Early Career Award

The Early Career Award will be presented to an ASHE Member(s) in recognition of an emerging, significant, and potential for the future of a body of scholarship. The award will be presented to members who are no more than six years beyond the receipt of the doctoral degree before July 1 of the year in which the award will be presented.. 

Nomination Evaluation Criteria

When reviewing nominations, the awards committee will make decisions based on the following preferred and demonstrated attributes:

1. A focused primary research agenda

2. Publication(s) that has the potential to advance the field (measured by quality, not quantity) in rigorous venues

3. Translation of research through conference presentations and practitioner-centered publication(s)

4. Publication of methodology, methodological issue, and/or use of innovative methodology

5. A research record exceptional for their time in the field

6. Contributions to service at a local, regional, and/or national level, including service to ASHE. 

This award is reserved for individuals who are no more than six years beyond the receipt of the doctoral degree as of July 1 of the year of the award (e.g., for 2022, a nominee/recipient must have been awarded their doctoral degree after July 1, 2016).

Awards Timeline

• Early May: Awards Nominations Open

• June 30, 2026, 8:00am Pacific Time: Awards Nominations close

• July-September: Committee review of nominations

• Late September: Notification to nominators of committee decisions

• Mid-October: Association-wide announcement of recipients

• November: Awards Ceremony during ASHE 2025 Annual Conference

Due to the number of submissions and the review process, no late submissions will be accepted; as such, nominators are encouraged to submit their nominations well in advance of this deadline. 

Nomination Requirements

To submit a nomination, you will need:

• Your ASHE website log-in credentials (as nominee).

• The name of your nominee(s) as they have it listed with ASHE to be able to look them up in the nominations system.

• The Nominee's CV to be uploaded as a PDF (for individual nominations)

• A nomination statement up to 750 words that demonstrates the nominee's match to the award evaluation criteria. This should not be a nomination or support letter, but a summary of the nominee's qualifications for this specific award.

• 2-3 letters of support. For upload into the nomination form, these should be combined into one document as a PDF.

Due to the increased number of nominations received in recent years, each nominee will be limited to one nomination. In the event multiple nominations are submitted, the committee chair will notify the coordinating nominators requesting they consolidate their nominations.

Questions about the award process can be sent to awards@ashe.ws.

Conflicts of Interest

ASHE's Conflict of Interest Policy aims to ensure the integrity of the process. In establishing this policy, the Association sets forth circumstances that require ASHE members to refrain or recuse themselves from participation and circumstances where ASHE members need to consider whether the nature of their relationship creates the actuality or appearance of a conflict. 

To avoid conflicts of interests, current members of the Board of Directors, respective Council Executive Committees, and/or respective awards committees are ineligible to be part of the awards process, including nominating colleagues, being nominated, and writing letters of support.

Recipients

Previous ASHE Promising Scholar Award Recipients: