The New Jersey Studies Academic Alliance Graduate Student Award is intended to recognize excellence at the Graduate level in academic research about New Jersey history. It is presented to a graduate student for an original project that best demonstrates significant research and writing about any aspect of New Jersey History; and carries with it a prize of $200 and publication in New Jersey Studies.

Submission Criteria:

Papers in the humanities and social sciences that address historical cases are encouraged. The project must have been created within the last three (3) calendar years. It may take the form of an unpublished manuscript, a seminar paper, or a single chapter from a thesis or dissertation. It cannot have been submitted for publication anywhere else, and may not exceed 30 pages of double spaced text with a standard 12 point font. Projects may be self nominated, but must be accompanied by a letter of recommendation from a faculty sponsor that must address the quality and originality of the submission. A direct nomination by a faculty member must include a similar letter.

Submission Process

The deadline for submission is 30 September of the current academic year. Papers and letters of recommendation may be submitted electronically to Carla Cevasco, chair of the award committee, at carla.cevasco@rutgers.edu.

Evaluation criteria

The committee welcomes submitted projects that are outstanding. Each submission will be evaluated on the basis of four criteria: 1) the strength of the historical narrative; 2) the thoroughness of the author's research and the mastery of sources; 3) the quality of the author's analysis of their subject, including its historical and historiographical context; and 4) appropriate use of the standard forms of historical citation. Questions concerning the NJSAA Graduate Research Project award should be directed to Carla Cevasco at the above email address.