Highly Prestigious Awards
Highly prestigious awards are awards designated as such by the National Research Council (NRC). There are over 200 awards designated on the NRC's list of highly prestigious awards. A university's highly prestigious award count is a key metric for national university rankings. Academic Affairs is currently supporting recipients of highly prestigious awards with a $10,000 stipend.*
*Funding is contingent upon fiscal availability and subject to change based on budgetary constraints.
| Award Name | Awarding Organization | Discipline/Unit |
| Herskovits Award | African Studies Association | Arts & Humanities |
| Senior von Humboldt Fellowship | Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation | Multidisciplinary |
| Rome Prize | American Academy In Rome | Arts & Humanities |
| Emerson-Thoreau Medal | American Academy of Arts and Sciences | English Language & Literature |
| Founders Award | American Academy of Arts and Sciences | Multidisciplinary |
| Talcott Parsons Prize | American Academy of Arts and Sciences | Social Sciences |
| The Amory Prize | American Academy of Arts and Sciences | Cell & Developmental Biology |
| The Rumford Prize | American Academy of Arts and Sciences | Physical Sciences |
| American Academy of Arts and Sciences Member/Fellow | American Academy of Arts and Sciences | Multidisciplinary |
| Hench Post-Dissertation Fellowship | American Antiquarian Society | Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences |
| AAS-National Endowment for the Humanities Fellows | American Antiquarian Society | History |
| Charles Judson Herrick Award | American Association for Anatomy | Cell & Developmental Biology |
| AAAS Philip Hauge Abelson Prize | American Association for the Advancement of Science, The (AAAS) | Science |
| AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize | American Association for the Advancement of Science, The (AAAS) | Science |
| Lifetime Achievement Award | American Association for the History of Medicine | History |
| Henry Norris Russell Lectureship | American Astronomical Society | Astronomy |
| Priestley Medal | American Chemical Society | Chemistry |
| Harry Levin Prize | American Comparative Literature Association | Comparative Literature |
| Rene Wellek Prize | American Comparative Literature Association | Comparative Literature |
| Andrew W Mellon/ACLS Recent Doctoral Recipients Fellowships | American Council of Learned Societies | Social Sciences & Humanities |
| ACLS Digital Innovation Fellowships | American Council of Learned Societies | Social Sciences & Humanities |
| ACLS Collaborative Research Fellowships | American Council of Learned Societies | Social Sciences & Humanities |
| Andrew W Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowships | American Council of Learned Societies | Social Sciences & Humanities |
| ACLS Fellows (ACLS/SSRC/NEH International and Area Studies Fellowships and ACLS/New York Public Library Fellowships) | American Council of Learned Societies | Social Sciences & Humanities |
| ADSA Award of Honor | American Dairy Science Association | Animal Sciences |
| John Bates Clark Medal | American Economic Association | Economics |
| Awards for Scholarly Distinction | American Historical Association | History |
| John K Fairbank Prize in East Asian History | American Historical Association | History |
| Albert J Beveridge Award | American Historical Association | History |
| Maryam Mirzakhani Prize in Mathematics of the National Academy of Sciences | American Mathematical Society | Mathematics |
| George David Birkhoff Prize in Applied Mathematics | American Mathematical Society | Mathematics |
| Norbert Wiener Prize in Applied Mathematics | American Mathematical Society | Mathematics |
| The Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal | American Meteorological Society | Atmospheric Sciences |
| Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distinguished Public Service | American Philosophical Society | Multidisciplinary |
| Thomas Jefferson Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences | American Philosophical Society | Multidisciplinary |
| Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Sciences | American Philosophical Society | Science |
| The Henry M Phillips Prize in Jurisprudence | American Philosophical Society | Humanities & Social Sciences |
| The Magellanic Premium of the American Philosophical Society | American Philosophical Society | Science & Engineering |
| John Frederick Lewis Award | American Philosophical Society | Humanities & Social Sciences |
| Judson Daland Prize | American Philosophical Society | Clinical & Health Sciences |
