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Supported by the SACSA Foundation, the Dissertation of the Year Award recognizes doctoral research that advances student affairs practice, theory, and innovation throughout the SACSA region.
July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026
$750 monetary prize
September 21, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET
Supported by the SACSA Foundation through the generous donations of its membership, the Southern Association for College Student Affairs presents an annual Dissertation of the Year Award to recognize high-quality student affairs research by doctoral students in the SACSA region.
This award highlights timely, rigorous, and meaningful scholarship with implications for student affairs practice, research, and leadership.
The strongest applications will demonstrate evidence of the following attributes:
A timely, trending, or cutting-edge topic that advances discourse about the field of student affairs.
A topic that addresses issues particularly seminal to institutions, faculty, administrators, and students representative of the SACSA region.
A significant, unique, or innovative theoretical contribution to the field of student affairs.
A cohesive, well-reasoned, and rigorous methodological approach to empirically examining the question at hand.
Implications that guide strong, improved, and innovative practice in student affairs.
Alignment with at least one of SACSA’s core values: inclusiveness, professionalism, and collegiality.
A complete application will include the following:
Include the author’s name, dissertation title, doctoral institution, institution of employment if applicable, and contact information, along with the name and contact information for the dissertation Chair.
Submit a summary with all identifying information removed. The summary should not exceed 10 typed, double-spaced pages, not including the cover page, references, and appendices.
Include a letter from the dissertation chair outlining the extent to which the applicant’s dissertation meets the aspirational criteria listed above.
Applicants must be SACSA members at the time of submission, and the recipient must be a SACSA member to receive the award.
DOY submissions are due no later than September 21, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET.
Applications should be submitted via email attachment to Dr. April Perry at research.assessment@sacsa.org.
Please make the subject of your e-mail submission “SACSA 2026 DOY SUBMISSION.”
The Dissertation of the Year Award recipient will be notified by mid-October so plans to attend the Annual Conference in November may be finalized.
Send completed application materials to research.assessment@sacsa.org using the subject line SACSA 2026 DOY SUBMISSION.
The DOY award recipient will be slotted to present the results of their dissertation research at SACSA’s Annual Conference. The recipient will also be honored at the Conference Awards Ceremony and will receive a small monetary prize of $750.
The DOY recipient is responsible for paying their own conference registration, travel, and fees up-front, mindful that the monetary prize is intended to reimburse a portion of those expenses.
The DOY award winner is also encouraged to submit an article about their dissertation research for possible publication in SACSA’s College Student Affairs Journal within a year after receiving the award. Articles authored by DOY recipients will be reviewed and selected in accordance with the standards set by the CSAJ Editorial Board for blind peer-review.
The SACSA Foundation invites eligible doctoral graduates to showcase research that advances the student affairs profession and strengthens our region.
Submit Your Dissertation Contact Dr. April Perry