Professor Erin Lin has been awarded the Fullbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad Fellowship for 2025. Erin Lin has been awarded the prestigious Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad (FRA) Fellowship by the U.S. Department of Education, International and Foreign Language Education (IFLE) office. Faculty conduct research abroad in modern foreign languages and area studies to improve their skill in languages and their knowledge of the culture of the people of these countries through the FRA grant. Nationwide across all disciplines only 25 Faculty Research Abroad Fellowships were awarded. More information on her award and her research can be found here.
Professor Alexander Wendt awarded the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science for 2023.
Alexander Wendt is one of two joint winners of the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science. This prize honors exceptional contributions to the field of political science, in this case for helping to establish constructivist approaches to international relations. The Skytte Prize is considered one of the most prestigious awards in the field of Political Science, sometimes referred to as "The Nobel Prize of Political Science." More information on Professor Wendt's award can be found on the Skytte Prize's website.
Professor Janet Box-Steffensmeier wins APSA's Goodnow Award for 2023.
Jan Box-Steffensmeier was honored as the winner of APSA's Frank J. Goodnow Award for 2023. The Goodnow Award honors service to the community of teachers, researchers, and public servants who work in the many fields of politics. The APSA Council created the Goodnow Award in 1996 to honor the outstanding contributions of individuals, groups and public and private organizations to both the development of the political science profession and the building of the American Political Science Association. The Goodnow Award is named for Frank J. Goodnow, APSA's first president and an exemplar of the public service and volunteerism that this award represents. Professor Box-Steffensmeier joins other Ohio State faculty and alumni as winners of the Goodnow Award. Other Ohio State recipients include Howard Silver (2013), Paul Beck(2005), Cathy Rudder (2001), and Samuel C. Patterson (2000). These five winners represent 10% of all Goodnow awardees.
Associate Professor Benjamin McKean Awarded CRISPP Essay Prize for 2022.
Benjamin McKean was awarded the prestigious Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy (CRISPP) Essay Prize for his outstanding contribution to scholarship in 2022. The CRISPP Essay Prize is highly competitive, attracting submissions from scholars worldwide who are engaged in cutting-edge research across the fields of international social and political philosophy.
Professor Bear Braumoeller was awarded a National Science Foundation Award for 2021-2024.
This award funds research on international order, which will be carried out by Professor Braumoeller's research lab, MESO (Modeling Emergent Social Order).
Assistant Professor Erin Lin was awarded the Democracy and Autocracy Best Paper Award by the American Political Science Association in 2021.
The award was for the paper "Genocide and the Gender Gap in Political Representation" with coauthors Nikhar Gaikwad and Noah Zucker.
Assistant Professor Erin Lin was awarded the Sage Paper Prize for Best Paper in Comparative Politics.
The award was presented at the American Political Science Association Conference in September of 2020 for the paper "Genocide and the Gender Gap in Political Representation" with coauthors Nikhar Gaikwad and Noah Zucker.
Assistant Professor Erin Lin was awarded the McGillivray Award for Best American Political Science Association Paper in Political Economy.
The award was for the paper "Genocide and the Gender Gap in Political Representation" with coauthors Nikhar Gaikwad and Noah Zucker.
Professor Alexander Wendt recognized as seventh highest-cited faculty member worldwide in the field of International Relations, as of 2021.
A recent analysis published in PLoS Biology research analyzed databases of standardized citation metrics spanning natural and mathematical sciences and social and behavioral sciences. Led by Stanford University Professor John P. A. Ioannidis, the analysis is based on citations from Elsevier's Scopus, assessing scientists for career-long citation impact up until the end of 2019. The data is available to view via Mendeley Data.
Professor Michael Neblo named a 2021 Community Engaged Scholar.
The Community Engaged Scholar award is given annually by the Ohio State Office of Outreach and Engagement to faculty whose engaged scholarship impacts communities, contributes to the university’s culture of engagement, and further establishes and strengthens Ohio State’s commitment to supporting communities. As director of the Institute for Democratic Engagement and Accountability (IDEA), Dr. Neblo seeks to mobilize academy resources to serve the public good in local, state, national and international communities.
Associate Professor Inés Valdez given 2020 Diversity Enhancement Faculty Award.
The Diversity Enhancement Faculty Award recognizes the outstanding accomplishments of any faculty member or team of faculty members in the College of Arts and Sciences whose research, teaching, service and/or outreach activities promote diversity and support a culture that embraces and exhibits inclusive excellence, community and openness. Valdez is currently working on a manuscript on the imperial origins of popular sovereignty and on a project on immigration enforcement as a racial technology, which explores, first, how the use of technology in immigration policing evacuates politics from the realm of immigration. She is also a member of the inaugural cohort of the Society of Fellows as part of the Global Arts and Humanities Discovery Theme at Ohio State.
