Call for Nominations: ICA/NCA Health Communication Dissertation & Thesis of the Year Awards 2009

ICA and NCA are pleased to release a call for outstanding doctoral dissertations and masters theses in the area of health communication. A cash award is given in the amount of $500 each for the top dissertation and top thesis.

To be considered for the 2009 awards, theses and dissertations must have been completed (defended) between 1 September 2007 and 31 December 2008. If the completion date was in the last four months of 2007, the thesis or dissertation cannot have been submitted for last year’s competition. Individuals may nominate themselves, but advisors must be notified of the nomination. Thesis and dissertation papers will be evaluated by a panel of elected officers of the ICA and NCA Health Communication Divisions, with the ICA Chair serving as the award coordinator.

The nomination packet should include (a) a cover letter with the name, postal address, telephone number and email address of the nominee and his or her advisor(s) and completion date of the dissertation or thesis, and (b) a manuscript that acts as an integrated summary of the thesis or dissertation not exceeding 30 pages (double-spaced, one-inch margins on all sides) excluding references and title page. Reviewers will be instructed not to read beyond the first 30 pages of text. Complete theses or dissertations or chapters of same will not be accepted for review. The summary paper should describe the study’s rationale, theoretical framework, research questions, relevant literature, methods, results and conclusions. The summary paper should include a title page that contains only the title and the abstract. Care should be taken to mask the identity of the author within the text of the paper.

Send an electronic copy of the cover letter and manuscript to:

David Buller
Chair, ICA Health Communication Division
Email: dbuller@kleinbuendel.com

The deadline for receipt of the papers is March 31, 2009. Manuscripts received after that date will not be reviewed. Awards will be presented at the business meeting of the ICA Health Communication Division at the 2009 ICA Annual Conference in Montreal, Quebec in May 2009.