CRIME AND JUSTICE: GRADUATE STUDENT PAPER AWARD

Deadline: 1/31/26

The Crime and Justice Division (CJD) invites submissions for its annual Graduate Student Paper Competition. Papers submitted to the CJD Student Paper Competition may be empirical or theoretical, covering a broad range of topics in crime and justice.

Award:

The CJD winner will receive:

  1. A $150 cash prize on behalf of the CJD,
  2. An electronic certificate of recognition provided by the SSSP,
  3. Compensation covering membership dues and conference registration provided by the SSSP,
  4. And recognition at the CJD divisional meeting and the SSSP Awards Ceremony.

While presenting at the Annual Meeting is expected and encouraged, it is not required to receive award funding.

Please note that if the paper is co-authored, there is only one cash award, one membership award, and one conference registration award provided. An electronic certificate of recognition will be provided for each co-author.

Eligibility requirements:

  1. All authors must be graduate students at the time of submission to the graduate student paper competition; therefore, the paper must be student-authored or student-co-authored. The paper may not be co-authored with a faculty member.
  2. The paper should not be published or accepted for publication at the time of submission.
  3. Papers are not eligible if previously presented at SSSP or presented or accepted for presentation at other professional meetings, unless substantially revised with new data, findings, or theoretical contributions.
  4. Papers are not eligible if you have submitted your paper to another SSSP division student paper competition. As per SSSP rules, you may only submit your paper to one division student paper competition.

Submission guidelines:

  1. Recommended length is thirty pages or less, which includes tables, charts, figures, and bibliography; longer papers will be considered, but length is one criterion of evaluation.
  2. Submissions should use a 12-point font, one-inch margins, and double spacing.
  3. All award-winning papers will be included in the SSSP Annual Meeting program; therefore, all submissions to the CJD paper competition must also be submitted through SSSP’s online Annual Meeting Call for Papers process as a condition for award consideration. This ensures that winning papers are placed in the program.

To submit:

Submit the cover letter confirming eligibility to the CJD Graduate Student Paper Award and your paper as a single file on this link (https://forms.gle/W13paaZGpLjLAFUY8). Please send Microsoft Word or PDF files only. The submission deadline is January 31, 2026, but early submissions are welcome and encouraged.

CRIME AND JUSTICE: SCHOLARLY ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Deadline: 1/31/26

The Crime and Justice Division (CJD) seeks nominations for its Scholarly Achievement Award.

Purpose:

The purpose of this award is to recognize and honor Crime and Justice Division members for their distinguished contributions to teaching/mentorship, scholarship, or leadership in the fields of crime and/or justice.

  1. Award category one: Teaching and/or Mentoring. To be eligible, the nominee must be a distinguished contributor to teaching and/or mentorship in the areas of crime and/or justice, as demonstrated through educational achievements and various avenues of academic productivity. This includes, but is not limited to, recognition of teaching and/or mentoring through awards or other recognitions, publishing teaching and/or mentoring materials (e.g., Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in the areas of crime and/or justice), certificates of teacher training, unsolicited letters from students or community members, or community education via events or other contributions in the areas of crime and/or justice.
  2. Award category two: Research and Scholarship. To be eligible, the nominee must be a distinguished contributor to scholarship in the areas of crime and/or justice, which can be demonstrated through scholarly achievements and various avenues of scholarly productivity. This includes, but is not limited to, books, articles, reviews, technical reports, grants, and papers presented to scholarly associations.
  3. Award category three: Leadership and/or Activism. To be eligible, the nominee must demonstrate substantial leadership and/or activist contributions to the Crime and Justice Division and the SSSP, to a college/university in the areas of crime and/or justice, or to other institutions where their leadership and/or activism had a direct contribution to improving social justice responses to crime and/or justice (e.g., includes academic-community partnerships, community coalitions, government or public service).

Submission Guidelines:

  1. The nominee must apply to only one award category: teaching/mentoring OR research/scholarship OR leadership/activism. Nominees who submit their application and include more than one award category will not be eligible.
  2. The submission must include a nominee narrative demonstrating their scholarly contributions to teaching/mentoring, research/scholarship, or leadership/activism that is no longer than 1000 words.
  3. The submission must include no more than two nomination letters supporting the nominee’s noteworthy contributions to teaching/mentoring, research/scholarship, or leadership/activism.
  4. The submission must include the nominee’s current CV with relevant items related to the award highlighted.

Eligibility:

The nominee must be a current member of the SSSP and the CJD.

To submit:

Please submit your nomination to the CJD Scholarly Achievement Award Committee at this link (https://forms.gle/WdKjvzrt5HgCtrWa9). The submission deadline is January 31, 2026, but early submissions are welcome and encouraged.

Award:

The CJD winner will receive:

  1. An engraved award plaque,
  2. Recognition at the annual CJD division meeting and in the CJD newsletter,
  3. And recognition on the Award Winner’s section of SSSP’s website