Academy Prizes

The American Academy currently awards eight prizes. Nominations are accepted from Academy Fellows only.

• Scholar-Patriot Award
  This award, founded in the year 2000, recognizes the extraordinary contributions of individuals who share the commitment of the Academy's founders, a group of patriots who devoted their lives to promoting the arts and sciences in service to the nation. List of recipients.
  
  
• Founders Award
  Established in the 225th anniversary year of the Academy, this award honors men, women and institutions that have advanced the ideals of the founders of the Academy. Recipients embody the spirit of the founders - a commitment to intellectual inquiry, leadership and active engagement. List of recipients.
  
  
• Amory Prize
  Given since 1931, this prize recognizes major contributions to reproductive biology. It is supported by an endowment fund established by Mr. Francis Amory. List of recipients.
  
  
• Emerson-Thoreau Medal
  The Emerson-Thoreau Medal was established in 1958 to give special recognition to distinguished achievement in the broad field of literature. Given at the discretion of the Council of the Academy on the recommendation of a nominating committee, the prize is awarded to a person for his or her total literary achievement rather than for a specific work. List of recipients.
  
  
• Award for Humanistic Studies
  The American Academy Award for Humanistic Studies was established in 1975 by the Council of the Academy in an attempt to ensure that superior humanistic scholarship, despite its lower visibility to the general reading public, receives appropriate recognition. The Humanities Award complements the Emerson-Thoreau Medal for achievement in literature. Both awards are administered by a single committee of seven members of the Academy. List of recipients.
  
  
• Rumford Prize
  Established in 1839, this is one of the oldest scientific prizes in the United States. This prize recognizes contributions to the fields of heat and light, broadly interpreted. The award now consists of a silver-and-gold medal. The endowment was created by a bequest to the Academy from Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, in 1796. List of recipients.
  
  
• Talcott Parsons Prize
  First awarded in 1974, this prize was established to honor the noted sociologist and former president of the Academy and is awarded for contributions to the social sciences (broadly defined). An effort is made to rotate the prize among the various social science disciplines, including law, history, and linguistics. List of recipients.
  
  
• Poetry Prize in Honor of May Sarton
  Presented for the first time in 2008, this prize recognizes emerging poets of exceptional promise and distinguished achievement. It was established to honor the memory of longtime Academy Fellow May Sarton, a poet, novelist, and teacher who during her career encouraged the work of young poets. List of recipients.
  
  

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