Eligibility for the award
The Graduate School welcomes nominations reflecting the breadth of mentoring excellence across our academic community. We encourage nominations showcasing the varied approaches to effective mentorship that support all graduate students in achieving their academic and professional goals. Eligibility is limited to active members of the graduate faculty.
List of active graduate faculty
Resources
- Award criteria 2026
- UW Graduate School Mentoring Memos and mentoring guides
- “Nature’s guide for mentors”
- CGS Occasional Paper series: Great Mentoring in Graduate School: A quick start guide for protégés by Laura Gail Lunsford and Vicki L. Baker
- NPR: The right mentor can change your career. Here’s how to find one
Deadline
Complete nomination files must be received by the Graduate School by 5 p.m. Pacific on November 5, 2025; there will be no exceptions to this deadline.
Formatting
All documents must use a font–size of at least 11-point and margins no narrower than one inch. We will strictly observe page-length limits and formatting guidelines.
Preparing and submitting the nomination packet
Step 1
Provide information about the nominee, the nominating department, and the names of the nomination letter writers via this Microsoft Form.
Step 2
Combine the following materials into a single Adobe PDF file, adhering to the strict page length caps and formatting guidelines of each component:
- *Letter of support from the department chair or their designee (maximum of two pages). Note: Department chairs are invited to incorporate comments from those nomination letters they have received from current or former students or colleagues that are not part of the final packet of materials.
- Nomination letters from current graduate students (up to three letters, each no longer than one page). Note: Due to the cap on the number of letters that can be included in the nomination file, departments are encouraged to include letters that are “team-written”.
- Nomination letters from former graduate students (up to four letters, each no longer than one page).
- Nomination letters from other students (e.g., undergraduates or postdoctoral associates), faculty or staff (up to two letters, each no longer than one page).
- *Current, abbreviated version of the nominee’s CV (maximum of six pages).
- *List of current and former mentored graduate students directly supervised. Use this format. We suggest that departments list all students who have received substantial supervision, regardless of whether the nominee was the committee chair.
- Other supporting materials as desired (e.g., course syllabi, student evaluations) but excluding any additional nomination letters (maximum of four pages).
*= required
Please use this format to name your PDF:
LASTNAMENOMINEE – Nominating Department – Landolt 2026
Ex: SONG – Astrobiology – Landolt 2026.pdf
Step 3
There is a limit of one nomination per degree-granting unit (as classified by MyGrad).
Only complete nomination files submitted by the department chair, Graduate Program Advisor (GPA), or Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC) will be accepted. The Graduate School must receive complete nomination files by 5 p.m. Pacific on November 5, 2025, c/o graddean@uw.edu. There will be no exceptions to this deadline.
Award
One award will be granted, accompanied by $5,000 in discretionary funds that may be used to support the awardee’s scholarly activities. The award will be presented at the annual Awards of Excellence Ceremony in conjunction with other University-wide awards.
Address nomination materials to:
Joy Williamson-Lott
Dean of The Graduate School
Questions?
Jerry Pangilinan, graddean@uw.edu
Executive Assistant to the Dean of The Graduate School