Welcome to the application for the 2026 Dean's Prize!

The Dean's Prize recognizes outstanding undergraduate research and creative inquiry at the virtual Undergraduate Research & Creativity Showcase. Students are selected to receive a Dean's Prize award based on 1) their research or creative accomplishments (as detailed in this application), and 2) the excellence of their recorded presentations or multimedia. Applicants for the award will be evaluated by a staff committee, and a subset of applicants will be selected to be reviewed by faculty judges.

The Dean's Prize award application consists of two parts:
  1. Personal statement (approximately 500 words) detailing your research or creative accomplishments, how you got involved in your research or creative project, and your future plans and/or research or creative direction.
  2. Letter of recommendation from your faculty mentor (or a faculty member who is familiar with your research or creative project). Be sure to provide your faculty mentor with the Dean's Prize Letter of Recommendation form. The letter of recommendation must be received by the Dean’s Prize application deadline.
Eligibility:
  • Students with junior and senior standing who are submitting recorded presentations or multimedia to the Undergraduate Research & Creativity Showcase are eligible to apply for a Dean’s Prize award. You will be able to choose to whether you wish to do a recorded presentation or multimedia when applying to present at the Showcase. You should not select a live presentation if you would like to be considered for the Dean's Prize.
  • Recorded presentations and multimedia are due by Tuesday, May 5, 2026. Submission instructions for presentations will be shared after April 17.
  • Students can only apply once per academic year. Applicants who are presenting multiple abstracts must select one abstract and presentation for consideration.
  • If you have previously won a Dean’s Prize, then you are not eligible to reapply for a Dean’s Prize.
  • Please note that this application is for students doing research and creative inquiry in the humanities, arts, and social sciences. If you are doing research in the sciences, engineering, or math you should apply to the Dean’s Prize for life science, physical sciences, and engineering students.

Deadline: This Dean's Prize application is due by 11:59 p.m. on April 17, 2026. (Note: you must have already applied to participate in Showcase before submitting this application.)

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