Dissertation Prize

The Psychometric Society Dissertation Prize recognizes at most one outstanding PhD dissertation each year, written in any field covered by the journal Psychometrika. Criteria include the originality and rigor of the research, possible applications of the theory or methods and potential impact.

The awardee will receive a commemorative plaque, a monetary prize of $500, a free one-year membership in the Psychometric Society, and an invitation to present a summary of their dissertation at the following International Meeting of the Psychometric Society (IMPS), for which registration fees will be waived. Costs of attendance will be reimbursed up to $1,000 ($1,500 if intercontinental travel is required). The recipient of the award will be invited to submit a paper based on the dissertation to Psychometrika by July 31 of the year following that IMPS.

Past Winners

Past winners of these awards are listed here.

Eligibility

Eligible nominees must be members of the Psychometric Society and must have received their PhD degree within the year (365 days) immediately preceding the application’s due date. In the case of a nominator, the nominator needs to be a member of the Psychometric Society.

Nomination

Nominations must be submitted by completing THIS FORM. Nominations must include the dissertation, an official confirmation of the degree award, and a nomination letter from the PhD advisor; self-nominations are also permitted.

If the original dissertation is not in English, a summary paper in English should be included in the nomination package. Any questions concerning the prize should be directed to Dr. Carolyn Anderson [cja@illinois.edu].

Selection Panel

Upon receipt of the submissions, the Awards Committee appoints a panel of three judges. The panel consists of established scholars with balanced expertise across relevant fields and diversity in geography, institutional type, gender, and rank. There should be no conflicts of interest with nominees (judges cannot be from the same university as the nominees and must not be in any way involved with the dissertation as a supervisor or examiner). The panel is renewed every year. A judge can serve for up to 2 years within 5 years.

Each dissertation is scored independently by the three judges before deliberation. If needed, a shortlist of finalists is identified for deeper review.

The panel may conclude that none of the submitted dissertations merits the award.