Student award nominations

Graduate Student Achievement Awards recognize students who demonstrate evidence of scholarly accomplishment beyond the completion of degree course work. Up to four students are recognized each year: one in the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, one in the School of Education, and two in the College of Science and Health. Awards are announced at the May commencement ceremony and come with a scholarship award of $500 from Graduate & Extended Learning.

Eligibility:

• Students must have completed or anticipate completing all degree requirements during the academic year of the award.
• Nominees must demonstrate evidence of scholarly accomplishment beyond completion of degree course work.  This may include one or more of the following:

1. Demonstration of excellence in completing thesis, seminar paper, or culminating project.
2. Superior performance on comprehensive examinations
3. Demonstration of excellence in academic or professional internship/practicum
4. Involvement in research and other scholarly pursuits
5. Demonstration of leadership in program.

Process for CASSH:

• Instructions for how to submit an award nomination will be provided via email from the College Office at the start of spring semester.

Process for CSH and SOE:

• A letter of nomination from the Graduate Program Director and/or major advisor addressing the eligibility criteria listed above and any supporting materials should be submitted via the Qualtrics survey linked below by the third Friday in February. Late nominations will not be considered.  
• Graduate & Extended Learning will forward award nominations to the appropriate Dean's office for review. Each college will determine its procedures for selecting nominees. A Dean's office may elect to make no award in any given year.
• The Dean's Offices will return their award decision to Graduate & Extended Learning no later than four weeks after the submission deadline.

The Graduate Council will review the College decisions and formally make awards via Council vote.

The Rosandich Graduate Thesis and Dissertation Award was established by Dr. Thomas P. Rosandich, an alumnus of the UWL Physical Education program. Dr. Rosandich went on to earn several advanced degrees, and served in the US Marine Corps Reserve for 20 years. He founded the US Sports Academy in 1972 and served as its president and CEO for 43 years.

The Rosandich Graduate Thesis and Dissertation Award recognizes the originality, impact, and quality of a student thesis or dissertation. The Graduate Council, at its sole discretion, may choose to limit the number of Rosandich Graduate Thesis and Dissertation Awards to no more than two annually. One or more of these awards will carry a cash award.

Eligibility

Graduate students who completed their thesis or dissertation in the preceding calendar year may be nominated. (Completion is determined by the graduation date on the student's transcript.) Self nominations by the students are strongly discouraged. However, multiple high quality submissions by an academic graduate program are encouraged. 

Selection criteria

Selection criteria may include (but may not be not limited to) the following:

1. Impact of the study on the field and future research implications
2. Significance and originality of contribution embodied in the thesis or dissertation
3. Quality of analysis and conclusions
4. Work that is primarily attributed to the student's own initiative
5. Use of appropriate literature/resources in the field of study
6. Quality of organization, writing and overall presentation of thesis or dissertation

Process

Nominations are due via the Qualtrics survey linked below by the third Friday in February, for review by Graduate Council. Nominations must include the following:

1. Nominee transcript (unofficial is fine)
2. Copy of thesis or dissertation (will be added to nomination package by Graduate & Extended Learning)
3. Nominee contact info (email and phone number)
4. Detailed letter of nomination. This letter should address as many evaluation criteria (listed above) as possible, as well as specifically addressing the impact, relevance, and significance of this research in the academic field.

Members of the selection committee will judge each thesis and dissertation on the criteria listed above.  The letter of nomination from an expert in the field who was closely associated with the student’s work will also provide meaningful insights during the selection process.

Selection committee

The Dean of Graduate & Extended Learning will solicit volunteers from the Graduate Council, to form a committee with a minimum of three members, representing the university community. The Associate Vice Chancellor serves as an ex-officio member of this committee. Graduate & Extended Learning will handle all the communications related to the Rosandich Graduate Thesis and Dissertation Awards.