| The Henry Allen Moe Prize in the Humanities | American Philosophical Society | Arts & Humanities |
| Jacques Barzun Prize in Cultural History | American Philosophical Society | History |
| Sabbatical Fellowships | American Philosophical Society | Multidisciplinary |
| Membership | American Philosophical Society | Multidisciplinary |
| Early Career Professional Awards/Arthur C Guyton Awards for Excellence in Integrative Physiology | American Physiological Society | Physiology |
| Established Professional/Walter B Cannon Award Lecture | American Physiological Society | Physiology |
| Award of Distinction | American Phytopathological Society | Plant Sciences |
| Gold Medal Awards for Life Achievement, Practice | American Psychological Foundation | Psychology |
| Gold Medal Awards for Life Achievement, Public Interest | American Psychological Foundation | Psychology |
| Gold Medal Awards for Life Achievement, Application | American Psychological Foundation | Psychology |
| Gold Medal Awards for Life Achievement, Science | American Psychological Foundation | Psychology |
| Member with NEH Fellowship | American School of Classical Studies at Athens | Classics |
| ASBMB-Merck Award | American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | Biochemistry, Biophysics, & Structural Biology |
| Hall of Fame Award | American Society for Horticultural Science | Plant Sciences |
| Osborne and Mendel Award | American Society for Nutrition | Nutrition |
| Mead Johnson Award | American Society for Nutrition | Nutrition |
| ASTR Honorees/Distinguished Scholar | American Society for Theatre Research | Theatre & Performance Studies |
| Barnard Hewitt Award for Outstanding Research in Theatre History | American Society for Theatre Research | Theatre & Performance Studies |
| Cyrus Hall McCormick Jerome Case Gold Medal Award | American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers | Agricultural Engineering |
| John Deere Gold Medal | American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers | Agricultural Engineering |
| The Morrison Award | American Society of Animal Science | Animal Sciences |
| The ASME Medal | American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) | Engineering |
| Adolph E Gude, Jr Award | American Society of Plant Biologists | Plant Sciences |
| Martin Gibbs Medal | American Society of Plant Biologists | Plant Sciences |
| Stephen Hales Prize | American Society of Plant Biologists | Plant Sciences |
| Charles Albert Shull Award | American Society of Plant Biologists | Plant Sciences |
| Carl Bode-Norman Holmes Pearson Prize | American Studies Association | American Studies |
| Constance M Rourke Prize | American Studies Association | American Studies |
| Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement | Archaeological Institute of America | Archaeology |
| The Beckman Scholars Program | Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation | Biology & Chemistry |
| Award of Merit | Association for Information Science and Technology | Information Sciences |
| California Scientist of the Year Award | California Science Center | Science |
| Residency Fellow | Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences | Multidisciplinary |
| The Bancroft Prizes | Columbia University | History |
| George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism | Department of English, Cornell University | Theatre & Performance Studies |
| Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering | David and Lucile Packard Foundation | Science & Engineering |
| William Skinner Cooper Award | Ecological Society of America | Plant Sciences |
| ESA Founders' Memorial Award | Entomological Society of America | Plant Ecology |
| Bower Award for Business Leadership | Franklin Institute | Business |
| Louis E Levy Medal | Franklin Institute | Multidisciplinary |
| Benjamin Franklin Medal | Franklin Institute | Science & Engineering |
| Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition | Grawemeyer Foundation | Music (Except Performance) |
| Grawemeyer Award in Religion | Grawemeyer Foundation | Religion |
| Harvard Society Senior Fellows | Harvard Society of Fellows | Multidisciplinary |
| Harvard Society Junior Fellows | Harvard Society of Fellows | Multidisciplinary |
| Sarton Medal for Lifetime Scholarly Achievement | History of Science Society | History |
| Investigator/Alumni Investigator | Howard Hughes Medical Institute | Biology & Biomedical Sciences |
| Kyoto Prize | Inamori Foundation of Japan | Multidisciplinary |
| Lifetime Achievement Award in Honor of Nicolas Appert | Institute of Food Technologists | Food Science & Technology |
