Rules for the award

Best Student Paper in Sociological Theory Award of Research Committee 16 of the International Sociological Association

Purpose
The award is granted to the best paper in sociological theory authored by one or more graduate student(s) and submitted to the competition. It is intended to provide motivation and recognition to a promising young scholar in the field of sociological theory, as well as to encourage growing graduate student interest and participation in the ISA and RC16.

Recognition
The award consists of a certificate with a citation and the travel costs of the winner(s) to attend the World Congress of Sociology, up to a maximum of $750. The winner(s) will be allowed to present his/her (or their) joint work during one of the scheduled RC16 sessions at the World Congress of Sociology.

Eligibility
The candidate(s) must be registered for a graduate degree at a degree granting institution at the time of submission of the paper. He/she (or they) must hold an undergraduate degree (or equivalent), but cannot hold a Ph.D. at the time of submission of the paper. Papers can only be authored by one or more graduate students; those co-authored with faculty members at a degree granting institution are not eligible. In addition, the paper must have been published or accepted for publication no more than three years prior to its nomination or submission.

It can be in any of the three official languages of the ISA (English, French, and Spanish), to a maximum length of 10,000 words. The winner(s) must be a member (or members) of both the ISA and RC16 at the time of receiving the award, and attend the World Congress of Sociology to accept the award.

Nominations
A call for nominations and submissions will be made in the RC16 Newsletter (‘Theory’) at least eighteen months prior to the World Congress of Sociology, to ensure that the winner(s) will be given sufficient notice and thus be able to make arrangements to attend the World Congress. Papers must be sent by the author or nominator in hard copy or electronically to each member of the Award Subcommittee, whose institutional and e-mail addresses will be published in the call for nominations and submissions. Papers can be submitted by the author(s) himself/herself (or themselves), or by a nominator (book or volume editor, supervisor, or other third party).

Selection Process
The papers will be evaluated by an Award Subcommittee of three RC16 Board members working in three different countries, who are expected to have the necessary linguistic expertise between them to evaluate the entries. The Subcommittee will be selected at the RC16 interim meeting scheduled two years before each World Congress of Sociology. Members of the Subcommittee will also be expected to consult with other RC16 Board members as expertise demands arise.

To avoid potential conflicts of interest, members of the Award Subcommittee are not permitted to nominate papers, and must disclose any substantial personal or professional ties with submitters or nominees (e.g., as supervisor or committee member of the author's or authors' paper, editor of the journal or volume where the paper has been accepted for publication, etc.) to the other members of the Subcommittee and the RC16 Chair(s).

The Award Subcommittee will report its decision to the RC16 Chair(s), who will report it in turn to the ISA Executive Committee. The selection process will be completed in time for the winner(s) to undertake early registration for the World Congress.

Costs
No monetary prize is linked to this award; however, award winners will receive RC16 financial assistance for travel to the World Congress, up to a maximum of $750.

Timetable
The award will be granted every four years at the World Congress of Sociology, in accordance with the procedures specified above.