Deadlines for each of the awards is January 31. Call for nominations is announced in the ICA Newsletter, typically in the November issue. Please check those newsletters for more detailed information about nomination deadlines and required supporting material. All nominees must be ICA members with the exception of those nominated for the: 

• Steven H. Chaffee Career Productivity Award
• James W. Carey Urban Communication Award
• Communication Research as Collaborative Practice
• Communication Research as an Agent of Change
• Communication Research as an Open Field

Click here to view a list of award recipients.
Click links below for individual award guidelines.

The award honors a scholar (or small group of collaborating scholars) for sustained work on a communication research problem over an extended period. The selection committee favors research that is original, asks conceptually rich questions, and offers empirically sound evidence. The research must have comprised multiple projects and publications and generated second-generation work among students and other scholars. Rather than recognizing general productivity in the field or contributions to ICA, the award acknowledges sustained and coherent work on a well-focused communication problem central to the communication discipline. Most recipients are members of the discipline and belong to ICA, but other scholars are eligible, regardless of current membership or department affiliation. The award carries a cash prize of $1000, and the winner presents research at the following year’s ICA conference.

Nomination Procedures

To nominate, see also the General Guidelines. The following requirements apply to this award:

a. The nominating letter(s) must specify the relevant body of work, the communication research problem it addresses, its conceptual and empirical contributions, its development over time and record of publication, and its influence on second-generation work by other scholars; and

b. The copies of the publications must include three (3) representative examples from the body of work.

 This annual prize supports communication research that enhances urban social interaction and civic engagement in an age of global communication. It encourages applied research on the role of city and community at a time when communication technology alters the parameters of the urban landscape. The award is for proposals that feature innovation and creative approaches to reconciling the growing gap between tradition and modernity as suburban sprawl threatens the very nature of urban traditions.

 In A Critical Reader Carey noted “I think all education, all scholarship is ultimately an aspect of citizenship.” The form of urbanity and community was an intrinsic part of this theme in the scholarship of James W. Carey. He was concerned with the impact of time and spaced media upon the changing form of the urban domain and the consequence of accelerated change upon community.

 This award facilitates research in progress or in the planning stages. It gives priority to projects that study places where traditional modes of communication are being juxtaposed with the new, including  the adoption of changes that may have a radical impact. Proposals from developing nations are encouraged.

 The award is for the sum of $1,500 to $3,000 dollars. The proposals will be judged by a six person committee consisting of three members of the International Communication Association and three members of the Urban Communication Foundation who are also ICA members. The winners will be announced each year at the annual ICA business meeting. Award winners will be required to report to the UCF on the progress of their research the following year.  

Nomination Procedures

To nominate, see also the General Guidelines. The following requirements also apply to this award:

1. Letter(s) of nomination, not to exceed two pages apiece, speaking directly to each of the award criteria from the description,
2. Publication(s) relevant to the award,
3. A description of the proposed research, not to exceed three pages
4. CV(s) of the nominee(s).

The following requirements also apply: The award honors a book published in the previous two years (between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2007). The selection committee judges each nominated book on several criteria including the importance of the problem it addresses to the fields represented in ICA and to communication studies as a whole, the quality of writing and argument, and the strength of evidence it presents. The committee will consider all the available book reviews, the reputation of the publisher, and any other submitted evidence regarding the book’s quality from independent sources, along with nominating letters and their own assessment of the nominated books. Most award-winning books address a scholarly audience, but books aimed at a general readership but satisfying the criteria for the prize are also eligible--edited books are not eligible. The award carries a cash prize of $500.

Nomination Procedures

To nominate, see also the General Guidelines. The following requirements also apply to this award:

(a) Nominating letters must specify why the book should receive the award, assess the importance of the book to the fields represented in ICA, and demonstrate the quality of its writing, argument and evidence.

(b) The packet should include copies of all available evidence of the book’s quality from independent sources, such as reviews.

(c) Arrangements should be made with the publishers of nominated books for five copies to be shipped to

Michael L. Haley
International Communication Association
1500 21st Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
USA.

The award honors a scholar or group of researchers who have produced a systematic body of research in communication studying a particular applied or policy problem for the betterment of society. The program of research should be of continuing importance to a local, national, international, or global public. The researcher(s) may have implemented the studies in association with or independent from a government or established institution, possibly to refine or to criticize current policy. The research program must have been operating at some time during the previous two years (between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2006), although it likely will have had a longer history. Evidence for quality and public importance can come from conventional publications but also from such materials as technical reports, news media coverage, and testimonials from those making use of the research or those it has affected. The award carries a cash prize of $500.

