IPUMS Research Awards

The IPUMS Research Awards competition honors outstanding research using IPUMS data to advance or deepen our understanding of social and demographic processes. We look for papers that use innovative approaches, comparative analyses, and showcase the power of the IPUMS data collections. Cash prizes are awarded for best published work* and best graduate student work** (published or unpublished) in eight categories.

Award Categories

Each category includes an award for published work and student work (published or unpublished). 

  • IPUMS USA: Research using data from IPUMS USA (including full count data)
  • IPUMS CPS: Research using data from IPUMS CPS
  • IPUMS International: Research using data from IPUMS International
  • IPUMS Health Surveys: Research using data from IPUMS NHIS and/or IPUMS MEPS
  • IPUMS Spatial: Research using data from IPUMS NHGIS, IPUMS IHGIS, and/or IPUMS CDOH
  • IPUMS Global Health: Research using data from IPUMS DHS, IPUMS MICS, and/or IPUMS PMA
  • IPUMS Time Use: Research using data from IPUMS ATUS, IPUMS AHTUS, and/or IPUMS MTUS
  • IPUMS Excellence in Research Award: This award was created to recognize the diversity of scholars doing outstanding science  using IPUMS data, with an emphasis on highlighting research from authors who belong to groups that are underrepresented in social science and population health research.†


 

View past IPUMS research award winners.

 

* Published research criteria stipulate use and citation of one of the eligible IPUMS data collections in a 2025 refereed publication. Publications that are available as Online First in 2025 but have a 2026 (or an unknown) issue date may be submitted for the 2025 research awards competition, but will not be eligible for next year's competition (i.e., you may not submit the same paper two years in a row).

** Student research award criteria stipulate use and citation of one of the eligible IPUMS data collections in a paper written in 2025 whose lead author is a student; published student work must be in a 2025 publication (defined in eligibility criteria for published research above). We strongly encourage that unpublished research be submitted to SocArXiv, an open archive for the social sciences, or another open archive or paper repository.

†This award is intended to demonstrate the diversity of authors conducting outstanding social science and population health research and to highlight contributions from persons belonging to groups that have faced a pattern of exclusion in research spaces. Examples in the U.S. context may include persons who identify as Black/African American, Indigenous, Hispanic/Latino/a/x, Asian American, first-generation college graduates or students, LGBTQ+ persons, or persons with disabilities. Award selection decisions will be made without consideration of authors' race, gender, or other protected identity as required by law.