The Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law offers travel awards, teaching awards, and research awards to graduate students. Students are also eligible for travel, teaching, and research awards from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School, and the University. Students are eligible for awards and scholarships from the American Sociological Association, Population Association of America, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and other disciplinary organizations.
Select a section below for Awards and Scholarships
- Travel
- Departmental
- College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- The Graduate School
- National Research and Disciplinary Organizations
Travel
Competitive travel awards are funded by the department, college, and university to support student travel for presentation of research at national and regional professional conferences.
Departmental
Ronald L. Akers Graduate Student Paper Award (Criminology)
Paper Requirements: Papers should not exceed 30 double-spaced pages (including references, tables, appendices, and figures). Graduate students are encouraged to submit papers that are conceptual and/or empirical (quantitative and qualitative), and which cover criminology, criminal justice, or law issues. Papers should be submitted in Times New Roman 12-point font with 1 inch margins. References should follow APA style or the journal Criminology guidelines. Manuscripts should be polished papers suitable for peer-review submission.
Deadline: March 15th
Process: a CLS faculty member must nominate Student paper. The letter of nomination must accompany the paper submission by the deadline.
Selection: Papers will be reviewed and rated by the members of the Graduate Committee according to the following criteria: (1) conceptualization of the idea, (2) significance of the topic to the disciplines of criminology, criminal justice, and/or law, (3) clarity and correctness of method(s) used, (4) writing quality, (5) command of relevant work in the field, and (6) overall contribution to the discipline. The Graduate Committee reserves the right to not give an award if no entry is of satisfactory quality to select a winner.
Award: The awardee will receive travel support, if monies are available, to present the paper at a professional conference. The student may also be honored at a Research Symposium in the Fall semester (assuming the winner is on campus), which normally consists of a 30-45 minute presentation, followed by a 15-20 minute Q&A session. Finally, the award winner will be recognized for their accomplishment on the Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law website.
Winners
| 2023 | Bomi Jin: Does Time Spent with Peers Matter for Adolescent Substance Use? Evidence from Variation in the Timing of School Returns during the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| 2022 | Wonki Lee: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Delinquency: The Role of Low Self-Control |
| 2020 | Tom Smith: Gang crackdowns and offender centrality in a county-wide co-offending network: A networked evaluation of “Operation Triple Beam”. |
| 2018 | Abigail Novak: The school-to-prison pipeline: An assessment of the association between suspension and justice system contact using structural equation modeling. |
| 2017 | Jihoon Kim |
| 2017 | Yeung-Jeom Kim |
| 2015 | Lindsay Leban |
| 2009 | John Stogner: An Examination of the Relationship between Adolescent Health and Delinquency in a Nationally Representative Sample: A Structural Equations Modeling Approach. |
| 2008 | Joy (Eunyoung) Kim: Peer Association vs. Peer Influence: An Empirical Test of Social Learning and Social Bonding Theory by Eunyoung Kim (Joy) and Da-Hoon Kwak. |
| 2006 | Wesley Jennings: Regional Variations in Punitiveness for White-Collar Offenders: A Re-analysis of the Crisis in the Savings and Loan Industry |
Jerome A. Connor Dissertation Award (Sociology)
Paper Requirements: Each applicant should submit a 5-page dissertation summary (double-spaced – approximately 1,250 words) plus a one-page single-spaced outline of what expenses are anticipated. The applicant should also specify other sources of dissertation support (e.g., federal grant; CLAS Dissertation Fellowship). Applications will be evaluated based on the quality and significance of the project as well as budget justification and the potential for the Award to have an impact on the quality of the dissertation.
Selection: The Sociology faculty on the Graduate Committee will decide on the recipient of the award. Faculty who are chairing the dissertation of any of the applicants will not participate in the selection of the Award recipient. If more than one of the faculty members on the committee is eliminated for this reason, the Chair will appoint a substitute. Usually one applicant will be chosen as the winner, but the Committee in a given year might decide to split the award between two winners or to name no winner at all.
Award: $500 awarded annually to one sociology graduate student to assist with future (not past) out-of-pocket dissertation (not M.A.) expenses, such as (but not restricted to): data-gathering travel, copying/printing, postage for questionnaires, printing costs, transcription of qualitative interviews, etc. The award does not cover travel to professional meetings.
Winners
| 2024 | Bhavna Sharma |
| 2023 | Rosario Fernandez-Romero |
| 2022 | Sameera Akella |
| 2021 | Edelweiss Murillo Lafuente |
| 2020 | Michelle Eliasson |
| 2019 | John Blasing |
| 2018 | Stephanie Dhuman Ryan Thomson |
| 2017 | Heather Covington |
| 2016 | Julia Arroyo Cristina Ramos |
| 2013 | Alison Adams |
| 2012 | Justin Coran |
| 2011 | Telisha Martin |
| 2009 | Kenzie Latham Ching-Yu Louisa Chang |
| 2008 | Collen Cain |
| 2007 | Jeffrianne Wilder |
| 2006 | Victor Romano |
| 2005 | Dana Berkowitz |
| 2004 | Kuniko Chijiwa |
| 2003 | Shannon Houvaris |
$250 awarded annually for a sole-authored graduate student quantitative analysis. Awarded to one graduate student in Sociology and one graduate student in Criminology, Law, and Society who performed the most sophisticated and innovative work in quantitative methods. This may be in the context of coursework, a term paper, thesis or dissertation proposal, etc. The character of the work may rest primarily in research design, measurement, or data analysis.
