Highly Prestigious Awards
Highly prestigious awards, including induction into the National Academies, represent the pinnacle of recognition in academia. The National Research Council denotes the Highly Prestigious Award designation to more than 200 awards, honors, and recognitions across the arts and humanities, physical sciences and engineering, social sciences, and life sciences. In addition to bringing increased visibility and elevating opportunities for faculty recipients, these highly prestigious awards are noted by the AAU as a metric for institutional membership and are important in university rankings.
Highly Prestigious Awards in the Arts and Humanities
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Bode-Pearson Prize for Outstanding Contributions to American Studies | American Studies Association |
| Constance M. Rourke Prize | American Studies Association |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Charles J. Goodwin Award of Merit | American Philological Association |
| National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships | American School of Classical Studies at Athens |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Harry Levin Prize | American Comparative Literature Association |
| René Wellek Prize | American Comparative Literature Association |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Emerson-Thoreau Medal | American Academy of Arts and Sciences |
| MLA Award for Lifetime Scholarly Achievement | Modern Language Association |
| William Riley Parker Prize | Modern Language Association |
| James Russell Lowell Prize | Modern Language Association |
| Jay Hubbell Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Advancing American Literature Study | Modern Language Association |
| National Book Award | National Book Foundation |
| National Book Critics Circle Award* | National Book Critics Circle* |
| Nobel Prize in Literature | Swedish Academy |
| Pen-Faulkner Award for Fiction | Pen-Faulkner Foundation |
| Pulitzer Prize | The Pulitzer Board |
| Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize | Poetry Foundation |
| Whiting Writers' Award | Whiting Foundation |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Talcott Parsons Prize | American Academy of Arts and Sciences |
| Mellon Distinguished Scholar | American Antiquarian Society |
| AAS-National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships | American Antiquarian Society |
| The Albert J. Beveridge Award for history of the United States, Latin America, or Canada since 1492 (Book Prize) | American Historical Association |
| The John K. Fairbank Prize for East Asian history since 1800 (Book Prize) | American Historical Association |
| The Awards for Scholarly Distinction to senior historians for lifetime achievement. | American Historical Association |
| Merle Curti Award | Organization of American Historians |
| Frederick Jackson Turner Award | Organization of American Historians |
| Lifetime Achievement Award | American Association for the History of Medicine |
| Sarton Medal for lifetime scholarly achievement | History of Science Society |
| Haskins Medal for a distinguished book | Medieval Academy of America |
| Paul Oskar Kristeller Lifetime Achievement Award | Renaissance Society of America |
| Bancroft Award | Trustees of Columbia University |
| Parkman Prize | Society of American Historians |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement | Archaeological Institute of America |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition | Grawemeyer Foundation |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Grawemeyer Award for Religion | Grawemeyer Foundation |
| Templeton Prize | John Templeton Foundation |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Distinguished Scholar Award | American Society for Theatre Research |
| Barnard Hewitt Award | American Society for Theatre Research |
| George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism | Department of English, Cornell University |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members | American Academy of Arts and Sciences |
| ACLS Fellowships | American Council of Learned Societies |
| ACLS Mellon Fellowships | American Council of Learned Societies |
| Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distintinguished Achievement in the Humanities or Sciences | American Philosophical Society |
| Thomas Jefferson Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Arts, Humanities, or Social Sciences | American Philosophical Society |
| John Frederick Lewis Award | American Philosophical Society |
| Henry Allen Moe Prize in the Humanities | American Philosophical Society |
| Jacques Barzun Prize in Cultural History | American Philosophical Society |
| Guggenheim Fellow | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation |
| Harvard Society Junior Fellows | Harvard Society of Fellows |
| MacArthur Fellows | MacArthur Foundation |
| National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship | National Endowment for the Humanities |
| National Endowment for the Humanities Faculty Research Award | National Endowment for the Humanities |
| National Humanities Center Fellowship | National Humanities Center |
| Residency at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences | Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences |
| Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship | Rockefeller Foundation |
| Rome Prize | American Academy in Rome |
| Herskovits Award | African Studies Association |
| Wolf Prize | The Wolf Foundation |
| Sidney Hook Memorial Award | Phi Beta Kappa Society |
| Award for Distinguished Service to the Humanities | Phi Beta Kappa Society |
| Phi Beta Kappa Book Awards | Phi Beta Kappa Society |