| Fields Medal | International Mathematical Union | Mathematics |
| Guggenheim Fellowship | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | Multidisciplinary |
| Templeton Prize | John Templeton Foundation | Science & Philosophy |
| Lasker-Bloomberg Public Service Award | Lasker Foundation | Biomedical & Health Sciences |
| Lasker-Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science | Lasker Foundation | Biomedical & Health Sciences |
| Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award | Lasker Foundation | Biomedical & Health Sciences |
| Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award | Lasker Foundation | Biomedical & Health Sciences |
| MacArthur Fellow | MacArthur Foundation | Multidisciplinary |
| Haskins Medal for a Distinguished Book | Medieval Academy of America | History |
| MLA Award for Lifetime Scholarly Achivement | Modern Language Association | English Language & Literature |
| Jay Hubbell Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Advancing American Literature Study | Modern Language Association | English Language & Literature |
| William Riley Parker Prize | Modern Language Association | English Language & Literature |
| James Russell Lowell Prize | Modern Language Association | English Language & Literature |
| Member | National Academy of Education | Education |
| The Russ Prize | National Academy of Engineering | Bioengineering |
| Charles Stark Draper Prize | National Academy of Engineering | Engineering & Technology |
| Arthur M Bueche Award | National Academy of Engineering | Engineering & Technology |
| Simon Ramo Founders Award | National Academy of Engineering | Engineering & Technology |
| Bernard M Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education | National Academy of Engineering | Engineering & Technology |
| Membership | National Academy of Engineering | Engineering & Technology |
| Robert Wood Johnson Policy Fellowship | National Academy of Medicine | Health Sciences |
| Member | National Academy of Medicine | Clinical & Health Sciences |
| Fellow of National Academy of Public Administration | National Academy of Public Administration | Public Administration |
| Maryam Mirzakhani Prize in Mathematics | National Academy of Sciences | Mathematics |
| J C Hunsaker Award in Aeronautical Engineering | National Academy of Sciences | Aeronautical Engineering |
| Benjamin Apthorp Gould Prize | National Academy of Sciences | Astronomy |
| Gibbs Brothers Medal | National Academy of Sciences | Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering |
| Arctowski Medal | National Academy of Sciences | Solar Physics |
| NAS Award for the Industrial Application of Science | National Academy of Sciences | Science |
| G K Warren Prize | National Academy of Sciences | Geology |
| James Craig Watson Medal | National Academy of Sciences | Astronomy |
| NAS Award for Chemistry in Service to Society | National Academy of Sciences | Chemistry |
| NAS Award in the Neurosciences | National Academy of Sciences | Neuroscience |
| Alexander Agassiz Medal | National Academy of Sciences | Oceanography |
| Alexander Hollaender Award in Biophysics | National Academy of Sciences | Biophysics |
| Henry Draper Medal | National Academy of Sciences | Astronomy |
| Comstock Prize in Physics | National Academy of Sciences | Physics |
| J Lawrence Smith Medal | National Academy of Sciences | Astronomy |
| Arthur L Day Prize and Lectureship | National Academy of Sciences | Physics |
| Jessie Stevenson Kovalenko Medal | National Academy of Sciences | Medical Sciences |
| Public Welfare Medal | National Academy of Sciences | Science |
| Selman A Waksman Award in Microbiology | National Academy of Sciences | Microbiology |
| NAS Award in the Evolution of Earth and Life | National Academy of Sciences | Earth & Environmental Sciences |
| John J Carty Award for the Advancement of Science | National Academy of Sciences | Science |
| NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing | National Academy of Sciences | Science |
| NAS Award in Chemical Sciences | National Academy of Sciences | Chemistry |
| Richard Lounsbery Award | National Academy of Sciences | Biology & Medical Sciences |
| William O Baker Award for Initiatives in Research | National Academy of Sciences | Physical Sciences, Engineering & Mathematics |
| NAS Award in Molecular Biology | National Academy of Sciences | Molecular Biology |
| NAS Members | National Academy of Sciences | Science |
| National Book Critics Circle Award | National Book Critics Circle | English Language & Literature |
