President’s Student Paper Award

Purpose

The purpose of the SPO President’s Student Paper Award is to recognize outstanding research and writing by an SPO student member. The award will be presented at the Annual SPO Business Meeting and Awards Ceremony. This is held in conjunction with an annual meeting of a gerontology-related association.

Eligibility Criteria

At the time of submission, the student must be actively enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program and a member of the SPO chapter on their campus. Students may submit an abstract of the same student paper for consideration for any other award or conference proceeding.

Selection Criteria

Entries will be reviewed and judged by the SPO Awards Committee and based on the following criteria:

  • Significance & Rigor: The paper should address an important gerontological topic.
  • Appropriate Methods: Papers may be qualitative, quantitative, theoretical, or scientific in nature. Scientific papers should include conceptual framework, design, appropriate methods and analyses, and discussion. Non-scientific papers should include design appropriate for the type of paper.
  • Style/APA: The completed paper must be written in a concise scholarly manner with no spelling, grammatical, or typographical errors. The paper must be correctly referenced using the most current edition of APA formatting.  The paper must be double-spaced and include 12-point font and 1-inch margins.
  • Authorship: The student must be the first and principal author. A faculty member may be listed as a secondary author as appropriate.
  • File Format: The paper must be submitted as a .docx or pdf file.

How to apply

To apply, complete the President’s Student Paper Nomination Form by February 29, 2024. The Award recipient will be notified by March 20, 2024. The selected student will receive a $200 cash award.