The D.C. Spriestersbach Dissertation Prize was established to recognize excellence in doctoral research. Each year, a winner of the D.C. Spriestersbach Dissertation Prize is eligible to become the University of Iowa's nominee in the national competition for the Council of Graduate Schools/University Microfilms International Distinguished Dissertation Award.

D.C. Spriestersbach

Spriestersbach prizes are awarded annually in two of four broad disciplinary areas - Humanities and Fine Arts, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and Engineering, Biological and Life Sciences, and Social Sciences. The Graduate College, in turn, holds two D.C. Spriestersbach Prize competitions in the areas specified by the Council of Graduate Schools.

Winners of the 2025 competition include Dr. Myat Thinzar Aung’s dissertation in art history, Natural and Artificial Grottoes in Ancient Roman Villas: A Sensory Study, and Dr. Katelyn Joyal’s dissertation in biological and life sciences: The role of serotonin in postictal breathing, arousal, and mortality. 

In 2026, two D.C. Spriestersbach Prizes will be awarded – one in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and Engineering and one in Social Sciences.

 

Award Criteria

To be eligible, a student must have received the doctorate or completed all doctoral degree requirements (includes having the final deposit of the dissertation cleared through the Graduate College) during the period of July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2026.

Nominees' dissertations should represent highly original work that is an unusually significant contribution to their fields. Subcommittees chosen by the Graduate College will review the nominations and select recipients of the prize. 

Recipients of the D.C. Spriestersbach Prize are honored with a $5,000 award.

Nominations for the 2026 prize should be submitted online by 5 pm on May 21, 2026, and must include:

  • An abstract of the nominee's dissertation (not to exceed five double-spaced pages). Appendices containing other material, such as charts, tables, and/or references, may be included as additional pages (not to exceed five pages).
  • Three letters of recommendation evaluating the significance and quality of the nominee's dissertation work. One of these letters is to be from the nominee's dissertation supervisor, another from a member of the nominee's dissertation committee, and the third from a person of the nominee's choice.
  • The nominee's curriculum vitae (not to exceed five pages).
  • A three-page, double-spaced dissertation summary in non-technical language, presenting the purpose, methods, and results of the research, and a clear statement of its significance within the discipline.
  • A complete pdf copy of the dissertation. In order to successfully upload to workflow, the file must be under 40MG. Please save the pdf as a reduced file size before attempting to upload. 

Self-nominations will not be considered. 

 

Questions

National Dissertation Award Winners

Winners of the D.C. Spriestersbach Prize have fared exceptionally well in the national competition. With five winners, Iowa has been recognized more times than any other public university since the inauguration of the national competition in 1981.

2008—Jessica Horst, Psychology
2007—Michael Chasar, English
1997—Susan Behrends Frank, Art History
1993—Matthew P. Anderson, Physiology & Biophysics
1984—David Lasocki, Music

Fifteen other Iowa nominees have been finalists in the national competition. The success of Iowa's candidates in the national competition is a tribute to the high standards of excellence met by doctoral research conducted at this University.