Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools


MAGS Thesis Awards


The Executive Committee of the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) is soliciting nominations for the 2008 MAGS Distinguished Master’s Thesis Awards. The awards are to recognize and reward distinguished scholarship and research at the master’s level.

The Guidelines for the 2008 MAGS Distinguished Master’s Thesis Awards are:

  1. Each member institution may submit one nomination for the award. Each nomination requires the written endorsement of the Dean of the Graduate School or equivalent official. The institution selection process is the responsibility of that individual.

  2. Nominations will be accepted in any discipline in which the institution offers a master’s degree. Original works accepted by an institution “in lieu of thesis” (such as musical compositions, published books, works of art, computer software, etc.) may not be nominated.

  3. 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.

  4. The nomination consists of an electronic submission and a hard copy submission:

    • The nomination form and the abstract of the nominated thesis must be submitted electronically as an email attachment to mhdragoo@usi.edu by Monday, NOVEMBER 5, 2007. Please use as the subject heading “MAGS Award.” 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 nominating institution.

    • The complete packet of hard copy nomination materials must be received at the address below no later than NOVEMBER 8, 2007.The hard copy nomination materials include: i) completed Nomination Form; ii) two copies of the thesis (both to be returned); iii) two copies of the abstract submitted electronically. Letters from the faculty mentor and (or) the Dean of the Graduate School or equivalent may accompany the nomination. Materials should be sent to:

      Dr. Peggy Harrel
      Director of Graduate Studies
      University of Southern Indiana
      8600 University Blvd.
      Evansville, IN 47712

   Download the Guidelines (Word Doc)
   Download the Nomination Form (Word Doc)

Each recipient of a MAGS Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award will receive a $500 honorarium. In addition, up to $500 will be available to the sponsoring graduate dean to help with the recipient’s travel expenses to attend the Annual Meeting, April 2-4, 2008 in St. Louis. The recipient’s institution is expected to cover any additional travel expenses beyond the $500 provided by MAGS. The faculty mentor or thesis advisor will also be invited to attend the presentation ceremony.

Questions may be directed to Dr. Harrel by email at pharrel@usi.edu or by telephone at (812) 465-7015.