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Malm Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Student Writing

Photographed are (left to right): Professor Christopher Hill and the 2017 Malm Award recipients, Tsukumo Niwa, Oona Nicholas, Lia Salmansohn, and Jing Chen.

William P. Malm Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Student Writing in Japanese Studies

Founded in 2010 through a grant from the University of Michigan Office of the Provost, the William P. Malm Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Student Writing in Japanese Studies seeks to encourage and recognize exceptional writing on Japan. The award honors Professor Emeritus William P. Malm, a long-time faculty member of the Center for Japanese Studies, the leading ethnomusicologist of Japan, and one of the founders of the field of ethnomusicology in the United States.

Eligibility

Originally requiring a CJS faculty nomination, students may nominate themselves starting in the 2023–24 academic year.

To be eligible, papers must be written for an academic requirement at the University of Michigan by a student enrolled in a U-M degree program, and must be no more than 50 pages, double-spaced, in length. Academic requirement is broadly defined to include course assignments, honors essay, master's theses, and PhD qualification papers. Exam essays (in class or take home), and papers prepared for publication, conferences, or workshop presentation are not eligible.

Prize

One $500 prize will be awarded annually in each category (undergraduate and graduate).

Submissions

Students must submit a Malm Award Nomination Form along with a copy of the nominated work to CJS (PDF format required).

Deadline

The deadline for nominations is March 31 annually. Submissions are evaluated by the CJS admissions and funding committee and winners are announced in mid-April.