| Founders Award | American Academy of Arts and Sciences |
Highly Prestigious Awards in the Social and Behavioral Sciences
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| MacArthur Fellow | MacArthur Foundation |
| Nobel Peace Prize | Nobel Foundation |
| Fellow Status | Harvard Society of Fellows |
| National Academy of Sciences Member | National Academy of Sciences |
| National Academy of Engineering Member | National Academy of Engineering |
| Institute of Medicine Member | Institute of Medicine |
| Woodrow Wilson Fellowship | Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars |
| Guggenheim Fellowship | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation |
| Talcott Parsons Prize | American Academy of Arts and Sciences |
| The Founders Award | American Academy of Arts and Sciences |
| American Academy of Arts and Sciences Member | American Academy of Arts and Sciences |
| John Frederick Lewis Award | American Philosophical Society |
| Thomas Jefferson Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Arts, Humanities, or Social Sciences | American Philosophical Society |
| Sabbatical Fellowships | American Philosophical Society |
| American Philosophical Society Member | American Philosophical Society |
| Benjamin Franklin Medal | American Philosophical Society |
| John Bates Clark Medal | American Economic Association |
| The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel | Nobel Foundation |
| Crafoord Prize | Royal Swedish Academy of Science |
| Wolf Prize | Wolf Foundation |
| Member of National Academy of Education | National Academy of Education |
| Fellow of National Academy of Public Administration | National Academy of Public Administration |
| National Medal of Science | National Science Foundation |
| Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Science of Psychology | American Psychological Association |
Highly Prestigious Awards in Physical Sciences and Engineering
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| NAS Award in Aeronautical Engineering | National Academy of Sciences |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| George David Birkhoff Prize in Applied Mathematics | American Mathematical Society |
| Norbert Wiener Prize in Applied Mathematics | American Mathematical Society |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Henry Norris Russell Lectureship | American Astronomical Society |
| Arctowski Medal | National Academy of Sciences |
| Draper Medal, Henry | National Academy of Sciences |
| James Craig Watson Medal | National Academy of Sciences |
| Benjamin Apthorp Gould Prize | National Academy of Sciences |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ Prize | National Academy of Engineering |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| NAS Award in Chemical Sciences | National Academy of Sciences |
| NAS Award in Chemistry in Service to Society | National Academy of Sciences |
| Priestley Medal | American Chemical Society |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Thompson Medal, Mary Clark | National Academy of Sciences |
| Warren Prize, G. K. | National Academy of Sciences |
| Gregori Aminoff Prize | Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Charles Stark Draper Prize | National Academy of Engineering |
| Gordon Prize | National Academy of Engineering |
| Founders Award | National Academy of Engineering |
| Arthur M. Bueche | National Academy of Engineering |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Fields Medal | International Mathematical Union |
| Mathematics, NAS Award in | National Academy of Sciences |
| Award in Applied Mathematics and Numerical Analysis | National Academy of Sciences |
| Rolf Schock Prizes | Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Gibbs Brothers Medal | National Academy of Sciences |
| ASME Medal* | American Society of Mechanical Engineers* |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Agassiz Medal, Alexander | National Academy of Sciences |
| Day Prize and Lectureship, Arthur L. | National Academy of Sciences |
| J. Lawrence Smith Medal | National Academy of Sciences |
| George P. Merrill Award | National Academy of Sciences |
| The Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal | American Meteorological Society |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Comstock Prize in Physics | National Academy of Sciences |
| Award Name | Granting Organizationv |
|---|---|
| Award of Merit | American Society for Information Science and Technology |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Wolf Prize (Math, Physics and Chemistry) | Wolf Foundation |
| Academy Members/ Fellows | American Academy of Arts and Sciences |
| Kyoto Prize | Inamori Foundation of Japan |
| MacArthur Fellowship | MacArthur Foundation |
| NAS Members | National Academy of Sciences |
| National Medal of Technology | National Science & Technology Medals Foundation |
| National Medal of Science | National Science Foundation |
| Nobel Prize | Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences |
| Crafoord Prize | Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences |
| Japan Prize Laureates | The Science and Technology Foundation of Japan |
| Albert Lasker Awards | Albert Lasker Foundation |
| National Inventors Hall of Fame | National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation |
| Academy Members | American Academy of Arts and Sciences |
| The Rumford Prize | American Academy of Arts and Sciences |
| Philip Hauge Abelson Prize | American Association for the Advancement of Science |
| Newcomb Cleveland Prize | American Association for the Advancement of Science |
| Judson Daland Prize | American Philosophical Society |
| Benjamin Franklin Medal | American Philosophical Society |
