Named in honor of Harvey L. Waterman, who served Rutgers graduate students for over 40 years as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, the Harvey Waterman Medal of Excellence celebrates exceptional scholarly achievements across the humanities, sciences, and social sciences.
The winner of the Harvey Waterman Medal of Excellence will receive a commemorative plaque at our annual Awards Ceremony.
Nominations may be submitted for more than one SGS academic/merit award. However, nominees may only receive one award total. Students nominated for the Doctoral Awards are automatically considered for all of the ones in this category (School of Graduate Studies Distinguished Scholarly Achievement Award, Harvey Waterman Medal of Excellence, Stanley S. Bergen Medal of Excellence, and the Outstanding Doctoral Student Award).
All SGS graduate students, faculty, and staff may submit nominations for SGS Achievement & Merit Awards. Self-nominations are encouraged.
The Awards Portal will close on February 26th, 2025, at 11:59 PM. Please ensure that all materials--online nomination form plus required letters of recommendation--have been submitted before the deadline.
Once you enter the portal and begin the nomination process, you may upload recommender information and send recommendation letter requests to letter writers. Please send these requests as possible since recommenders must upload all materials by the submission deadline.
To submit a nomination, please visit our new Awards Portal, log in with your NetID and password, then follow the instructions.
Award Criteria
- Exceptional achievements in academic research and scholarship
- Significance of research to a given field of study
- Track record of academic and professional excellence
Eligibility Criteria
- Nominees must have a successful dissertation defense and all degree paperwork* submitted by April 1, 2025 for a May 2025 degree date or received a degree in August 2024, October 2024, or January 2025.
- Doctoral students must also be working with a dissertation advisor who holds a primary appointment in a non-RBHS school (Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning & Public Policy, Graduate School of Education, School of Arts and Sciences, School of Communication & Information, School of Environmental & Biological Sciences, School of Engineering, School of Management & Labor Relations, School of Social Work)
*Includes submission of all forms and all corrected copies of the dissertation to the appropriate SGS office.