CAAPA has several award programs that recognize members’ academic and professional achievements and promote academic exchanges between China and United States. The awards are selected by a committee of three to five faculty members who are either CAAPA members or representatives from institutional sponsors. Applications are accepted in the Spring of each year.
Wen Wang Award for Best Young Scholar Paper
The Young Scholar Manuscript Award was established in 2016. It was renamed as the Wen Wang Award for Best Young Scholar Paper (王闻奖) in memory of Dr. Wen Wang, CAAPA President, 2017-2018, for his significant contribution to the research collaboration and academic exchanges between China and United States in the field of public affairs and his mentorship to young scholars.
The Wen Wang Award is given annually to a manuscript written by a CAAPA member at the rank of assistant professor and published (either online or in print) in the preceding calendar year. Co-authored papers will be eligible for the competition only if the co-coauthor(s) are either students or at the same rank as an assistant professor. Each author could submit up to one single- or co-authored paper.
Amount: The awardee will receive a cash prize of $500 and an engraved plaque.
Submission: To apply for the award, please fill out the application form and submit an eligible paper to Dr. Pengju Zhang at pengju.zhang@rutgers.edu by April 30th, 2025. Please indicate “Wen Wang Award Application” in the email subject line.
Deadline: April 30, 2025 (EST)
* Please consider contributing to the Wen Wang Endowment Fund which supports the Wen Wang Award.
| Award Committee | |
|---|---|
| Name | Affiliation |
| Dr. Pengju Zhang (Chair) | Rutgers University, Newark |
| Dr. Markie McBrayer | University of Idaho |
| Dr. Nick Petrovsky | City University of Hong Kong |
| Dr. Tianyi Xiang | Peking University |
CAAPA Best Student Paper Award
The CAAPA Best Student Paper Award was established in 2016. The Award is given annually to a paper authored by a student member of CAAPA, presented at a major public affairs conference, or published (either online or in print) in the preceding calendar year. Co-authored papers will be eligible for the competition only if the co-coauthor(s) are also students. Each author would be allowed to submit up to one single- or co-authored paper.
Amount: The awardee will receive a cash prize of $200 and an engraved plaque.
Submission: To apply for the award, please fill out the application form and submit an eligible paper to Dr. Pengju Zhang at pengju.zhang@rutgers.edu by April 30th, 2025. Please indicate “CAAPA Student Paper Award Application” in the email subject line.
Deadline: April 30, 2025 (EST)
| Award Committee | |
|---|---|
| Name | Affiliation |
| Dr. Pengju Zhang (Chair) | Rutgers University, Newark |
| Dr. Markie McBrayer | University of Idaho |
| Dr. Nick Petrovsky | City University of Hong Kong |
| Dr. Tianyi Xiang | Peking University |
CAAPA Student Travel Award
The CAAPA Student Travel Award is a travel grant to support eligible graduate students to present their scholarly work, network, collaborate, and take advantages of the professional development opportunities.
Eligibility: Current CAAPA member at the time of application and of conference presentation; Current student at the time of application; Presenting research in a CAAPA co-sponsored academic meeting or other academic conferences in public administration, public management, public policy, political science, or related fields; A student can receive no more than one travel grant award per calendar year.
Amount: Each successful applicant will be awarded $400 to defray their travel expenses at a CAAPA-co-sponsored conference, $300 for other international conferences, or $200 for other domestic conferences. The award will be distributed as a reimbursement after the conference. Awardees must submit proofs of conference presentations in order to receive the reimbursement.
Application Material: (1) Application form; (2) A current Curriculum Vitae; (3) Paper abstract acceptance letter; (4) Full paper provided to the conference organizers by required deadlines.
Submission: Please submit the entire application package in a single PDF document to the Travel Award Committee Chair, Dr. Kelly Yu Shi at yu.shi@unt.edu, with the email title of CAAPA student travel award.
Deadline: We review applications based on two deadlines. April 30, 2025 (U.S. EST) for travel between May 1, 2025 and August 31, 2025. November 30, 2025(U.S. EST) for travel between September 1, 2025 and April 30, 2026.
| Award Committee | |
|---|---|
| Name | Affiliation |
| Yu (Kelly) Shi (Chair) | University of North Texas |
| Yifan Chen | Shanghai Jiaotong University |
| Shihong Weng | Eastern China Normal University |
CAAPA Dissertation Fellowship
The China-America Association for Public Affairs (CAAPA) was established to foster research collaboration and academic exchanges between China and the U.S. in the field of public administration and public affairs. The purpose of the CAAPA Dissertation Fellowship Program is to support student research and encourage students to connect with the CAAPA community. This program provides an important link between CAAPA’s academic mission and its research objectives by supporting scholars early in their careers. The program invites applications from doctoral students at the stage of doctoral dissertation development. The program aims to support the development of a thesis proposal and/or completion of thesis research.
Eligibility: An eligible applicant must be an active CAAPA student member who is currently seeking a doctoral (Ph.D.) degree in the field of public administration or related fields in the United States. The applicant should have received their doctoral candidacy as defined by their academic institutions (e.g., have completed the comprehensive examinations or passed the prospectus defense).
Amount: The program will provide a fellowship of $1,000 to each recipient. There will be up to two recipients each year depending on program funding.
Application Material: (1) Application Cover Sheet (use Form A); (2) Project Description (use Form B); (3) Project Abstract (use Form C); (4) Curriculum Vitae and Narrative Biography (Use Form D); (5) Letter of Support from thesis advisor (emailed separately).
Submission: Email the application to CAAPA Dissertation Fellowship Committee Chair, Dr. Gang Chen at gchen3@albany.edu, with the subject line: 2025 CAAPA Dissertation Fellowship Application.
Deadline: All application materials including the support letter must be received by 11:59 pm EST on April 30, 2025.
| Award Committee | |
|---|---|
| Name | Affiliation |
| Gang Chen (Chair) | SUNY-Albany |
| Alex Jingwei He | Hong Kong University of Science and Technology |
| Jiaqi Liang | University of Illinois Chicago |