Participating area and international studies centers of the Institute for Regional and International Studies are each awarding up to $1,000 (actual award amounts vary) to the best paper/s and projects written by an undergraduate and focused on their respective world regions.
Eligibility
You must be currently enrolled as an undergraduate student at UW-Madison.
The paper must be/have been submitted to fulfill a UW-Madison course or thesis requirement during the 2020-2021 academic year (Fall 2020 & Spring 2021 terms).
Submissions must substantially address issues related to the world region of the center you are submitting to; papers submitted to the Institute for Regional and International Studies should have a trans-regional focus.
You can submit any particular paper to only one center; however, you may submit multiple papers and to multiple centers.
Participating units
The areas studies centers listed below are accepting submissions. Also listed next to each center are details on language & length requirements and whether multimedia projects will be accepted.
- African Studies Program – submissions must be in English; no length requirements; multimedia projects accepted
- Center for East Asian Studies – submissions must be in English; no length requirements; multimedia projects accepted
- European Studies – will award two paper and/or thesis prizes; submissions must be in English; submissions for best paper award should be minimum 5,000 words, maximum 10,000 words (incl. footnotes, bibliography, tables, etc); submission for best thesis award should be 10,000 words and above and must be formal theses (not class papers); multimedia projects not accepted
- Institute for Regional and International Studies – submissions must be in English; no length requirements; multimedia projects accepted
- Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies Program – papers written in Spanish, Portuguese, and English accepted; minimum length: 1,000 words; multimedia projects accepted
- Middle East Studies Program – submissions must be in English; papers must be minimum 8 pages; multimedia projects accepted
- Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia – submissions must be in English; papers must be minimum 10 pages, maximum 30 pages; multimedia projects accepted
- Center for South Asia – submissions must be in English; papers must be minimum 12 pages, maximum 20 pages; multimedia projects accepted; previous winners of the CSA paper award cannot receive it a second time
- Center for Southeast Asian Studies – submissions must be in English; papers must be minimum 5,000 words, maximum 10,000 words (including bibliography/footnotes); multimedia projects accepted
Award details
Awards will be disbursed through the Bursar’s scholarship system before the end of the current academic year.
Submission deadline
All AY 2020-2021 submissions must be submitted by 2pm on Friday, May 7, 2021. No exceptions.
How to submit a paper
To submit a paper/project, send the following by email as a single pdf document to the IRIS Awards Office, awards@iris.wisc.edu.
1. Cover page including all the following information:
- Name
- UW email address
- Campus ID number
- Anticipated graduation date
- Center to which you are submitting
- Title of your paper
- Course name and number and term taken (or indicate thesis & degree program)
- Name & email address of course instructor (or thesis advisor)
- Word count of submission (including footnotes and bibliography)
- 100 word abstract of paper and its significance
2. The paper itself
Questions?
Email Mark Lilleleht @ awards@iris.wisc.edu or call 608.265.6070.