Paper and Presentation Criteria
The paper must be prepared with care and treated as one prepares a manuscript for possible publication, which includes proper citations. A primary criterion for evaluation will be a well-defined research objective and a methodology appropriate to achieving it. The paper/poster should focus on one or more research questions and present at least a tentative answer, or it will receive a lower score in the judging competition. The Honors Paper/Poster Competition is not an appropriate venue for research in the proposal stage or not yet completed.
Each paper submitted to the graduate honors competition will be evaluated on the following criteria:
Paper Criteria:
- Original research was undertaken by the author.
- A 3,000-word paper of publishable quality in its entirety.
- The oral presentation and defense at SEDAAG.
- Proper citations, bibliography, and acknowledgments (if included).
Paper Presentation Criteria:
The oral examination is independent of the evaluation of the written paper. It will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- The professional quality of the presentation to a general audience.
- The visual quality of the presentation.
- The adequacy with which questions are answered.
- Proper citations and acknowledgments.
It is important that the oral presentations be lively and well-illustrated. All visual aids should be intelligible. Reminder: Maps, illustrations, and other audiovisual materials should be designed and constructed by the author. To leave enough time for questions, each oral presentation should adhere to the time limit (15 minutes) for delivery by the person specified by the person chairing the session. Questions will be 5 minutes.
The Overall Score:
In calculating the overall score, the written portion of the paper will be weighted 40 percent, and the presentation and questions 60 percent.
For nomination guidelines, please follow the link to the SEDAAG Awards Page.
The following distinguished Geography students have been awarded the John Fraser Hart Award for the best Ph.D. paper since 2002.
| Year | Recipient | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | ||
| 2024 | 1st Place – Cooper Corey | Univ. of Tennessee |
| 2024 | 2nd Place – Katrina Stack | Univ. of Tennessee |
| 2024 | 3rd Place – Rachel Arney | Univ. of Georgia |
| 2023 | Avery Catherwood | Univ. of North Carolina- Greensboro |
| 2022 | Sarah Jackson | Univ. of South Carolina |
| 2021 | Savannah Collins-Key | University of Tennessee |
| 2020 | Yasin Wahid Rabby | Univ. of Tennessee – Knoxville |
| 2019 | Jordan Brasher | Univ. of Tennessee – Knoxville |
| 2018 | Douglas L. Allen | Florida State Univ. |
| 2018 | Stephanie J. Mundis | Univ. of Florida |
| 2017 | Maegen Rochner | Univ. of Tennessee – Knoxville |
| 2015 | Pete Akers | Univ. of Georgia |
| 2014 | Ronnie Schumann | Univ. of South Carolina |
| 2013 | Derek Martin | Univ. of Tennessee |
| 2012 | Whalen W. Dillon | Univ. of North Carolina – Charlotte |
| 2010 | Kunwar Singh | Univ. of North Carolina – Charlotte |
| 2009 | Tomas Vaclavik | Univ. of North Carolina – Charlotte |
| 2008 | Katie Price | Univ. of Georgia |
| 2007 | Joni Downs | Florida State Univ. |
| 2006 | Joshua Inwood | Univ. of Georgia |
| 2005 | Josh Durkee | Univ. of Georgia |
| 2005 | Robert A. Yarbrough | Univ. of Georgia |
| 2004 | Walker S. Ashley | Univ. of Georgia |
| 2003 | Katherine B. Hankins | Univ. of Georgia |
| 2002 | Kieron Bailey | Univ. of Kentucky |
| 2002 | Neely L. Law | Univ. of North Carolina – Chapel Hill |