GRADUATE STUDENT PAPER AWARD

Deadline: 1/31/26

The Family, Aging, and Youth Division announces its annual Graduate Student Paper Competition. Papers should be of professional quality and may cover a broad range of topics regarding family, aging, and youth. 

Award:

The winner and any runners-up will be announced in Spring 2026.

The first-place winner will receive: 

  1.  a $100 cash stipend, 
  2. an electronic certificate of recognition, 
  3. complimentary student membership, 
  4. complimentary conference registration, and 
  5. an opportunity to present their paper at the upcoming SSSP meetings in New York, New York

One runner up will receive an honorable mention with a $25 cash stipend and electronic certificate of recognition.

Eligibility requirements: 

  1. All authors are 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 or other non-student author.
  2. The paper is not published, accepted, or under review for publication at the time of submission to the competition. 
  3. The paper has not been submitted 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. Papers should be no more than 30 pages in length, including all notes, references, and tables. Submissions should use 12-point font, one-inch margins, and double spacing. 
  2. In addition, authors are required to submit their papers through the Annual Meeting Call for Papers online system. Submissions must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. on January 31, 2026. 

To submit: 

Please email papers and a cover letter specifying that the paper is to be considered for the Family, Aging, and Youth Division Graduate Student Paper Competition to the Division Co-Chair Ami Frost at afrost@ou.edu. Please include your name, institutional affiliation, and contact information in the body of your email. Also indicate that your paper is being submitted for the Family Division Graduate Student Paper Competition in the subject line of your email. Please send Microsoft Word or PDF files only. The submission deadline is January 31, 2026, but early submissions are welcome and encouraged.

MAGGIE KUHN AWARD FOR SCHOLAR-ACTIVISTS

Deadline: 1/31/26

The Family, Aging, and Youth Division encourages members to submit nominations for the Maggie Kuhn Award for Scholar-Activists.

Maggie Kuhn was the founder of the Gray Panthers, an intergenerational social justice organization. The Maggie Kuhn Award, established in 2014, is awarded to a scholar-activist who upholds the ideals of social and economic justice and peace for individuals of all ages, in both their scholarship and service. These ideals include, but are not limited to, honoring age, intergenerational work, and scholarship and/or activism that promotes a humane society by putting the needs of people over profits, responsibility over power, and democracy over institutions.

The award recipient will be publicly announced at the Family, Aging, and Youth 2026 Division Meeting (held at the annual conference) and receive a monetary prize of $150 to be shared with a community organization of their choice. For more information or to nominate a scholar-activist, please email Division Co-Chair Allison Jendry James at allisonjendryjames@gmail.com.