Department Chair Gregory Caldeira is the recipient of 2020 APSA Lifetime Achievement Award.
Distinguished University Scholar, Dreher Chair in Political Communication and Policy Thinking and Professor of Law Dr. Gregory A. Caldeira was given the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award by the Law and Courts Section of the American Political Science Association (ASPA). This award is given annually to an individual for a lifetime of significant scholarship, teaching, and service to the Law and Courts field. Click here to read a full story on Caldeira's recognition for the 2020 APSA Lifetime Achievement Award.
Professor Janet Box-Steffensmeier elected 2020 AAAS Fellow.
Jan Box-Steffensmeier was elected a 2020 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow. She is one of eleven scientists from The Ohio State University who was honored with this distinction in 2020. Election as an AAAS Fellow, one of the most prestigious honors a U.S. researcher can receive, is bestowed upon AAAS members by their academic peers based on their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. Dr. Box-Steffensmeier was named a 2020 AAAS Fellow for her "distinguished contributions to political methodology, including duration analysis and time series, and service to the advancement of political methodology and study of American politics."
Professor Janet Box-Steffensmeier named a Distinguished University Professor for 2020.
Janet Box-Steffensmeier was awarded the permanent, honorific title of Distinguished University Professor for 2020. The distinction is the highest faculty honor at Ohio State and is given on a competitive basis to full professors who have demonstrated exceptional teaching, research, scholarly or creative work, and service. Distinguished University Professors automatically become members of the President’s and Provost’s Advisory Committee. In addition, recipients are awarded a $30,000 one-time grant to support their academic work and are expected to maintain a regular program of teaching/ mentorship, research, scholarly or creative work, and service.
Associate Professor Amanda Lea Robinson Given Best Article Award by the African Politics Conference Groups in 2020.
The award was for the article "How to Close the Gender Gap in Political Participation: Lessons from Matrilineal Societies in Africa." (with Jessica Gottlieb), published in the British Journal of Political Science.(2019 First View) by the African Politics Conference Groups in 2020.
Assistant Professor Erin Lin Awarded Best Paper in International Relation Presented by the Midwest Political Science Association in 2019.
The award was for the article "How War Changes Land: A natural experiment of bomb-induced economic change in Cambodia."
Professor Sarah Brooks is the recipient of the Joan N. Huber Huber Faculty Fellow Award for Excellence in the Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2018.
The winners of this highly competitive honor are chosen because of their exceptionally strong records of scholarly productivity.
Professor Janet Box-Steffensmeier is Elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Janet Box-Steffensmeier was among the three Ohio State faculty and one alumnus elected to the 237th class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Professor Bear Braumoeller is the Recipient of Nobel Fellowship, Nobel Institute in 2016 and also the Society for Political Methodology Outstanding Reviewer Award, 2016
Bear Braumoeller was the recipient of the 2016 Outstanding Reviewer Award from the journal, Political Analysis, which has the 2nd highest impact factor of all the political science journals. He also spent May and June of 2016 as a fellow at the Nobel Institute in Oslo, Norway.
Professor Janet Box-Steffensmeier Receives 2016 Excellence in Mentoring Award
Jan Box-Steffensmeier received the 2016 Excellence in Mentoring Award from the Society for Political Methodology, which honors members who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to mentoring and advising graduate and/or undergraduate students - particularly those from underrepresented groups.
Professor Skyler Cranmer Wins Best Conference Paper Award
Skyler Cranmer won the 2015 Best Conference Paper award from the Political Networks section of the American Political Science Association for his working paper with Philip Leifeld, "A Performance Based Comparison of the Temporal Exponential Random Graph Model (TERGM) and Stochastic Actor Oriented Model (SAOM)."
Professor Janet Box-Steffensmeier Wins Best Article Award
Jan Box-Steffensmeier received the Jewell-Loewenberg Paper Award from the Legislative Studies Section of the American Political Science Association for the best article published in Legislative Studies Quarterly in 2015.
Professor Janet Box-Steffensmeier Receives Outstanding Professional Achievement Award
Jan Box-Steffensmeier received the Outstanding Professional Achievement award from the Midwest Political Science Association Women's Caucus.
Professor Larry Baum Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Lawrence Baum received the 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Law and Courts section of the American Political Science Association for a lifetime of significant scholarship, teaching and service. Baum was cited for his path-breaking work on judicial behavior, substantive policy and court reform.
Professor Janet Box-Steffensmeier Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Jan Box-Steffensmeier was the recipient of the Warren E. Miller Award for Meritorious Service to the Social Sciences in 2013, the Ohio State University Distinguished Scholar award in 2012, and the Political Methodology Career Achievement Award in 2013.
