BSC Graduate Student Prize and Tousimis Awards

Graduate students whose abstracts are accepted for the conference may compete for prizes granted to the best graduate-student papers each year, with one important exception:  students who have been awarded first prize in a previous BSC are ineligible to compete again.  First-place winners will receive a $1500 Tousimis Award and the BSANA Graduate Student Prize. $750 will be awarded to the second- and third-place winners.  The Tousimis award is given annually through the generosity of the Tousimis Research Corporation and Dr. Anastasios Tousimis for the encouragement of scholarship.

The Process

1.) Information is provided about the graduate student prize and the Tousimis award on the BSANA website and upon notification of a paper's acceptance for an annual Byzantine Studies Conference. This information shall address requirements, the selection process, and criteria. The BSANA prize and the Tousimis awards shall be open to students enrolled in a graduate program at the time of the BSC.

2.) Prior to the annual BSC, graduate students wishing to be considered must notify the head of the Prize Review Panel in writing. This notification shall be submitted by a deadline and in a written form specified by the Prize Review Panel. Acceptance of the paper for prize consideration is contingent upon receipt of validation of student status (e.g., a photocopy of your student ID if it shows a current validation date, a letter from an advisor or dean, or an official registrar's letter) as solicited by the BSC Program Chair early in the Fall semester.

3.) The candidate must submit SIX HARD COPIES of the paper to the Prize Review Panel upon registration at the annual Byzantine Studies Conference. No consideration shall be given if a paper is not submitted at the time of registration. Once submitted, papers may not be resubmitted or amended.

4.) In order to be considered for the prize and award, the candidate must make the presentation of the paper in person. The Prize Review Panel will assign at least one member of the panel to be present for the entire oral presentation. This panel member assigns a numerical rating based on the evaluation criteria for presentation. At the conclusion of the conference, the panel member submits this rating to the chair of the Prize Review Panel using the BSC graduate-student prize/Tousimis award presentation review form.

5.) Each member of the panel reads all of the submitted papers. The panel members assign numerical ratings using the BSC graduate-student prize/Tousimis award paper review form to the chair of the Reviewing Panel.

6.) The candidate with the largest numerical rating, consisting of presentation and paper ratings combined, shall be selected as the winner of the BSC graduate student prize and a first-place Tousimis award. Candidates with second and third largest numerical ratings shall be selected as winners of the second- and third-place Tousimis awards, respectively. These ratings shall be calculated and ordered by the chair of the review panel. In the event of equal scores, the members of the panel shall vote without discussion until one of the equally scored candidates receives a majority. Every member of the panel must participate in the voting.

7.) The panel chair shall submit the names of the winners and the other contestants to the BSANA president and secretary. The BSANA president will notify the winner and the others in writing prior to the following year’s BSC. The BSANA president makes a formal presentation of the Tousimis awards  and the BSANA prize at the business lunch meeting during the conference. 

8.) The Prize Review Panel for the Tousimis prizes and the BSANA award shall consist of the Program Committee for the annual Byzantine Studies Conference at which the papers are presented. The BSANA Governing Board shall select a member of this Program Committee to be the chair of the Reviewing Panel. In the event that a member of the Program Committee is unable to fulfill his or her obligations as a panel member, the chair of the Reviewing Panel shall choose a replacement from members of the BSANA Governing Board. Replacements may be appointed to review presentations and/or papers.

Judging: Criteria and Weighting of Numerical Ratings

(55 possible points maximum: 20 for presentation + 35 for evaluation of written paper)

Evaluation of the Presentation

Audibility to audience (0–2); responses to questions (0–4);presentation within time limits (0–2);
clarity in presentation of main ideas (0–6); effective use of oral presentation as a medium for communicating ideas (0–6);
presentation of textual evidence (if applicable);
presentation of visual evidence (if applicable);
performance of Byzantine music (if applicable)

Evaluation of the Written Paper

Originality: Use of primary sources: written, archaeological, art, objects (0–2); translation of primary sources from original languages, examination of rarely studied monuments/art/objects, original survey of manuscript tradition, creative and significant reevaluation of important material (0–8); originality in use of methodology (0–5)

Organization of ideas:  Tightness of structure (0–5)

Analysis of evidence: Clarity of argument (0–5); strength of conclusions (0–5); effective use of evidence and relevance of evidence (0–5).

See a list of the Graduate-student prize winners