The Norman Meller Research Award of $250.00 is given annually to the best MA research paper produced at the University of Hawaiʻi in the social sciences or humanities and focused on the Pacific Islands. Plan A theses, Plan B papers, and MA portfolios are eligible. Submissions may be made by students or by nominations from faculty, and they are not limited to students in the MA program in Pacific Islands studies.
The submissions are read by a panel of judges, who consider the overall quality of the submission, the depth of the research it represents, and the significance of the work in the field of Pacific Islands studies. Of particular interest are submissions that employ interdisciplinary approaches and/or include Indigenous epistemologies and perspectives. The judges reserve the right to recommend that more than one award be made or that no award be given.
To be eligible for the 2022 award, the work must have been submitted to Graduate Division during the 2021-22 academic year and should be submitted as a PDF. For projects containing multimedia components that cannot be sent as a PDF or for additional submission options, please contact cpis@hawaii.edu for assistance. Please do not send originals, as materials will not be returned. The deadline for submissions will be announced at a later date.
This award is made possible by a bequest from Dr. Norman Meller, a political scientist and founding director of the Pacific Islands Studies Program, who passed away in 2000.