The annual scholar awards honor a select number of students from member departments, recommended by department faculty, whose academic and leadership records are distinctive. The awards are intended to recognize and promote academic excellence, to further the professional competence and dedication of academically accomplished students, and to promote kinesiology and its related fields.
AKA sponsors awards in four categories: Undergraduate Scholar, Master’s Scholar, Doctoral Scholar, and the Graduate Student Writing. Winners will be selected in those categories based on department institutional membership. Therefore, there will be three Undergraduate winners, two Masters winners, one Doctoral winner, and one Writing winner. Specific criteria for the awards are found on the online nomination form, as are the nomination submission requirements. Nominees for the 2023 scholar awards should be expected to graduate in the 2023 calendar year, and nominees for the Graduate Student Writing Award must have published their manuscripts in 2022. For each award category, each member institution can nominate one individual as their local award recipient, and those recipients will receive a certificate of recognition and appear on the AKA website. All local recipients will then be nominees for the national awards in each category.
Nominations for each award category can only be made by the department chair or an authorized faculty/staff member. Students cannot self-nominate. Nominations for the Undergraduate, Master’s, and Doctoral Scholar Awards should include a single pdf file containing the student’s vita (not to exceed two pages) that includes information concerning the student’s academic performance, scholarly interests/accomplishments, leadership, and service to the profession. Note: If a student’s vita exceeds the two-page limit, they will not be considered for the national award. Nominations for the Writing Award should include a pdf of the student’s publication.
