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Charles E. Merriam Award 

This award is not awarded in 2024.



The Merriam Award honors an individual whose published work and career represent a significant contribution to the art of government through the application of social science research.  This biennial award will next be presented at the 2025 APSA Annual Meeting.  It carries a cash prize of $500.


Nomination Information

  • Eligibility: Self-nominations are accepted. Nominees do not have to be members of APSA, affiliated with an institution in the United States, or an American citizen in order to be considered for an award.


Charles Merriam's career exemplified a combination of innovative political and social science scholarship and practical service to the community and nation.  The department he chaired in the 1920s-1940s set the agenda of the political science profession in the post World War II decades.  He was the key figure in the founding of the Social Science Research Council, and chaired it in its first decades.  His public service included membership in the Chicago City Council, and President Roosevelt's National Resources Planning Board, and the Committee on Administrative Management.  

Charles E. Merriam Award Committee



Year Recipient Affiliation
2023 Michael C. Dawson University of Chicago  
2021 Dr. Arthur Lupia University of Michigan  
2019 Pippa Norris Harvard University and Sydney Universities  
2017   Bernard Grofman University of California, Irvine
2015   Donna Shalala University of Miami
2015   Doug Rivers Stanford University
2013   Kathryn Sikkink   University of Minnesota  
2011   Robert Axelrod University of Michigan
2009 Michael Doyle Columbia University  
2007 Robert D. Putnam Harvard University  
2005 Kenneth Prewitt Columbia University  
2003 Joseph S. Nye, Jr. Harvard University  
2001 Robert Katzmann U.S. Court of Appeals  
2001 Thomas E. Mann Brookings Institution  
1999 Allen Schick University of Maryland  
1997 Gary Orfield Harvard University  
1995 Alan Rosenthal Rutgers University  
1987 Richard Nathan Princeton University  
1986 Thomas Cronin Colorado College  
1985 James L. Sundquist Brookings Institution  
1984 George F. Kennan Institute for Advanced Study  
1983 Jack Peltason  

We are continually grateful for the contributions from APSA members and friends that make our work possible. Your donation helps continue the Merriam Award and recognize future scholars for their applied research in political science and government. Thank you for your support of APSA and scholars across the discipline.


Donate now to Charles E. Merriam Award Fund

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