GRADUATE STUDENT PAPER AWARD

Deadline: 1/31/26

The Educational Problems Division announces its 2026 Graduate Student Paper Competition. Papers must address a contemporary educational problem and may be empirical or theoretical in nature. Authors must be current graduate students. In addition to single-authored papers, co-authored papers will be considered for this award if co-authors are graduate students but not co-authored with a faculty member or colleague who is not a student. Papers are not eligible for this award if they have been published or accepted for publication before being submitted for consideration. Papers are not eligible if they have been presented previously at SSSP or presented or accepted for presentation at other professional meetings, unless they have been revised substantially with new data, findings, or theoretical contributions. Papers must not exceed 30 double-spaced pages (excluding notes, references, tables, and figures). All papers must include a 150-200 word abstract and be prepared for anonymous review with the author’s name and institutional affiliation appearing only on the title page. Authors are required to submit their papers through the Annual Meeting Call for Papers process as a condition for consideration for the award to ensure the winning paper is placed on the 2026 SSSP Conference program. Students may only submit to one division.

All papers must also be submitted electronically (as a PDF attachment) to the Division Chair, Dr. Jacqueline Zalewski at jzalewski@wcupa.edu with the following email subject line: SSSP Educational Problems Student Paper Nomination. Please include your name, institutional affiliation, and contact information in the body of your email. The paper should be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. (Pacific Time), January 31, 2026.

Award:

  1. An electronic award certificate
  2. A cash stipend of $150
  3. Student membership in the SSSP
  4. Conference registration to the 2026 SSSP Annual Meeting
  5. Recognition at the Annual Meeting Awards Ceremony
  6. Recognition at the annual Educational Problems division meeting
  7. Recognition in the Educational Problems newsletter
  8. Recognition on the SSSP’s website under award winners