Award Description

Members (other than student members) of SAA may nominate a recent graduate whose dissertation they consider to be original, well written, and outstanding.

Who Is Eligible to Submit Nominations or Apply for the Award

Nominations must be made by non-student SAA members (although the nominee need not be a SAA member) and must be in the form of a nomination letter that makes a case for the dissertation. Self-nominations will not be accepted.

Nomination/Submission Materials Required

Nomination letters should include a description of the special contributions of the dissertation and the nominee’s current address. Nominees must have defended their dissertations and received their Ph.D. degree within three years prior to award deadline. Nominees are informed at the time of nomination by the nominator and are asked to submit to the committee chair, Mark D. McCoy, one copy of the dissertation IN PDF FORMAT emailed to the committee chair or shared via DropBox.  The dissertation must be received by September 30, 2025.

Other Special Requirements

Prior to any award recommendation being finalized and publicly announced, anyone recommended for an award, scholarship, or grant will be required to certify the following:

Nature of Award (e.g. monetary, medal, symposium)

A three-year membership in the SAA is given to the recipient. In addition, the awardee is recognized by the SAA through a plaque presented during the business meeting held at the Annual Meeting, a citation in The SAA Archaeological Record, and acknowledgment on the awards page of the SAA Website.

Current Committee Charge

The committee solicits nominations and selects recipients for the Dissertation Award. The committee annually selects a single dissertation (completed within the last three years in the field of archaeology) that exemplifies exceptional research to receive special recognition as the most outstanding, original contribution to the field at this level.

Committee Composition

Committee composition is one chair and at least four (preferably five) members.

Term Length

Term length is three years. Individuals ending their terms cycle off the committee at the close of the Business Meeting held during the annual SAA Meeting, and new appointees begin their terms at this time.

Award Cycle

Not applicable.

Committee Chair and End of Term

Mark McCoy [2026]

Committee Chair Contact Information

[email protected]

Committee Members and Ends of Terms

Names and term end dates for the chair and all members can be found on the committee page in the SAA Directory. 

Selection or Evaluation Criteria

Submitted dissertations are evaluated and ranked by committee members on factors including originality of research and strengths and weaknesses of the dissertation. 

Committee Deliberation Process (e.g. dates, venue)

The committee evaluates submitted dissertations through a series of electronic meetings. Honorable Mention(s) may be recognized for the second and third-ranked dissertations if the committee chooses to do so (as per Motion 132-74A, Board of Directors Meeting #132, October 2013).