What is the Graduate Student Award in Urban Studies?
The study of cities can spark curiosity and critical thinking among students about prevailing social practices and challenges in the US and abroad. To encourage these efforts, the 2021 SGCI Graduate Student Award in Urban Studies highlights graduate research at UConn that examines cities and city-related issues. The award will be given to the best graduate student paper focused on the study of cities or urban life. The Graduate Student Award in Urban Studies allows UConn graduate students to demonstrate their learning and research outside a classroom setting.
Who Can Apply?
Applications are invited from students enrolled in any graduate program through the University of Connecticut, including professional schools and programs on regional campuses. Applicants must be enrolled full-time.
The paper must be single-authored. Only papers which were written for courses in Fall 2020 or Spring 2021 will be considered. Papers must also be endorsed by the UConn faculty member who taught the course for which the paper was written.
What Academic Subjects/Disciplines Are Eligible?
The SGCI supports research on cities from multiple, transdisciplinary perspectives. Therefore, paper submissions can be based in a course in any discipline.
The SGCI organizes urban-related research into six wide, overlapping themes, defined here and listed below:
- People and the City
- Healthy Cities
- Social-Ecological Systems
- Built Environment
- Economic and Community Development
- Governance and Urban Services
These themes provide guidance for possible relationships between different academic disciplines and urban-related research. For example, a paper from a sociology student would likely fit well with the “People and the City” theme; a paper from an MBA student would likely fit well with the “Economic and Community Development” theme. However, papers are not required to be related to these themes. The SGCI encourages students to think creatively about how their academic research and interests relates to cities.
How Can I Apply?
The 2021 submission period is now open! All applications must be submitted through the form found at the bottom of this page. Requirements for submission are listed below:
- Basic information
- Student’s name
- UConn email address
- Degree program
- Name of course for which the paper was written
- Name and department of sponsoring faculty member
- Paper title
- Submission Statement – Not to exceed 150 words, this statement explains how the submitted paper relates to cities/urban studies.
- Paper – Double-spaced, 12 pt. font. Not anticipated to exceed 5,000 words. The first page of the submitted paper must include the name of the student and the name of the course for which the paper was written.
- Faculty Endorsement – The applicant is responsible for attaching proof of a brief endorsement by the faculty member teaching the course for which the paper was prepared. The endorsement does not need to be extensive – four or five sentences at most. Options include uploading a screenshot of an endorsement email from the faculty member to the applicant as an image file, or uploading a document file (.pdf or .doc).
What are the Award Criteria?
- Strength of scholarship: Does the paper effectively highlight an area of city-related research/urban studies? Are the research methodologies and arguments employed strong?
- Relationship with cities and study of cities: How closely does the paper subject relate to cities and city-related issues? Has the author written a convincing statement demonstrating the connection between the paper and urban studies?
- Clarity and expressiveness of writing: Is the paper easy to read and understand?
A panel of three judges from different UConn departments will review all submitted materials. All judges will be professors who conduct or are otherwise familiar with urban-related research. No faculty member who endorses a 2021 paper submission will serve as a judge for the 2021 competition.
When Is the Deadline?
Submissions will be accepted until June 1st, 2021. Awards will be announced in Summer 2021. All applicants will be notified.
