Eligibility to nominate individuals to five awards programs is a benefit of institutional membership in CGS. Each year, CGS presents awards at the CGS Annual Meeting to young scholars in recognition of their work and recognizes member institutions for innovative programmatic efforts that benefit their graduate communities.
Please contact awards@cgs.nche.edu with any questions about the awards process.
About the CGS Awards and Recognition Program
CGS President Chevelle Newsome introduces the awards for 2026.
Graduate Student Awards
CGS/ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation
These awards are made annually to individuals nominated by a member institution, who have completed dissertations representing original work that makes an unusually significant contribution to the discipline. Two awards are made; the fields of competition for 2026 are:
- Mathematics, Physical Sciences & Engineering
- Social Sciences
Assistant and Associate Deans Award
Assistant and Associate Deans Leadership Award
Created by the Board of Directors, this award recognizes the major impact of assistant and associate deans on the quality of graduate education.
Debra W. Stewart Leadership Award
Debra W. Stewart Award for Outstanding Leadership in Graduate Education
Created by the Board of Directors to recognize outstanding leadership in graduate education, this award is given annually to a full graduate dean who exemplifies the leadership qualities of the Council’s fifth president, Debra W. Stewart.
ETS/CGS Award for Innovation in Graduate Education
This program recognizes promising efforts in initiating or scaling up innovations in graduate education that occur from admission through successful completion of a degree program, focusing especially on innovations that promise success of a diverse and inclusive student population.