Annual Awards

The Dorothy S. Thomas Award

The Dorothy S. Thomas Award has been established by the Population Association of America (PAA) in honor of Dorothy S. Thomas and is presented annually for the best graduate student paper on the interrelationships among social, economic and demographic variables. The Award consists of a cash prize and a certificate to be presented during the PAA Annual Meeting.

Eligibility
The research must be undertaken while the author is a pre-doctoral student in an accredited graduate program. The paper must have both theoretical and empirical aspects. Two or more students may share the award for a collaborative study, but a paper jointly authored by a student and a member of the faculty is not eligible. An individual is eligible for one year following completion of the study. Published papers are acceptable. Recipients of the Ph.D. prior to January 1, 2022 and previous winners of the award are not eligible. Nominees should exemplify the highest standards of professional conduct. 

Members of the 2023-24 committee TBA.

Nominations Now Open

Submission Procedures

The deadline for receipt of submission is January 31, 2024. Students should email the paper and a letter from their research advisor confirming eligibility to thomasaward@popassoc.org. Please submit materials in PDF format.  The Dorothy S. Thomas Award Committee reserves the right to withhold the award if it decides that no suitable paper was submitted.

Length

The paper should be journal length; up to 12,000 words (including main text, references, end/footnotes, and appendix text) and up to 10 tables and graphs (combined, including appendices). Papers that exceed this limit will not be considered.

2023 Dorothy S. Thomas Award Winner

Erin Ice
"Bringing Family Demography Back In: A Life Course Approach to the Gender Gap in Caregiving in the United States"

Recent Awards Ceremony: