Call for Award Nominations
The CIES Higher Education SIG is proud to announce the Annual Awards Call for Nominations that honors individuals whose academic publications focus on international and comparative issues in Higher Education. Three categories will be honored: 1) Best Article, 2) Best Book, and 3) Best Dissertation. The SIG also offers Student Travel Awards to attend the annual CIES conferences.
All CIES members are invited to make nominations. Self-nominations are also welcome. We expect that nominations are made with the prior approval of the candidate and that nominations should include some background information about why you think that the submission is worthy of receiving an award.
Nominations for the 2026 Best Publication Awards are due on November 16, 2025, and must be submitted via this online form.
If you have any questions, please contact us at cies.hesig@gmail.com.
Best Article
Best Article Nominees must meet the following criteria to be considered for this Higher Education SIG Award:
Published between January 1, 2024 and August 31, 2025.
Articles written by members of the CIES HE SIG will be given preference, however articles by CIES members who are not members of the SIG and non-CIES members will also be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Articles must be published in English in a peer-review journal that has been recognized by the CER Bibliography.
Nominated articles must focus on international and comparative issues of Higher Education.
Articles can be of a conceptual or empirical nature, from any research paradigm that provides a unique contribution to developing scholarship in the field of international and comparative Higher Education and should show originality and rigor.
Best Book
Best Book Nominees must meet the following criteria to be considered for this Higher Education SIG Award:
Eligible books are published from January 1, 2024 to August 31, 2025.
Books written by members of the CIES HE SIG will be given preference, however books by CIES members who are not members of the SIG and non-CIES members will also be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Books must be published in English.
Nominated books or edited volumes must focus on international and comparative issues of Higher Education.
Books can be of a conceptual or empirical nature, from any research paradigm that provides a unique contribution to developing scholarship in the field of international and comparative Higher Education and show originality and rigor.
The nominee should arrange for the publisher to send hard copies of the book to each of the book awards subcommittee members. Digital formats will also be accepted.
Best Dissertation
Best Dissertation Nominees must meet the following criteria to be considered for this Higher Education SIG Award:
Eligible dissertations must be filed from January 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025, with the student achieving doctoral candidacy status in either an Ed.D. or Ph.D. program.
Eligible nominees do not have to be a member of CIES, nor enrolled in a CIES doctoral program.
Dissertations must be submitted in English (Translations of original work other than English are welcome, provided the author indicates approval of the translated submission).
Nominated dissertations must focus on international and comparative issues of Higher Education.
Dissertation can be of a conceptual or empirical nature, from any research paradigm that provides a unique contribution to developing scholarship in the field of international and comparative Higher Education and show originality and rigor.
It is preferred that all nominees who make the final cut submit a paper based on their dissertation for the upcoming CIES national or regional conference.
Nomination can be by a) the student; b) CIES member; c) doctoral committee chair (even if that chair is not a member of CIES).
Dissertations submitted to other CIES award categories are ineligible.