Awards - IPSA Guillermo O'Donnell Award for Latin American Scholars

The IPSA Guillermo O'Donnell Award for Latin-American Scholars is meant to reward a Latin American scholar with residence in the region who is working on pioneering and innovative research in Political Science. The award recipient is invited to attend the upcoming IPSA World Congress and present a lecture.  The award was launched at the 2023 World Congress in Buenos Aires.

Prize: $3,000 USD (1 recipient)

The prize offers $3,000 USD for the IPSA World Congress for one winner. The cash prize is the total award; no further reimbursement is to be awarded to one winner.

Condition: The award recipient is to attend the upcoming IPSA World Congress and present a lecture to receive the monetary award. Remote participation will be possible only when the event is fully virtual for the Congress in question.

Application Procedures

The following are the criteria for the award:

a. Academic/Education Criteria:

  1. Early-career scholars: the recipient must have completed his or her PhD within the last seven (7) years; 
  2. No age requirement.

b. Demographic/Geographic Eligibility:

  1. The recipient must be a Latin American scholar with residence in the region;
  2. The recipient must have resided in this region for a minimum of 5 consecutive years;
  3. The following are considered as part of Latin America:
    - All countries in South America, including Brazil;
    - All countries in Central America and the Caribbean, including Mexico and Puerto Rico.

c. Condition: the award recipient is to attend the upcoming IPSA World Congress and present a lecture to receive the monetary award.

Submitting Applications

The application period for the IPSA Guillermo O'Donnell Award for Latin-American Scholars is open.

2025 Application Form - Guillermo O'Donnell Award


Application deadline: 1 March 2025

Applicants for the award are expected to submit the following supporting documents (in PDF format only) in order to complete the application.

  1. a curriculum vitae,
  2. a statement of the nature of the research project and an explanation as to why this work is innovative;
  3. a letter of reference from an academic familiar with the applicant’s work certifying his or her academic status and indicating his or her suitability for the award;
  4. a representative sample of written work whose length should not be greater than a scientific journal article;
  5. a letter confirming institutional affiliation as proof of residence in the Latin American region.

The IPSA Committee on Organization, Procedures and Awards (COPA) will assess candidates’ written work.