Deadline for submission: Monday, March 2, 2026, at 5pm CST
The Graduate and Professional School annually recognizes dissertations that have made a significant, impactful contribution to their field. Four Texas A&M Distinguished Dissertation Awards, each consisting of an award of $1,000 and a personalized award plaque, will be presented at the Graduate and Professional Award Ceremony in April. Each award recipient is sponsored by one of the following endowments: Carol J. Cantrell, George W. Kunze, and Mobil Aggies Graduate. Winners of the Texas A&M Distinguished Dissertation Award will be nominated for the CGS/ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award in their field of competition.
Biology; botany; zoology; ecology; embryology; entomology; genetics; nutrition; plant pathology; plant physiology; anatomy; biochemistry; biophysics; microbiology; pathology; pharmacology; physiology; and related fields (health sciences). Also included are agriculture, forestry, zoology; and related fields.
Humanities and Fine Arts
History; philosophy; language; linguistics; literature; archaeology; jurisprudence; the history, theory, and criticism of the arts; ethics; comparative religion; and those aspects of the social sciences that employ historical or philosophical approaches.
Mathematics, Physical Sciences, and Engineering
Mathematics: mathematics, statistics, computer sciences, data processing, systems analysis;
Engineering: aeronautical, architectural, biomedical, ceramic, chemical, civil, and electrical engineering sciences; environmental health engineering; geological, mechanical, mining, nuclear, and petroleum engineering.
Social Sciences
Agricultural economics, geography, anthropology, archaeology, economics, education, sociology, government (political science), demography, and psychology.
If a dissertation is multi- or interdisciplinary in nature, a significant portion of the work must be comprised by at least one of the four broad fields.
Nomination Guidelines
Nominations will be submitted through the InfoReady submission portal. Students MAY NOT self-nominate.
Requirements
Recipients of Texas A&M doctoral degrees who graduated between Summer 2024 through Fall 2025 and those on track to graduate no later than May 2026 are eligible for nomination.
The nominated dissertations should represent original work, making an unusually significant contribution to the disciplines. Both methodological and substantive quality will be judged.
The InfoReady application will request the following information (separately saved as .pdfs, 5 total files):
An abstract of the nominee’s dissertation (not to exceed fivedouble-spaced pages). Appendices containing nontextual material, such as charts or tables, may be included as additional pages. All pages should be numbered, and each should bear the name of the nominee.
Three letters of recommendation evaluating the significance and quality of the nominee’s dissertation work.
From the nominee's dissertation supervisor/PI/faculty chair
From a member of the nominee's dissertation committee
From a person of the nominee's choice
The nominee’s curriculum vitae (not to exceed fivepages).
Please ensure that all materials adhere to the stated page limits; documents that exceed these limits or are otherwise incomplete will not be reviewed.
DEADLINE
All nomination materials must be submitted online through the InfoReady submission portal by Monday, March 2, 2026, at 5pm CST. There will be NO exceptions to this date or time. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
Questions?
For questions about the Texas A&M Distinguished Dissertation Award, please email grad-award-admin@tamu.edu.
