- Overview
- Value
- Eligibility and selection criteria
- Nomination process
- Nomination package components
- Important dates
- Faculty nomination maximums
- Institutional selection committee
- Helpful resources and forms
Overview
Graduate student supervision requires complex interaction between graduate students and the graduate supervisor. Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA), in collaboration with the Graduate Student Association (GSA), established this award to recognize exemplary faculty members who have demonstrated excellence in graduate student supervision, through being a mentor, advisor, role model, humanist and a strategist who exemplifies a high level of energy and ingenuity. Normally, three faculty members will be recognized annually.
Value
Recipients of this prestigious award receive $1,000 (taxable) and a Waterloo crested-certificate.
Eligibility and selection criteria
- at the time of being nominated, nominee must be a faculty member who is either tenured, on a tenure-track, or retired;
- nominee must have had a career in academia as a faculty member for at least 10 years;
- nominee must not have previously won the award within the last 10 years (they may be re-nominated after this time);
- preference will be given to those who have been faculty member at the University of Waterloo for a minimum of five years;
- nominees should have an outstanding supervisory record by exemplifying several of the following qualities as a supervisor:
- Supervisor as an advisor:
- effective guidance and planning of graduate research for his/her students;
- established mechanism for ongoing interaction with graduate students;
- timely reading and provision of feedback on students' work;
- maintaining his/her role as an advisor while instilling independence among his/her students;
- fostering and facilitating students' skills for problem solving, critical thinking, self-directed learning and effective communicating;
- promoting dissemination and presentation of student's research result
- Supervisor as a humanist/mentor:
- commitment to students’ welfare;
- provision of caring atmosphere to the students;
- willingness to provide guidance which may not be related to academic matters;
- providing guidance related to student career goals
- Supervisor as an advisor:
Nomination process
Nominations are initiated by a current or former graduate student (known as “nominator”) who is/was directly supervised by the nominee (faculty member). The nominator must solicit support from other past and present graduate students of the nominee who have had the opportunity to receive guidance or informal mentoring from them. Additionally, the nominator must solicit support from senior academic colleagues (e.g., Chair or Associate Chair/Graduate Officer of the Department, Faculty Dean, Faculty Associate Dean).
Once sufficient support has been obtained, the nominator must put together a nomination package and submit it to the Department Graduate Co-ordinator of the nominee's home department by the deadline - see Nomination package components section below for details.
A total of 10 supporting letters are permitted (minimum of 1 but no more than 3 letters from senior academic colleagues; the remainder of the letters can be from current/previous graduate students up to the maximum). In order to generate the strongest nomination package, nominators are welcome to solicit extra letters, but only 10 may be included in the final nomination package.
Nominators can choose to either notify the nominee that they are being nominated, or nominate them privately. In either case, nomination package materials, including the list of letter writers, must remain confidential and not be shared with the nominee under any circumstances.
Unsuccessful nominations will be kept in the department or Faculty for one year and can be re-nominated the following year. To re-nominate the following year, nominators must check with the department or Faculty as appropriate in order to access the package that was submitted (new letters may be added or can replace existing ones).
Nomination package components:
By November 12 (or the preceding Friday if the deadline falls on a weekend), Nominators must submit completed nomination packages to the Department Graduate Co-ordinator of the nominee's home department.
Preparing nomination packages: Nomination packages should be submitted as .PDF files only. Nominators should download the Section Title Page Template [refer to the Helpful Resources and Forms section]. Once the relevant information has been added to the title pages, those pages should be converted from .docx to .pdf. If you require assistance with merging the section title pages into the main PDF nomination package containing the CV, letters and lists, please request assistance from the Department Graduate Co-ordinator of the nominee's home department. Do not embed the .pdf files into the .docx file.
Nomination Package Contents |
|
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Nomination Form |
Download and complete the Award of Excellence in Graduate Supervision nomination form |
Section 1 |
Section title page - use the Section Title Page Template [refer to the Helpful Resources and Forms section] + CV can be obtained by:
|
Section 2 |
Section title page - use the Section Title Page Template [refer to the Helpful Resources and Forms section] +
|
Section 3 |
Section title page - use the Section Title Page Template [refer to the Helpful Resources and Forms section] + Supporting letters should describe the outstanding supervisory record of the nominee as per the selection criteria.
|
Section 4 |
Section title page - use the Section Title Page Template [refer to the Helpful Resources and Forms section] +
|
*A total of 10 supporting letters are permitted (minimum of 1 but no more than 3 letters from senior academic colleagues; the remainder of the letters can be from current/previous graduate students up to the maximum).
The majority of the letters in the submitted package must be from the University of Waterloo, not other institutions.
Important dates
Date |
Deadline/Activity |
---|---|
November 12** |
Deadline for nominator to submit nomination package to Department Graduate Co-ordinator of the nominee's home department |
November 12**- [Faculty-set deadline] |
Department Action:
|
[Faculty-set deadline] – December 11** |
Faculty action:
|
December 11** – |
Institutional selection committee to make final selections; GSPA to communicate results:
|
Faculty nomination maximums
Each faculty may submit up to two nominations to GSPA.
Institutionalselection committee
All nominations will be reviewed by an institutional selection committee comprised of the following members:
- Associate Vice-President Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs or designate
- Advisory Committee on Scholarships & Awards (comprised of faculty members from each Faculty)
- GSA President or designate
- One faculty member nominated by the UW Faculty Association
Helpful resources and forms
- Award of Excellence in Graduate Supervision nomination form (Graduate studies forms website)
- Past winners of the Award of Excellence in Graduate Supervision
- Section title page template (.docx)
Questions regarding this award can be directed to the Co-ordinator, Graduate Financial Aid & Awards in Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs.
Last updated: September 15, 2023