Criminology Winners
| 2022 | Wonki Lee |
| 2020 | Abigail Novak |
| 2019 | Yu (Dorothy) Du |
| 2018 | Yeung Jeom Lee |
| 2017 | Thomas Smith |
| 2016 | Zoe Arthurson-McColl |
| 2015 | Ozcan Tunalilar |
| 2012 | John Boman |
Sociology Winners
| 2024 | Chidimma Azubuike |
| 2023 | Luis Rondan-Vasquez |
| 2022 | Giyeon Seo |
| 2021 | Oluwatobi Alawode |
| 2020 | Tianyuan Tang |
| 2019 | David Canarte |
| 2018 | Tolga Tezcan |
| 2017 | Wally Wojciechowski |
| 2016 | Ryan Thomson |
| 2013 | Hanyao Qiu |
| 2012 | Greg Pavela |
| 2011 | Hunhui Oh |
| 2009 | Hunhui Oh |
| 2008 | Telisha Martin |
| 2007 | Billy Jeffries |
| 2005 | Ana Cristina O. Siqueira |
| 2004 | Alma Jeanne Slizyk |
| 2003 | Kuniko Chijiwa |
Dahlem-Shenkman Law Enforcement Award (Criminology)
Awarded annually to one graduate student for research related to law enforcement. Additional details are available here.
Streib Award for “Outstanding Paper”.
Winners
| 2011 | Josh Sbicca |
| 2010 | Josh Sbicca |
| 2009 | Rachel Hallum-Montes |
| 2008 | Billy Jeffries |
| 2007 | Namita Manohar |
| 2006 | Mark Allen |
| 2005 | Dana Fennell and Ana Liberato |
Teaching Awards
Two teaching awards ($90 each) will be granted to graduate students with outstanding teaching skills.
The application package should include:
(1) a 1-2 page teaching statement, inclusive of own teaching effectiveness;
(2) course syllabi for all courses taught in the academic year of application
(3) all student and faculty evaluations for your teaching career (as an instructor) at UF.
Criminology Winners
| 2023 | Gissel Perez |
| 2022 | McKenzie Jossie |
| 2021 | Cassidy Haigh |
| 2020 | Elizabeth Hartsell |
| 2017 | Kristen Benedini Ryan Thompson |
Sociology Winners
| 2024 | Luis Gonzalez-Diaz Unna Yared |
| 2023 | Barbi Sanchez |
| 2022 | Grant Jones |
| 2021 | Pilar Morales Giner |
| 2020 | Kate Hartikka |
| 2019 | Tolga Tezcan Jiae Park |
| 2018 | Anne Mook Stephen Pridgen |
J.S. Vandiver Teacher of the Year Award.
Winners
| 2011 | Katie Nutter |
| 2007 | Will Jawde |
| 2006 | Steven Arxer Amanda Moras |
| 2005 | Ramon Hinojosa |
| 2004 | Dan Dexheimer Shannon Houvaris |
| 2003 | Leslie Houts |
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS)
The Graduate School
Graduate Student Teaching Assistant Awards. Graduate teaching assistants make a major contribution to teaching and learning at the University of Florida. Each academic year, the UF Graduate School recognizes the best, brightest and most industrious of the University of Florida’s graduate teaching assistants for their work as instructors in the classroom and laboratory.
Graduate Teaching Assistant Awards
Criminology Winners
| 2024 | Shelby Mikkelson |
| 2022 | Joseph Hoft |
| 2009 | Bryan Miller |
Sociology Winners
| 2024 | Bhavna Sharma |
| 2019 | Sydney Golditch |
| 2015 | Ronald Floridia |
| 2014 | Lauren Griffin |
| 2013 | Scott Landes |
| 2012 | Katie Nutter Dan Fernandez-Baca |
| 2011 | Steve Jacobs |
| 2010 | Deeb-Paul Kitchen |
| 2009 | Will Jawde |
| 2008 | Maura Ryan |
| 2005 | Ramon Hinojosa |
Dissertation Fellowships. Several fellowship are dedicated to supporting graduate students to complete their dissertation and earn the doctorate.
- Delores Auzenne Dissertation Award. Named in honor of Delores Auzenne, this award is designed to assist underrepresented minority students in completing their dissertation work. The program provides competitively awarded stipends to Ph.D. candidates who are in the advanced writing stages of their dissertations at UF. Students who are appointed on a state-funded fellowship or assistantship are not eligible. Interested students who meet the eligibility requirements are invited to apply to the OGMP.
- Graduate School Dissertation Awards. The Graduate School Dissertation Award is a competitive award to provide final term funding for UF PhD candidates in selected majors in the humanities, arts, and social sciences to complete their dissertations through defense, final clearance by the Editorial Office, and graduation. This program is for students who have exhausted all funding and meant to allow recipients time and resources to focus exclusively on their dissertation.
The program provides a stipend for approximately 6 months. The period of the award will be 1) Summer B and Fall 2012, or 2) Spring 2013 and Summer A. Up to 5 credits of tuition at the instate rate will be provided. Students are expected to graduate at the end of the award period. Applicants may not receive a fellowship, assistantship, or other funding with this award. - Supplemental Retention Scholarships. The UF OGMP Supplemental Retention Scholarship Program is designed for UF doctoral students who are three or fewer semesters away from graduation, but are no longer eligible to receive a fellowship, assistantship or other funding from their department or college. It provides limited tuition assistance and the help of a structured retention program under the UF Office of Graduate Minority Programs. Recipients must be US citizens or permanent resident aliens.
- Grinter Fellowship. Named in honor of Dr. Linton E. Grinter, Dean of the Graduate School from 1952 to 1969, this fellowship helps recruit truly exceptional graduate students. Currently enrolled graduate students are not eligible, except when entering a Ph.D. (or other terminal degree) program. Stipends are normally $2000 to $4000. Continuing the Grinter Fellowship beyond the first year depends on satisfactory student progress.
UF Foundation. Website