The Outstanding Graduate Student Dissertation Award recognizes the best dissertation submitted by a Ph.D. student in the past year. The award is based on research performance and the quality of the written dissertation.

• 2020: Molly Lockart
• 2019: Juliette Commodore Botoklo
• 2018: Kerry Barnett
• 2017: C. J. Pruitt
• 2016: Ashley Jolly
• 2015: Parker McCrary
• 2014: Mier An
• 2013: Samantha Bokatzian-Johnson
• 2012: Yu-Hsiang Wang
• 2011: Whitney Hough
• 2009: Ligia Focsan
• 2008: Andrei Honciuc
• 2007: Elizabeth Western
• 2006: Luyi Sun
• 2001: Trent Selby