CGSG Annual Student Paper Awards

The China Geography Specialty Group sponsors an annual award to recognize excellent student research and paper presentation in a CGSG-sponsored session at the annual AAG conference.

Eligibility: Student members of the CGSG at all academic levels (undergraduates or graduate students) are qualified. The student must be the sole author and presenter of the paper. Multiple submissions to more than one specialty group for Student Paper Award is NOT allowed. Papers being considered by other AAG Specialty Group(s) for student Paper Award are NOT qualified for the CGSG Student Paper Award. Participants must have submitted the abstract and appropriate program participation fee to the AAG for participation at the AAG Annual Meeting.

Awards: A committee of faculty from the China Specialty Group will evaluate the papers. Evaluation criteria for the award include the originality of the research, the soundness and creativity of the research design and methodology; the validity of conclusions; and quality of the presentation. A $300 prize will be awarded to the best paper, in addition to an award certificate and prepaid lunch at the AAG Awards Banquet. Two Travel Awards of $150 each will go to the First and Second Runner-up. The award will be announced at the Business Meeting of the CGSG and published in the CGSG and AAG newsletters.

Guidelines for Submission: To be considered for the competition, authors should email a copy of the paper's title and abstract to the CGSG Chair. An electronic version of the paper, in Word format, must reach the Chair later. The deadlines for abstract and full paper submissions will be announced by email. Please include author's name, academic level (undergraduate, master's, or doctoral), academic institution, department or program, current address, and email.

Please send your submission and questions to the CGSG Chair.

2023 AAG CGSG Student Paper Award:

Xiaoling Chen, University of Colorado Boulder, “The Venue Code: Digital Surveillance, Spatial (Re)organization, and Infrastructural Power during the Covid Pandemic in China”

2023 AAG CGSG Student Paper Travel Award:

Yiou Zhang, UCLA, “The Geography, Scaling and Diffusion of Recombinant Knowledge across Chinese Cities, 1991-2015”

2022 Best Student Paper Award:

Mengdi Wu, The University of Hong Kong, “Blending the state-market binary: Uneven growth and spatiality of China’s public-private partnerships under soft budget constraints”

2022 Best Paper Runner-ups went to the following two students:

Guanchi Zhang, Harvard Law School, “The territorial foundation of China’s market transition”

Guannan Zou, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, “The return of the proactive state? State roles in relation to firms in local development driven by innovative industries”