Education > Graduate Education

Awards and Competitions for Graduate Students

Bayesian Statistical Science Section

Leonard J. Savage Thesis Award
The Leonard J. Savage Award is given each year to two authors of outstanding doctoral dissertations in Bayesian econometrics and statistics. One award is given to the best thesis in theory and methods and one is given to the best thesis in application methodology. A prize of $750 accompanies the award; honorable mentions receive $100.

JSM Paper Competition
This student paper competition is for research on Bayesian methodology, including applied, computational, and theoretical work. Winners receive partial support for travel to JSM to present their papers.

Biometrics Section

David P. Byar Young Investigator Travel Award
The David P. Byar Young Investigator Award is given annually to a young investigator for the best paper to be presented at JSM. The winner receives a $1,000 award. The section may also provide travel awards to the authors of other outstanding papers submitted to the competition.

Biopharmaceutical Section

Student Paper Award
Student paper awards are presented annually at JSM for student research papers with statistical content applicable to the biopharmaceutical arena. Monetary awards are presented to the winning authors.

Business and Economics Section

Zellner Thesis Award
The Zellner Thesis Award is awarded to the author of the best PhD thesis dealing with an applied problem in business and economic statistics. The winner of the award, which consists of a $1,000 prize, is announced at JSM. A portion of the winning thesis is eligible for publication in the Journal of Business & Economic Statistics (JBES).

Health Policy Statistics Section

Student Paper Competition
Awarded for undergraduate or graduate student papers to be presented at JSM involving a methodological innovation relevant to health policy research or a creative application of statistical analysis to an issue in health policy. Winners receive a subsidy of up to $800 for actual expenses to support their attendance at JSM and present their papers at a topic-contributed session.

Physical & Engineering Sciences Section

Spring Research Conference Travel Awards
Student scholarships are awarded jointly with IMS and the SRC management committee to support students for registration and lodging at the Spring Research Conference.

Student Luncheon Awards
Annual awards to six "young investigators" to pay the price of a Section on Physical & Engineering Sciences roundtable luncheon at the JSM.

Section on Risk Analysis

Student Travel Awards
$800 is awarded annually to one graduate or undergraduate student to defray costs for attendance and presentation of their work at JSM. The student must be working on the development of new methodology in risk analysis or the novel application of existing risk methods.

Contributed Paper Award
$100 is awarded annually for the best contributed paper on the development of methodology in risk analysis or the novel application of existing risk methods presented at JSM.

Section on Statistical Computing

Student Paper Competition
Awarded annually to four graduate students working in statistical computing. The paper should involve some aspect of statistical computing, which might be original methodological research, a novel application, or a software-related project. Winners are invited to present their papers at a special contributed session at JSM, and the section gives them a grant toward their attendance expenses.

John M. Chambers Statistical Software Award
Awarded annually for the development and implementation of computational tools for the statistical profession by a graduate or undergraduate student. The prize carries with it an award of $1,000, plus the opportunity to present a talk on the software at JSM.

Best Contributed Paper Presentation
Awarded for the best presentation of a contributed paper at JSM, the winner receives a plaque and a small cash award at the following year's JSM. Judging is based on audience ballots.

Data Expo Competition
A biannual competition jointly sponsored with the Statistical Graphics and Statistics and the Environment sections. First, second, and third prizes are awarded to the best posters (as judged by a panel of experts). First prize consists of $1,000 and a set of NASA books; second prize is $500 and a set of books; and third prize is $200 and a set of NASA posters. These are awarded at JSM.

Section on Statistical Consulting

JSM Travel Awards
Up to three travel awards of $500 plus registration fees are given to organizers of special topic-contributed paper sessions at JSM.

Section on Statistics and the Environment

Paper Competition
This award is for undergraduate or graduate students who develop a novel approach to the analysis of environmental data, new methodology applicable to environmental statistics, or application of statistics to environmental problems. Winners present their papers in a contributed session at JSM, and a small stipend is given to support travel.

Section on Statistics Education

Best Contributed Paper Presentation Award
Award for the best presentation of a contributed paper at JSM. Judging is based on audience ballots. The winner receives a plaque at the following year's JSM.

Section on Statistics in Defense and National Security

Student Paper Competition
Awarded for best undergraduate or graduate student paper applying statistics to defense issues. The prize is a plaque and $500.

Section on Statistics in Epidemiology

Young Investigator/Student Awards
Awarded to graduate students in statistics, biostatistics, or epidemiology or recent graduates from a master's or doctoral program in these departments for a paper presented at JSM. The award of $750 and a certificate is presented at JSM. At the discretion of the award committee, additional runner-up prizes may be awarded, with emphasis on recognizing outstanding work by current students of statistics or biostatistics.

Section on Survey Research Methods

JSM Paper Competition
Awarded jointly with the Social Statistics and Government Statistics sections for student and postgraduate papers to be presented at JSM. Winning papers are presented by the authors in a contributed paper session.

JSM Travel Award
Awarded annually to graduate or undergraduate students to defray costs for first-time attendance at JSM. The student must demonstrate a long-term interest in survey research. In addition to the $400 travel support, students are awarded attendance at one of the section-sponsored short courses.