Awards and Recognition
Awards and Recognition

UCF SPONSORED AWARDS
UCF sponsors several awards for graduate students and faculty recognizing excellence in research, teaching, and mentoring. Acknowledging graduate students for their accomplishments is an important part of providing a rewarding academic experience. The College of Graduate Studies offers these awards every year to recognize our outstanding graduate students in a variety of categories. We commend all graduate students who strive for excellence academically and professionally and encourage program faculty to nominate those who have excelled in a given category.
Additionally, UCF values the exceptional dedication of faculty members who have gone above and beyond in mentoring graduate students. The College of Graduate Studies encourages all recent alumni or current faculty to nominate those faculty members who have worked hard in support of graduate student’s academic and professional development. Each year, faculty and students come together to celebrate and honor these outstanding contributors to our academic community, further promoting excellence and success at UCF.
Most of these awards are announced during Founders Day in early April, adding to the significance of this university-wide celebration.
Important Dates
January 3, 2025
Nominations received by College Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in your college.
Your college may have an earlier nomination deadline for these awards, so please check with your college.
January 17, 2025
College Associate Dean for Graduate Studies submits electronic nominations (only one per college for each award) to the Interim Dean of the College of Graduate Studies by email gradawards@ucf.edu.
Nominations will be forwarded to the Graduate Council to review and recommend students for the awards to the Interim Dean of the College of Graduate Studies, who makes the final selection and notifies recipients.
Graduate Student Awards
- Outstanding Dissertation
- Outstanding Master’s Thesis
- Outstanding Graduate Creative Work
- Award for Excellence by a Graduate Teaching Assistant
- Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching
Other Awards
Graduate Faculty Awards
- Faculty Excellence in Mentoring Postdoctoral Scholars
- Faculty Excellence in Mentoring Doctoral Students
Other Faculty Awards
The Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President offers several faculty excellence awards including:
- UCF Faculty Excellence Awards
- UCF Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Awards
- UCF Teaching Incentive Program (UCF-TIP)
- UCF Research Incentive Award Program (RIA)
- Chuck D. Dziuban Award of Excellence in Online Teaching
- UCF Excellence in Graduate Teaching
- Women of Distinction Award
- Faculty COACHE Innovation Awards
- Pegasus Professor Award
Please visit the Office of the Provost’s website for information on these awards including nomination and submission deadlines and criteria.
Past Graduate Award Winners
Name | Year | College | Program | Award |
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