| National Book Award-Young People's Literature | National Book Foundation | English Language & Literature |
| National Book Award-Poetry | National Book Foundation | English Language & Literature |
| National Book Award-Fiction | National Book Foundation | English Language & Literature |
| National Book Award-Nonfiction | National Book Foundation | English Language & Literature |
| Digital Humanities Fellowship Awards | National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) | Arts & Humanities |
| Fellowships for Advanced Research on Japan | National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) | Arts & Humanities |
| Faculty Research Awards | National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) | Arts & Humanities |
| Fellowship Programs at Independent Research Institutions | National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) | Arts & Humanities |
| Fellowships for College Teachers and Independent Scholars | National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) | Arts & Humanities |
| Fellowships for University Teachers | National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) | Arts & Humanities |
| NHC Fellow | National Humanities Center | Arts & Humanities |
| Lifetime Achievement Award | National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation | Multidisciplinary |
| National Medal of Technology and Innovation | National Science and Technology Medals Foundation | Technology, Engineering, & Science |
| National Medal of Science | National Science and Technology Medals Foundation | Science & Engineering |
| National Medal of Science | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Science & Engineering |
| Vannevar Bush Award | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Science & Technology |
| Alan T Waterman Award | National Science Foundation (NSF) | Science & Engineering |
| Nobel Prize-Literature | Nobel Foundation | English Language & Literature |
| Nobel Prize-Peace | Nobel Foundation | Multidisciplinary |
| Nobel Prize-Chemistry | Nobel Foundation | Chemistry |
| Nobel Prize-Economics | Nobel Foundation | Economics |
| Nobel Prize-Physics | Nobel Foundation | Physics |
| Nobel Prize-Physiology or Medicine | Nobel Foundation | Physiology or Medicine |
| Frederick Jackson Turner Award | Organization of American Historians | History |
| Merle Curti Award | Organization of American Historians | History |
| PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction | PEN/Faulkner Foundation | English Language & Literature |
| Award for Distinguished Service to the Humanities | Phi Beta Kappa Society | Humanities |
| Sidney Hook Memorial Award | Phi Beta Kappa Society | Education |
| Phi Beta Kappa Book Awards - Ralph Waldo Emerson Award | Phi Beta Kappa Society | Humanities |
| Phi Beta Kappa Book Awards - Science Book | Phi Beta Kappa Society | Science |
| Phi Beta Kappa Book Awards - Christian Gauss Award | Phi Beta Kappa Society | English Language & Literature |
| Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize | Poetry Foundation | English Language & Literature |
| Pulitzer Prize | Pulitzer Board, The | English Language & Literature |
| Paul Oskar Kristeller Lifetime Achievement Award | Renaissance Society of America | History |
| Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship | Rockefeller Foundation, The | Multidisciplinary |
| Franklin Medal | Royal Society of Arts (RSA) | Science & Engineering |
| Gregori Aminoff Prize | Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences | Physical Sciences |
| Rolf Schock Prizes | Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences | Multidisciplinary |
| Crafoord Prize | Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences | Physical & Life Sciences |
| Japan Prize Laureates | Science and Technology Foundation of Japan, The | Science & Technology |
| Goodwin Award of Merit | Society for Classical Studies | Classics |
| Donald B Lindsley Prize in Behavioral Neuroscience | Society for Neuroscience | Behavioral Neuroscience |
| Ralph W Gerard Prize in Neuroscience | Society for Neuroscience | Neuroscience |
| Theodosius Dobzhansky Prize | Society for the Study of Evolution | Evolutionary Biology |
| Parkman Prize | Society of American Historians | History |
| Stockholm Water Prize | Stockholm Water Foundation | Environmental & Water Sciences |
| Whiting Writers' Award | Whiting Foundation | English Language & Literature |
| Aldo Leopold Memorial Award | Wildlife Society, The | Conservation & Environmental Science |
| Wolf Prize | Wolf Foundation, The | Multidisciplinary |
| Fellow | Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars | Social Sciences & Humanities |