Award for Excellence and Innovation in Philosophy Programs

The Philosophy Documentation Center, in cooperation with the American Philosophical Association, sponsors an annual prize in the amount of $1,000 in support of philosophy programs with a proven record of excellence and innovation. The aim of the prize is to recognize programs that risk undertaking new initiatives and do so with excellence and success. The prize is also intended to publicize these programs so that they may inspire and influence others to follow their lead.

Eligible programs include departments of philosophy in colleges and universities, as well as institutes, societies, publishers, or other organizations that develop philosophy programs or projects aimed at promoting or developing research, teaching, or the public understanding of philosophy. Eligible programs must be based primarily in the United States, though they may have an international dimension.

Excellence is assessed by a record of achievement, the accomplishment of clearly defined goals, and the appropriateness of the program for emulation by others in the field. Innovation is assessed by the development of new research areas, new interdisciplinary or international connections, new modes of teaching or dissemination, new audiences for philosophical work, or extensions of existing boundaries of the discipline.

Nominations for this award are managed by the American Philosophical Association and information about the nomination procedure is available here. Past recipients of this award include:

Rutgers Summer Institute for Diversity in Philosophy

The Jean Beer Blumenfeld Center for Ethics at Georgia State University

The Community Working Classics Program at Grand Valley State University

Institute For The Advancement of Philosophy For Children at Montclair State University

Institute for Ethics and Policy Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas


More information about the prize is available from the American Philosophical Association.