Undergraduate Awards

The Department of Political Science offers several awards in recognition of special scholarly achievement by undergraduate students. These awards are made each spring, prior to graduation. Each of the awards carries a cash prize. 

Arnold J. Lien Prize

The Lien Prize is awarded each year to the outstanding graduating political science major. The prize is named in honor of a former long-term chairman of the Washington University Political Science Department.

Todd Lewis Friedman Memorial Prize

Mr. and Mrs. Julian Friedman created the Todd Lewis Friedman Memorial Prize is in honor of their son.This prize is awarded each year to a graduating student for outstanding work in comparative and/or international politics.

Antoinette Dames Prizes

There are three possible Dames prizes awarded to undergraduate Political Science majors:

  1. An award for the best senior honors thesis.
  2. An award for the best lower-division undergraduate paper (a paper done for a 100- or 200- level course).
  3. An award for the best upper-division undergraduate paper (a paper done in connection with a 300- or 400- level course).

William Benton Parshall Prize

Ms. Susan Parshall established The Parshall Prize in memory of her father, William Benton Parshall. The Parshall Prize is awarded each year for the outstanding undergraduate paper on women in politics.

Robert H. Salisbury Prize

The Salisbury Prize is in honor of our late Professor Emeritus Robert H. Salisbury. The prize is to be presented at the conclusion of the Political Science major's junior year and is awarded on the basis of a broad record of initiative, leadership and service both on and off campus.

Grossman-Alexander Prize

The Grossman-Alexander Prize is awarded each year to an outstanding graduating senior with an emphasis on American Politics.

The selection of recipients of these awards is made by the Honors Committee each spring. Papers completed for the preceding spring and the preceding fall semesters are eligible for consideration. Papers are submitted for the competition by faculty members.

In addition to the Senior Latin Honors and special prizes, the Department recognizes exceptional scholarship in Political Science by offering a select number of students the opportunity to join Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Honorary Political Science Society. Students who meet the requirements for admission will be invited to join during the spring semester.  For more information on Pi Sigma Alpha and departmental prizes, please see Sarah Winkler in Seigle 207.

Award Nomination

To nominate a student for a political science award, please complete a nomination form and submit it to the main political science office, 207 Seigle Hall.

nomination form (PDF)

Past Winners

Arnold J. Lien Prize

2015 Jolijt Tamanaha
2014 Joshua Aiken
2013 Carina H. Fowler
2012 John York
2011 Corinne Mitchell
2010 Gregory Allen, Fernando Cruz
 

Todd Lewis Friedman Memorial Prize

2015 Maxwell Yanowitz
2014 Bradley Niederschulte
2012 Courtney Millian
2011 Yuree Noh
2010 Viktoryia Schnose

Antoinette Dames Prizes

2015 Jolijt Tamanaha (Outstanding Honors Thesis), Antonia Drummond (Outstanding Paper for an Upper-Division Undergraduate Class), and Shivangi Bhatia and Jessie Schreier (Co-authors for Outstanding Paper for an Upper-Division Undergraduate Class)
2014 Dalston Ward (Outstanding Paper for a Graduate Level Class), Sophie Schuit (Outstanding Paper for an Upper-Division Undergraduate Class), Joseph Sutherland (Outstanding Senior Honors Thesis)
2013 Adrián Lucardi (Outstanding Paper in a Graduate Level Class), Daniel S. Guenther (Outstanding Senior Honors Thesis), Steven M. Perlberg (Outstanding Paper for an Upper Division Undergraduate Class)
2012 Daniel Flaherty (Outstanding Peper for a Graduate Level Class), Luke Schiel (Outstanding Paper for an Upper Division Undergraduate Class), Ariel Dobkin (Outstanding Senior Thesis)
2011 Ugur Ozdemir (Outstanding Paper for Graduate Level Class), Gregory Schweizer (Outstanding Paper for an Upper Division Undergraduate Class), Daniel Weltman (Outstanding Sernior Honors Thesis)
2010 Mark Dudley (Best Senior Honors Thesis), Amanda Sabele (Best Lower-Division Undergrad Paper), Mindy Sher (Best Upper-Division Undergrad Paper, Keith Schnakenberg (Outstanding Paper in a Graduate Level Class)

William Benton Parshall Prize

2014 Leigha Empson
2013 Marie Anne Houghton-Larsen
2012 Stephanie Budrus
2011 Anna Austenfeld
2010 Ruth Mandelbaum

Robert H. Salisbury Prize

2015 Deepa Devanathan
2014 Elliot Louthen
2013 Hanna B. Colin
2012 Laura Dietrich
2011 John Harrison York
2010 David Cohen

Grossman-Alexander Prize

2015 Elliot Louthen
2014 Michele Hall
2013 Alex B. Kaufman
2012 Jun Yoon
2011 Monica Smith
2010 Ben Fifield