Awards.

Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award [$5,000]: For the best book published in the U.S. during the previous calendar year on government, politics, or international affairs (supported by Princeton University).

Many books contain both a publication date and a copyright date, and these may differ.  Eligibility for APSA book awards is determined by the earlier of these dates that is printed with the publication information at the front of the book.  For example, if the publication page has a printed copyright date of 2014, that is the date that applies even if the book was released in 2015.

If you are nominating a book as an individual, please contact the publisher and ask them to have a copy of the nominated book sent to each committee member.  If you are nominating a book as a publisher, please send a copy of the nominated book directly to each committee member.  Postal information for all committees is included in the individual award pages (see links above).

Two awards will be given out at the 2018 Teaching & Learning Conference.  The deadline for submissions has passed. 

Michael Brintnall Teaching & Learning Award: Supports attendance at the conference.  The award may include conference registration fees and a one-year complimentary APSA membership. Contingent faculty, non-tenure track faculty, and faculty whose departments do not provide travel support are particularly encouraged to apply.

CQ Press Award for Teaching Innovation: Recognizes a political scientist who has developed an effective new approach to teaching in the discipline.  The award seeks to honor a wide range of new directions in teaching.