Professor Bear Braumoeller Wins Three Book Awards
Bear Braumoeller’s book, The Great Powers and the International System: Systemic Theory in Empirical Perspective, won the 2014 J. David Singer Book Award from ISA-Midwest, the ISA Best Book Award and received honorable mention from the ISA International Security Studies Section Best Book competition.
Professors Gregory Caldeira and Jack Wright Receive Lasting Contribution Award
Gregory Calderia and Jack Wright received the 2013 Lasting Contribution Award for their article, “Organized Interests and Agenda Setting in the U.S. Supreme Court,” published in American Political Science Review.
Professor Jennifer Mitzen Receives Two Book Awards at 2015 International Studies Association Conference
Jennifer Mitzen’s book, Power in Concert: The Nineteenth Century Origins of Global Governance, has been selected as the winner of the 2015 ISSS Best Book Award, given by the International Security Studies Section of the International Studies Association (ISA). The award is presented to the author whose work focuses on security studies and demonstrates originality, significance and rigor. Her book was also recognized with an Honorable Mention for the Francesco Guicciardini Prize from the Historical IR section of the ISA.
Professor Jan Pierskalla Wins Dissertation Award
Jan Pierskalla has been named the recipient of the 2014 Mancur Olson Award for the best dissertation in Political Economy in the last two years for his dissertation "Urban Rural Bias and the Political Geography of Distributive Conflicts".
Professor Philippp Rehm Receives Heinz I. Eulau Award
Philipp Rehm has won APSA's Heinz I. Eulau Award for his article “The Insecure American: Economic Experiences, Financial Worries, and Policy Attitudes” with co-authors Jacob Hacker and Mark Schlesinger.
Professor Alexander Wendt awarded "Best Book of the Decade" by the ISA, 2006.
Social Theory of International Politics, Cambridge University Press “Best Book of the Decade” Award, the International Studies Association.
Larry Baum Distinguished Teaching Award
- 2024: Benjamin L. McKean
- 2020: Brice Acree (posthumously)
- 2019: Vladimir Kogan
- 2018: Sara Watson
- 2017: Philipp Rehm
- 2016: Sarah Brooks
- 2015: Jennifer Mitzen
- 2014: Alexander Wendt
- 2013: Janet Box-Steffensmeier
- 2012: Jack Wright
- 2011: Alexander Thompson
- 2010: William Liddle, Eric MacGilvray
- 2009: Richard Gunther
- 2008: Randall Schweller, special non-faculty award to Charles Smith
- 2007: Marcus Kurtz, special emeritus award to Herb Asher
- 2006: Timothy Frye
- 2005: Donald Sylvan
- 2004: Paul Beck
- 2003: Richard Herrmann
- 2002: Clarissa Hayward & Dean Lacy
- 2001: John Champlin
- 2000: Larry Baum & Brian Pollins
University Distinguished Teaching Award
- 2007: Marcus Kurtz
- 2003: Larry Baum
Arts & Sciences Outstanding Teaching Award
- 2020: Benjamin L. McKean
- 2010: Richard Herrmann
Arts & Sciences Graduate Associate Teaching Award
- 2020: Alan van Beek
Faculty Mentor of the Year Award
- 2009: Janet Box-Steffensmeier
- 2007: Irfan Nooruddin
University Service Award
- 2007: Herb Asher
- 1981: Frances Aumann
University Distinguished Service Award
- 2009: Anthony Mughan
- 2008: Richard Herrmann
- 2004: Richard Gunther
- 2000: Paul Beck
Arts & Sciences Exemplary Service Award
- 2004: Herbert Weisberg
Council of Graduate Studies Service Award
- 1999: Larry Baum & Retta Semones
- 1992: Margaret Hermann
- 1982: James Ludwig
University Distinguished Diversity Award
- 1995: William Nelson, Jr.