Nomination Procedures

To nominate, see also the General Guidelines. The following requirements apply to this award:

a. Nominating letters must specify the applied or policy communication problem the research program addresses, indicate how it has contributed to public discourse on the topic, and make an argument for the overall quality of the research.

b. The submission must include copies of three (3) publications and/or technical reports, along with copies of evidence of the program’s effectiveness.

The award honors an article published in a refereed journal during the previous two years (between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2006). Theoretical articles and empirical articles are eligible, as are review articles that effectively redefine a problem. Selection criteria include coherence of argument, quality of conceptual development, and effective use of evidence. The selection committee prefers articles that promise to be influential over time, within a particular field of communication and also across fields. The award carries a cash prize of $500.

Nomination Procedures

To nominate, see also the General Guidelines. The following requirements apply to this award:

a. Nominating letters must indicate why the article promises to be influential within a particular field of communication and across fields.

b. The copies of the article must indicate the details of publication, including the name of the refereed journal, the date, and page numbers. The packet should include information about the circulation and impact of the journal, if available.

The award honors a scholar no more than seven years past receipt of the Ph.D. (that is, who received the degree after January 1, 2000) for a body of work that has contributed to knowledge of the field of communication and shows promise for continued development. The selection committee judges the contribution and promise of young scholars based on the strength of published work, including its conceptual foundation and argumentative clarity, on the scholar’s productivity at a given career stage, on the rigor of the research produced so far, and on the promise of existing work serving as a springboard for continuing scholarship. The award carries a cash prize of $500.

Nomination Procedures

To nominate, see also the General Guidelines. The following requirements also apply to this award:

(a) Nominating letters must indicate how the scholar has contributed to the field within communication, including the strength of conceptual foundations, argumentative clarity, rigor of research, and promise of continuing scholarship. Only one nomination letter is required. The nomination letter must be no longer than 2 pages.

(b) Nominations must include the nominee’s vita.

(c) Nominations must include links to 3 representative examples from the nominee’s body of work.

Initiated in 1988 following the death of its namesake, this award honors outstanding scholars, teachers, and advisors who serve as role models in those capacities and who have had a major impact on the field of communication. Most importantly, recipients of this award have influenced the discipline through their former students, who themselves are important figures in the communication discipline.

Nomination Procedures

To nominate, see also the General Guidelines. The following requirements apply to this award:

Material in support of nominees for this award must include a comprehensive academic vita that highlights the results of the nominee’s mentorship. Letters from a nominee’s former students are a welcome component of the nominating materials for this award.

Open to all ICA members, this award recognizes those books that have made a substantial contribution to the scholarship of the communication field as well as the broader rubric of the social sciences and have stood some test of time.

Nomination Procedures

To nominate, see also the General Guidelines. The following requirements apply to this award:

Any book nominated must have been available for at least the immediate past five years prior to the conference at which the award is presented (i.e., if the award is to be presented in 2007, the book must have been available from 2002 or earlier). The letter of nomination must demonstrate that the book has had a substantial influence on the communication field, that it integrates multiple interests, and that the author(s) is recognizably a communication scholar. Publication information, an abstract of the content, and the table of contents must accompany the nomination letter. The nomination material also may include letters of support and any other appropriate information. There may be one, none, or several awards in a given year.

A Word About ICA Fellows

The CRCP prize is awarded to researchers who engage in innovative forms of collaboration to address emergent problems in media and communication. It is designed to encourage collaborative communications research combining the efforts of researchers, practitioners, and other interested parties in the production of new knowledge.

Collaboration that falls outside the usual incentive structures of the academy and that overcomes risks associated with building new kinds of partnerships will be a focus of this reward. The award carries a cash prize of $500.

Nomination Procedures

To nominate, see also the General Guidelines.

Nominations should contain:

1. Letter(s) of nomination, not to exceed two pages apiece, speaking directly to each of the award criteria from the description
2. Publication(s) relevant to the award
3. CV(s) of the nominee(s)

The CRAC prize of $500 is awarded to research that has a demonstrable impact on practice outside the academy, with clear benefits to the community. How communication research may serve as an agent of change and social benefit is open to definition with the application for the award.

Nomination Procedures

To nominate, see also the General Guidelines. Nominations should contain:

1. Letter(s) of nomination, not to exceed two pages apiece, speaking directly to each of the award criteria from the description
2. Publication(s) relevant to the award
3. CV(s) of the nominee(s)

The CROF prize of $500 is awarded to researchers who have made important contributions to the field of communications from outside the discipline of communications. It rewards and supports dialogue with other fields and institutional locations in which vital new understandings of the communications environment and the public sphere are being produced.

Nomination Procedures

To nominate, see also the General Guidelines. Nominations should contain:

1. Letter(s) of nomination, not to exceed two pages apiece, speaking directly to each of the award criteria from the description
2. Publication(s) relevant to the award
3. CV(s) of the nominee(s)