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About the Library Prize
*The submission period for the 2024-2025 Library Prize for Undergraduate Research is now closed. Please bookmark this page for updates about the 2025-26 submission period.
The Library Prize recognizes and honors research excellence and includes cash prizes ranging from $400 to $700 across various project categories. Submissions are open to any undergraduate student or group who has completed a research paper or project — either for a course or independently — over the past 12 months. Winners will be acknowledged during an award ceremony as part of UCLA Undergraduate Research Week(opens in a new tab).
If you are a current UCLA undergraduate student and can answer "yes" to the questions below, your paper or project may be just what the selection committee is looking for!
- Did you or your team use UCLA Library collections for a research paper or project you completed for a course in the last twelve months?
- Did your use of library collections and services help to increase the scope, depth and significance of what you learned?
- Did your research skills grow because of your use of library collections?
- Did your use of library collections inform and strengthen other types of research you performed?
Please see our application procedures page for more details about eligibility, requirements and selection criteria.
Prize Categories
The Library Prize consists of awards in nine academic categories:
| Prize Subject | First Prize | Second Prize |
|---|---|---|
| Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences | $700 | $400 |
Science, Engineering & Math | $700 | $400 |
| Best project using resources from UCLA Library Special Collections | $700 | $400 |
| Best project using resources from an international collection (NEW) | $700 | $400 |
| Best research project completed for the Cluster Program ((must be a current student in the program) | $700 | $400 |
| Best project on music after 1900 Funded by the Hugo and Christine Davise Fund for Contemporary Music | $700 | N/A |
| Best project using resources from the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library(opens in a new tab) | $700 | N/A |
| Best project using resources from the UCLA Film & Television Archive Research and Study Center(opens in a new tab) (NEW) | $700 | N/A |
| Best research project completed by an underclassmen (first or second-year direct entry student) | $700 | N/A |
Background about the Prize
The inspiration for the UCLA Library Prize for Undergraduate Research came from Ruth Simon, lover of books and libraries.
Simon earned her B.A. in English at UCLA and served as UCLA’s campus counsel for many years until her retirement in 2003. Her many memories of her college years include countless hours spent in the undergraduate library, studying for classes and exams or enjoying classic works of English literature.
Guided by her passion for reading and research and wishing to share her love of libraries, Simon established the Ruth Simon Library Prize for Undergraduate Research, the first endowment of its kind at UCLA, to inspire and reward UCLA undergraduates for outstanding library research now and for generations yet to come.
