The following distinguished Geography students have been awarded the John Fraser Hart Award for the best PhD. paper since 2002
| Year | Recipient | Institution |
| 2002 | Kieron Bailey | University of Kentucky |
| Neely L. Law | University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill | |
| 2003 | Katherine B. Hankins | University of Georgia |
| 2004 | Walker S. Ashley | University of Georgia |
| 2005 | Josh Durkee | University of Georgia |
| Robert A. Yarbrough | University of Georgia | |
| 2006 | Joshua Inwood | University of Georgia |
| 2007 | Joni Downs | Florida State University |
| 2008 | Katie Price | University of Georgia |
| 2009 | Tomas Vaclavik | University of North Carolina, Charlotte |
| 2010 | Kunwar Singh | University of North Carolina, Charlotte |
| 2012 | Whalen W. Dillon | University of North Carolina, Charlotte |
| 2013 | Derek Martin | University of Tennessee |
| 2014 | Ronnie Schumann | University of South Carolina |
| 2015 | Pete Akers | University of Georgia |
| 2017 | Maegen Rochner | University of Tennessee, Knoxville |
| 2018 | Douglas L. Allen | Florida State University |
| Stephanie J. Mundis | University of Florida | |
| 2019 | Jordan Brasher | University of Tennessee at Knoxville |
| 2020 | Yasin Wahid Rabby | University of Tennessee at Knoxville |