Awards and PRIZES
Student Awards :
Hassenfeld Research Grant
Graduation Awards:
Award for Commitment for Social Justice in the City
Award for Contribution to the Urban Studies Program
Norman Glickman Prize for Best Senior Seminar Paper
Michael B. Katz URBS Teaching Award
Students may also want to check out the CURF web site for more opportunities
Hassenfeld GRANT for Undergraduate Research
Application Deadline: Friday, April 6, 2007
The Hassenfeld Grants for Undergraduate Research in Urban Studies strengthen a cornerstone of Penn's Urban Studies Program. For over twenty-five years, the internship required of all urban studies majors and minors has provided an opportunity for students to integrate theory and practice.
The Hassenfeld Grants for Undergraduate Research in Urban Studies provide several students with the opportunity to explore answers to questions arising out of their internship by supporting independent research following the internship and fieldwork seminar. Grants of up to $2000 for summer research and expenses are awarded to three to five students each year on a competitive basis.
Students who wish to apply for a Hassenfeld Grant must identify a faculty advisor and submit a proposal to the Urban Studies Program. Proposals must include 1) a one-paragraph summary of the project, 2) a description of the questions to be researched and why they are significant, 3) a research plan, including the steps to be followed and methods used, 4) a schedule for the project, 5) an itemized budget for research expenses, 6) a brief biographical statement including reasons for personal interest in undertaking this research. All proposals must include a cover sheet with title, researcher's name, date, name and signature of faculty advisor.
The Urban Studies Advisory Committee will review the proposals and select recipients on the basis of 1) overall quality of the proposal, 2) significance of the research questions, 3) whether the proposed research plan is appropriate and sufficient to answer the questions posed, 4) feasibility within the period of the grant.
Undergraduate researchers meet from time to time during the summer to discuss progress with their faculty advisor. A graduate student assistant will also be available to meet with the researchers on a regular basis, since faculty advisors' summer schedules may preclude regular meetings or immediate response to pressing questions.
Each recipient of a Hassenfeld Grant must complete his/her work within the period of the grant, submit a paper, and make a presentation describing the results. A public presentation by all recipients, with commentary by faculty advisors, will be made at a special event at the beginning of the fall semester to which Mr. Hassenfeld will be invited. Each student must present one copy of his/her research report to the Urban Studies Program and one to Mr. Hassenfeld.
Applications for the Hassenfeld Grant are due by April 6 and decisions will be made by April 28. For more information, please contact Elaine Simon or call the Urban Studies office at (215) 898-6948.
Hassenfeld Grant recipients from previous years
award for commitment to social justice in the city
Participating in Urban Studies courses, students can hardly avoid discussions of the problems cities face and how to deal with these problems. This award goes to the senior Urban Studies major whose on and off campus activities at the University of Pennsylvania and future plans reflect dedication to addressing urban problems and to the principles of providing opportunity and voice for all urban citizens.
award for contribution to the urban studies program
This award goes to the student who has contributed the most to the program through his/her involvement in Urban Studies activities, particularly through the governance board. Among ways in which this student may have participated are in selecting the annual speaker, organizing colloquia, helping with the newsletter and publicity, or helping to recruit new students.
norman glickman prize for the best senior seminar paper
In the senior seminar, Urban Studies majors write a paper based on original research they carry out on a topic of interest to them. Each year, the program recognizes the student whose paper was of highest quality, that is, stating a clear research purpose in the context of debate within the field, reflecting thorough and well designed data collection, and clearly written.
Michael B. Katz Award for Excellence in Teaching Urban Studies
Michael Katz, Sheldon and Lucy Hackney Professor of History, stepped down as Co-Director of undergraduate Urban Studies Program in 1996, succeeded by Anne Spirn. To acknowledge his contribution as Director of the Urban Studies Program for over 13 years, half the program's twenty-six year history, the Urban Studies program and the College of Arts and Sciences established a teaching award in his honor.
Each year's recipient of this award is presented with a certificate and a budget to be spent on books for the Urban Studies library which he or she deems to be classic or new and important books relevant to the field of urban studies. The books are inscribed with the recipient's name. The books augment the small library in the Urban Studies office and collectively, over time, will come to represent the scope of the field as defined by our leading teachers. An announcement of the winner of this award is made at the Urban Studies graduation ceremony in May of each year.
Students wishing to nominate a faculty member should submit a letter of nomination to Isabel Boston . You may nominate an urban studies faculty member you have had for a course in any semester since you have been here, as long as that person is teaching during the current academic year. (For a complete list of eligible faculty, refer to the course roster.) Indicate which semester you took the faculty member's course and include in the letter how the faculty member's teaching fulfills the criteria described below. Once we have received nominations, we will follow up to solicit further support for and information about nominees. The decision will be based on the strength of the nominating and support materials.
The quality of the program has always been of greatest importance to Michael Katz and a teaching award for Urban Studies should reflect the particular values with which he imbued the program. Below are some qualities to consider in your nomination, but you should feel free to discuss important qualities not included here. In your nomination, please describe how the nominee demonstrates these and other characteristics.
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High expectations for scholarship and respect for those who demonstrate commitment to grappling with important questions and dilemmas of urban life and society.
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The connection of theory and practice, a long-standing tenet of the program. The faculty member should demonstrate an equal enthusiasm for both forms of engagement with urban issues. The material covered in the class should stimulate students' thinking about the world around them and their experiences outside the classroom should be brought into the discussion.
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Enthusiasm for subject matter and engaging teaching that stimulates discussion and active involvement. Students participate in lively discussion and hear diverse points of view.
Photo: Ed Huang '05