The Western Association of Graduate Schools (WAGS) ProQuest Innovation in Technology Award and the Distinguished Master’s Thesis Awards

Each year, the Western Association of Graduate Schools (WAGS) partners with ProQuest to solicit nominees in the following award categories. This prestigious regional competition is an opportunity for institutions to showcase the innovation and creativity of their graduate students.

WAGS ProQuest Innovation in Technology Award
This award is given for the development of innovative technology in a thesis or dissertation and its utilization for the creative solution of a major problem. This award recognizes distinguished scholarly achievement at the master’s or doctoral level.

WAGS ProQuest Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award
This award recognizes distinguished scholarly achievement at the master’s level in the following disciplines:

• STEM disciplines (biological sciences, mathematical sciences, physical sciences, life sciences and engineering)
• Humanities, social sciences, education, and business disciplines

Students must have successfully defended and submitted the final copy of their thesis or dissertation towards their master’s or doctoral degree within the period of July 1 of the preceding year and June 30 of the current year.

Evaluation Criteria

• Originality of the study
• Scope and significance of the study
• Contribution to the discipline and/or profession
• Overall quality of the summary and abstract of the thesis

*The nominee (student) must initiate the submission here. The nominee will enter the name and email address of the nominator and one additional faculty member. From there, this system will generate an email with instructions on how to log in to this system where they will complete their section of the nomination package.

Nominations will be made by the Department Head or equivalent. The Department Head, or equivalent, will need to provide the following:
1) A nomination letter that should include information regarding the significance of the study, the contribution of the study to the degree-granting program/unit, and the broader impact of the innovation on the knowledge base of the discipline. (Maximum 1 page)
2) The award for which the student is being nominated (WAGS ProQuest Innovation in Technology Award or WAGS ProQuest Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award)
3) The name and coordinates of the person to contact for questions relating to the nomination.

The additional faculty member will be asked to upload a support letter. (Maximum 1 page)

Nominees are responsible for completing the Supplemental Questions listed at the bottom of this page and ensuring that their c.v. is up-to-date within their General Application. (Maximum 5 pages)