Annual Dissertation Award

THE SESP DISSERTATION AWARD PORTAL IS NOW OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS.

May 15, 2026 is the deadline for submitting a nomination for the annual Dissertation Award conferred by the Society of Experimental Social Psychology. Nominations are accepted from faculty members at any Ph.D.-granting institution (regardless of whether they are SESP members). 

The award includes membership (Fellow status) in the Society and an honorarium to cover airfare, hotel, and registration for the Society's next meeting. This year, Kate Ratliff chairs the Dissertation Award Committee, which includes Maureen Craig and Terri Vescio. For a list of previous winners, see Dissertation Award Recipients.

Application and Selection Process

Here are the procedures for submitting nominations and selecting the award recipient:

1.     Only dissertations completed between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025, are eligible for this year's award. The completion date for a dissertation is defined as the date of the oral defense officially recorded by the nominee's institution.
2.     Any faculty member from the institution where the student defended (whether or not a member of SESP) may nominate any number of dissertations for the award. This faculty member should submit a separate submission for each nomination with the following information (do not include a recommendation letter):
o   the student's name
o   the date of the oral defense
o   the dissertation advisor's name
o   the student's contact information (telephone number and email address where the nominee can be reached April through August)
o   For consideration, PDF or Word versions of a 3-5 page blinded summary and a fully blinded complete dissertation must be submitted. The summary should be an expanded version of the dissertation abstract. It should include an accurate description of major procedures and findings and a statement of the significance of the research. 

Both documents:
§  Should use 12-point Times New Roman font
§  Have no smaller than 1-inch margins all around
§  Should not include any information identifying the author, institution, advisor, or dissertation committee members. The file name should also omit any identifying information.
§  Summaries and dissertations that do not meet these criteria will not be considered.   
                      
4.     Once the Committee has selected the Award recipient, all finalists will be informed of the outcome. The names of finalists and the Award recipient will be announced to the membership at the SESP 2026 meeting in Montreal, Canada. The winner will be asked to present their dissertation work at an awards lunch.

CLICK HERE to begin the nomination process for the 2026 SESP Dissertation Award.