Established in 2021, the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors Dissertation of the Year Award, presented by Dyad Strategies, recognizes a completed dissertation that makes a substantial contribution to knowledge in the field of fraternity/sorority life. Consistent with other functional area-specific higher education associations, the Dissertation of the Year Award is an opportunity for AFA to honor a recently-minted Ed.D. or Ph.D. degree conferred by the time of recognition of that year’s Annual Meeting. This award recognizes a dissertation that makes an exceptional contribution to research on issues directly related to fraternity/sorority life in higher education. The dissertation may honor any scholarly tradition or methodology but must focus on fraternity/sorority life as central to the dissertation study (including but not limited to students, practitioners, organizations, identities). The focus of the research must maintain a strong connection to fraternities/sororities (e.g., the purpose of the project relates to this population; as opposed to fraternity/sorority involvement being a finding in a larger study examining another student affairs or higher education functional area).
- Dissertation Title
- Nature of Study (Qualitative, Quantitative, Mixed-Methods)
- Which of the AFA Core Competencies does your research expand upon? (Select all that apply)
- Elaborate on how your research connects with the Core Competency area(s) you selected above. (2500 character max.)
- Upload a summary document that includes the following details. This summary should not include any identifying information about the applicant, committee members, or institution where the degree was granted. The summary should be no more than 15-pages double-spaced inclusive of tables & figures:
- Statement of Purpose/Problem
- Study Significance
- Research Questions
- Theoretical or Conceptual Framework
- Overview of Methodology
- Summary of Key Findings
- Implications for Practice, Policy, and Future Research in Fraternity/Sorority Life
- Full dissertation upload (first round anonymous review of Dissertation of the Year candidates will be done in evaluation of the summary provided above. The AFA Research Advancement Workgroup will review the complete, approved dissertation manuscript for those Dissertation of the Year candidates in the second round of review.)