Dean Hank Dobin Thesis Prize

The Program for Community-Engaged Scholarship (ProCES) awards the Dean Hank Dobin Prize in Community-Engaged Independent Work to students whose outstanding thesis and accompanying short translational report has the potential to impact communities, whether through extensive research, policy recommendations, or new information and analysis.  The prize is named after former Dean Dobin, who was instrumental to the creation of ProCES. Prizes are awarded on Class Day and include the following monetary awards: First Prize $1,500; Second Prize $1,000; Third Prize $750.

Nominate Your Thesis

ProCES invites students who have completed community-engaged independent work to submit their thesis and short report for consideration each spring. To apply, students should submit the following documents to [email protected] by 5pm on Monday, May 5, 2025. 

  1. The complete thesis (saved as a PDF using the following convention: LAST NAME_FIRST NAME_Thesis);
  2. A short (5-7 page) translational report that communicates the important conclusions of the project to a non-academic audience, e.g. a community partner organization or communities implicated by the work (saved as a PDF using the following convention: LAST NAME_FIRST NAME_Short_Report). This document may be a policy brief, white paper, executive summary, or other work appropriate to the research. This report should be adapted from the thesis and should:
    • discuss the relevance of the work for a particular community or community organization;
    • highlight the implications of the research for current policies or practices affecting a community or community organization;
    • provide strategic policy or practice recommendations for a community or community organization, as suitable to the work.

Students may refer to this overview of community-engaged research for guidance as they approach the project.

ProCES will archive the final version of the winning short reports to share with students and community partners and publish to its website, as appropriate.

 

Writing for a Community Audience

Not sure how to write a community-facing report of your thesis?

For guidance on composing the short report, join ProCES, the Princeton Writing Program, and a community partner representative on Wednesday, April 9th at 12:30pm at the Sharing Your Thesis with Community Organizations and Practitioners workshop. Lunch will be served. Upon registration, you will receive details regarding location and materials. [Registration is now closed.]

You can also read the short reports of recent Thesis Prize winners. 

ProCES programming is open to all eligible participants, regardless of identity, beliefs, or other protected characteristics.