| Thomas Jefferson Medal | American Philosophical Society |
| Magellanic Premium | American Philosophical Society |
| Henry M. Phillips Prize | American Philosophical Society |
| California Scientist of the Year Award | California Science Center |
| Bower Award | Franklin Institute |
| John Price Wetherill Medal | Franklin Institute |
| Elliott Cresson Medal | Franklin Institute |
| Bolton L. Corson Medal | Franklin Institute |
| Louis E. Levy Medal | Franklin Institute |
| Benjamin Franklin Medal | Franklin Institute |
| Guggenheim Fellows | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation |
| Elliot Medal, Daniel Giraud | National Academy of Sciences |
| Carty Award, John J. | National Academy of Sciences |
| Award for the Industrial Application of Science | National Academy of Sciences |
| Award for Initiatives in Research | National Academy of Sciences |
| Jessie Stevenson Kovalenko Medal | National Academy of Sciences |
| Richard Lounsbery Medal | National Academy of Sciences |
| Public Welfare Medal | National Academy of Sciences |
| Award in Scientific Reviewing | National Academy of Sciences |
| NAE Members | National Academy of Engineering |
| Vannevar Bush Award | National Science Foundation |
| Alan T. Waterman Award | National Science Foundation |
| IOM Membership | Institute of Medicine |
Highly Prestigious Awards in Life Sciences
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Morrison Award | American Society of Animal Science |
| Aldo Leopold Memorial Award | The Wildlife Society |
| Award of Honor | American Dairy Science Association |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| ASBMB-Merck Award | American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators* | Howard Hughes Medical Institute* |
| Alexander Hollaender Award in Biophysics | National Academy of Sciences |
| Award in Molecular Biology | National Academy of Sciences |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| C. J. Herrick Award in Neuroanatomy | American Association of Anatomists |
| The Amory Prize | American Academy of Arts and Sciences |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Theodosius Dobzhansky Prize | Society for the Study of Evolution |
| W. S. Cooper Award | Ecological Society of America |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Founders' Memorial Award | Entomological Society of America |
| Column 2 Heading | Column 3 Heading |
|---|---|
| Nicholas Appert Award | Institute of Food Technologists |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Dobzhansky Prize | Behavior Genetics Association |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Eli Lilly and Company Research Award | American Society for Microbiology |
| Selman A. Waksman Award in Microbiology | National Academy of Sciences |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Mead Johnson Award | American Society for Nutrition |
| Osborne and Mendel Award | American Society for Nutrition |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Award in Neurosciences | National Academy of Sciences |
| Ralph W. Gerard Prize in Neuroscience | Society for Neuroscience |
| Donald B. Lindsley Prize in Behavioral Neuroscience | Society for Neuroscience |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Walter B. Cannon Award Lectureship | American Physiological Society |
| Arthur C. Guyton Awards for Excellence in Integrative Physiology | American Physiological Society |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Adolph E. Gude, Jr. Award | American Society of Plant Biologists |
| Charles Albert Shull Award | American Society of Plant Biologists |
| Martin Gibbs Medal | American Society of Plant Biologists |
| Stephen Hales Prize | American Society of Plant Biologists |
| Cyrus Hall McCormick-Jerome Increase Case Gold Medal | American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers |
| John Deere Gold Medal | American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers |
| Hall of Fame Award | American Society for Horticultural Science |
| Award of Distinction | American Phytopathological Society |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Robert Wood Johnson Policy Fellowship | Institute of Medicine, National Academies |
| Award Name | Granting Organization |
|---|---|
| Albert Lasker Awards | Albert Lasker Foundation |
| Senior von Humboldt Fellowship* | Alexander von Humboldt Foundation* |
| Academy Members | American Academy of Arts and Sciences |
| NAS Members | National Academy of Sciences |
| National Medal of Technology | National Science & Technology Medals Foundation |
| National Medal of Science | National Science Foundation |
| Vannevar Bush Award | National Science Foundation |
| Nobel Prize | Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences |
| Wolf Prize- Agriculture, Medicine | Wolf Foundation |
| Crafoord Prize | Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences |
| Newcomb Cleveland Prize | American Association for the Advancement of Science |
| Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering | David and Lucile Packard Foundation |
| MacArthur Fellowship | MacArthur Foundation |
| Alan T. Waterman Award | National Science Foundation |
| Philip Hauge Abelson Prize | American Association for the Advancement of Science |
| The Beckman Scholars Program | Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation |
| Benjamin Franklin Medal (1998- present) | Franklin Institute |
| Franklin Medal (1915- 1997) | Franklin Institute |
| Guggenheim Fellows | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation |
| Kyoto Prize | Inamori Foundation of Japan |
| Japan Prize Laureates | The Science and Technology Foundation of Japan |
| Stockholm Water Prize | Stockholm Water Foundation |