IPUMS Research Awards

We are pleased to announce the opening of the annual IPUMS Research Awards competition. These awards honor outstanding research using IPUMS data to advance or deepen our understanding of social and demographic processes. We are looking for papers that use innovative approaches, comparative analyses, and showcase the power of the IPUMS data collections. Cash prizes will be awarded for best published work* and best graduate student work** (published or unpublished) in eight categories.

Submit a Nomination

Award Categories

Please select the category that is most appropriate based on your submission; each category includes an award for published work and student work (published or unpublished). The submission form includes an option to specify if the paper should be also considered for the IPUMS Excellence in Research Award (one published and one student submission will be selected in this category).

  • 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.†

 

Instructions for the 2025 IPUMS Research Awards

Deadline: Sunday, February 15, 2026

Nominations must be submitted through our research submission form. Self nominations are encouraged.

Be prepared to provide the following information at the time of submission:

  • Corresponding author: name, e-mail address, and institution
  • The IPUMS data collection(s) used
  • Page number or other detailed description where IPUMS is cited in the paper (references and/or in-text citation)
  • Award type (published research or student research award)
  • Indicate if the paper should be considered for IPUMS Excellence in Research Award (in addition to consideration for a data collection specific award)
  • For published research award:   
    • Citation and link to published article
    • PDF of the paper if not open access
  • For student research (published or not published):   
    • Citation and link to published article or paper repository (e.g., SocArXiv)
    • PDF of the paper if published research is not open access

Note: If sending a book, please contact [email protected] for shipping information.
 

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.