AKA NATIONAL SCHOLAR AWARDS
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AKA NATIONAL SCHOLAR AWARDS

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,
  • Graduate Student Writing.

Winners will be selected in those categories based on department institutional membership. Therefore, there will be at least three Undergraduate winners, two Masters winners, one Doctoral winner, and one Writing winner.

Nominations for each award category can only be made by the department chair or an authorized faculty/staff member.  Students cannot self-nominate.

American Association of Kinesiology Scholar Awards

Eligibility

Nominees for the Scholar Awards should meet the following requirements:

  • Hold a Cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher (3.75 for Doctoral Scholar Award) in a 4.0 GPA scale
  • Expected to graduate in the 2025 calendar year
  • Is earning a Kinesiology-related degree

Nominees for the Graduate Student Writing Award should meet the following requirements:

  • Is the first author on the publication
  • The manuscripts was published in the 2024 calendar year
  • Was a current student in a Kinesiology-related graduate program when the manuscript was accepted for publication

Requirements

Nominations for the 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.

A sample CV is provided for reference.  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

Criteria of Selection

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.

National award winners and honorable mentions are selected after a thorough review by 5-6 AKA Student Awards Committee members. Reviews are based on standardized rubrics for each award category (e.g., scholar and writing). In order to avoid any conflicts of interest, committee members do not review applicants from their own institution and the chair of the committee is not involved in the review process.

The National Scholar Award Winners will receive a $100 Visa Gift Card and an AKA memorabilia medal in addition to a national certificate of recognition. National Scholar Award Winners and Honorable Mentions will also be noted on the AKA website, Kinesiology Today, and AKA social media channels (Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn).

There is one online nomination tool for department chairs to use for the four award categories. Department chairs submitting for each category will need to submit four nominations, one for each nominee. Nominations must be submitted no later than the deadline.

The deadline for submission of all materials is 11:59 pm CT on February 28 each year.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What are the eligibility criteria for the Graduate Student Writing Award?

The paper must have been published while the student was still enrolled. The publication year must match the award year. Self-nominations are not accepted; a department representative must submit the nomination. If a nominee has previously won, they may only be nominated with a different paper

Can a paper that was e-published in the award year but printed later be considered for the Graduate Student Writing Award?

Yes, if the paper was available online in the award year, it is eligible for consideration.

What is the nomination limit for the AKA student awards per department?

Departments may nominate one student per category relative to the institutional level (Table 1).

Institution Level Scholar Award submission
Undergraduate Undergraduate Scholar Award (n=1)
Masters Undergraduate Scholar Award (n=1)
Masters Scholar Award (n=1)
Doctoral Undergraduate Scholar Award (n=1)
Masters Scholar Award (n=1)
Doctoral Scholar Award (n=1)
Does graduation in December of the year before the award year disqualify a student from the Scholar Awards?

Yes, nominees must graduate within the designated award calendar year. A student who graduated in December of the previous calendar year is not eligible.

Can a current department nominate a recently graduated student for awards?

Nominated students must graduate in the designated award calendar year. Those who have already graduated in the previous calendar year are not eligible.

If a mistake is made in a nomination submission, how should it be corrected?

The incorrect submission should be resubmitted with the correct information, and the previous
entry will be deleted by the award committee.

Are late submissions for AKA National Scholar Awards accepted?

Late nominations may be considered for local awards but not for the national awards. Submission
for late local award nominations can be made through a specific link provided after the deadline.

Questions about the selection/review process, completing the form, or eligibility and criteria should be directed to Dr. Albert Mendoza, Chair of the AKA Student Awards Committee (albert.mendoza@csueastbay.edu).

Current Recipients of AKA Student Awards

Past Recipients of AKA Student Awards

2024-2025 Student Award Recipients

2023-2024 Student Award Recipients

2022-2023 Student Award Recipients

2021-2022 Student Award Recipients

2020-2021 Student Award Recipients

2019-2020 Student Award Recipients

2018-2019 Student Award Recipients