- 2018: Courtney Sanders
- 2003: Sandra Wood
- 2000: Retta Semones
Arts & Sciences Outstanding Staff Award
- 2018: Courtney Sanders
- 2006: Diana Camella
University Advisor Award
- 1999: Wayne DeYoung
2023-2024
Jacobina Aman Award for Best Paper in CP: Daniel Smith
Francis R. Aumann Award for Best Paper in IR: Zhiqin Gao, "Theorizing Contingency in World Politics"
Francis R. Aumann Award for Best Paper in Methodology: Chandler L'Hommedieu, "The Effect of Elite Sentiment on Public Opinion: Text-as-Data and Panel Studies"
Francis R. Aumann Award for Best Paper Presented at a Conference: Soyun Chang, "Who to Blame? Narrative of Blame Surrounding Diseases and the Mandate to Report"
Mathews and Gilkerson Teaching Award: José Pérez
Francis R. Aumann Distinguished Service by a Graduate Student: Katie Gouge
Francis R. Aumann Award for Best Paper in PT: Gabriel Gorre, "The Political and Social Meaning of Desire: Comparing Gandhi and Fanon" (McKean)
The Madison Scott Award for Best Graduate Student Paper on Race and Ethnic Politics: Liuya Zhang, "Decoding the Global South: The Impact of Dual Ethnic Hierarchies on Foreign Public Opinion Toward the US and China"
Henry R. Spencer Award for Best Dissertation: Daniel Naftel, "Identifying the Effects of Policing on Voter Behavior"
Francis R. Aumann Award for Distinguished Senior Achievement
The Francis R. Aumann Award is presented to the best all-around senior students in political science. This award was established by alumni, friends, and associates of Dr. Aumann, professor emeritus, as a way of rewarding scholastic excellence and promoting the academic goals of the department. The winners receive $500.
2024 Award Recipient
Emma O’Keefe
2023 Award Recipient
Shing-Tsz Lin
2021 Award Recipients
Destiny Brown
Maria Kindell
Miriam Aggrey
Lawrence J.R. Herson Award for Academic Excellence
The Herson Award recognizes those seniors who have demonstrated outstanding academic excellence and are graduating with a perfect 4.0 GPA. The award is named in honor of one of our most distinguished emeritus faculty, Lawrence J.R. Herson, a long-time member of the department who served as Department Chair and went on to become Dean of the College. The winners receive $500.
2024 Award Recipients
Nigel Becker
Jenine Elmosleh
Heba Latif
Aron Olegnowicz
Zachary Rodier
Ella Roxey
Andrew Wong
2023 Award Recipients
Cole DuBose
Hallie Hunt
Naomi Kuo
Shaan Parikh
Jane Pultz
Olivia Schafer
Eva Scherrer
Amishi Singh
Danielle Wasshausen
2021 Award Recipients
Lauren Taylor Jennings
Benjamin Marcus
Kendal Colleen Nininger
Hanna Elizabeth Ross
William Jennings Bryan Prize for Best Paper in American Politics and Political Theory
This award was established by Mr. Bryan in 1898 and is given for the best papers written for a course in the field of American Politics and Political Theory. The winners receive $500
2024 Award Recipients
American Politics: Emma Wozniak, “Predicting the Positions of Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Thomas and Sotomayor in Murray v. UBS Securities, LLC”
Political Theory: Emily Rice, “Beauvoir, Federici, and Butler on Womanhood”
2023 Award Recipients
American Politics: Erin Egan, “The Reduction of Gun Violence through the Reduction of Domestic Violence
Political Theory: Jack Williams, “Conditions for Liberty: Comparing Angela Davis and Friedrich Hayek’s Accounts of Freedom”
2021 Award Recipients
American Politics: Dani Wasshausen, "Gun Violence Policy Proposal Paper: "May-Issue" Concealed Carry Laws"
Political Theory: Emily de Jong, "Equal Citizenship to Du Bois and Simpson"
Jacobina Aman Award for Best Paper in Comparative Politics and International Relations
This award was established in 1959 with a bequest from Katherine A. Siebert in memory of her mother, Jacobina Aman, and is given for the best paper written for a course in the field of International Relations or Comparative Politics. The winners receive $500.
2024 Award Recipients
Comparative Politics: John Swartz, “Varieties of Democratic Backsliding and Why They Matter’’
International Relations: Lyrin McKibben, “Power from Two Perspectives”
2023 Award Recipients
Comparative Politics: Sarah Botti, “The Abu Sayyaf Group: An Analysis of Psychology, Strategy, Organization, Religion, and Media”
International Relations: Nick Protasiewicz, “Regulating the Gig Economy”
2021 Award Recipients
Comparative Politics: Nina LeBlanc, "Bilateral Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran"
International Relations: Ian Samide, "Leader Social Dominance Orientation, Sexism and Foreign Policy: An Experimental Design"
Henry R. Spencer Award for Outstanding Senior Honors Thesis in Political Science
Henry R. Spencer was the founding chair of the Department of Political Science in 1909. Henry R. Spencer served 38 years until he stepped down in 1947. The winner(s) will be awarded $500 for outstanding senior thesis.
2024 Award Recipients
Charles Costanzo, “Hot Topics in the House: The Formation and Importance of Congressional Speech Networks”
Madison Meixner, “Public Perception on the Recent Implication of Gender Quotas: A Case Study in Sierra Leone”
2023 Award Recipient
Bridget Seghy, “The Evolution of Presidential Clemency”
2021 Award Recipient
Jade Musa, "Dependency or Domination: An application of state theories to Palestine and Israel"