Campus & Community

Extension School recognizes outstanding grads

2 min read

Each Commencement, the Harvard Extension School recognizes the notable accomplishments of its top graduates and exceptional faculty with numerous awards and prizes. Recipients may demonstrate outstanding initiative, character, and academic achievement; show dedication to the arts or public service; or, in regard to faculty, be lauded by their students for excellence in teaching.

One honor, the Dean’s Prize for Outstanding Master of Liberal Arts (A.L.M.) Thesis, is awarded to a student whose graduate thesis embodies the highest level of imaginative scholarship. Through the years, A.L.M. thesis advisers from across the University (all of whom must have Harvard teaching appointments) have been singularly impressed with the work produced by their Extension School advisees, and have commented: “well-researched and well presented,” “a remarkably sophisticated, intelligent, informed, and promising piece of scholarship,” and “This would represent excellent work for a Ph.D. candidate, let alone a master’s.”

In addition to the Dean’s Prize for Outstanding A.L.M. Thesis, there are four major academic prizes — the Phelps, Crite, Langlois, and Small prizes — as well as the Bok, Aurelio, Yang, and Wood prizes. Faculty are awarded the Bonanno, Conway, Fussa, and Shattuck awards.

To see a list of 2012-13 Harvard Extension School prize and award recipients, visit the Extension School website.