Nomination Deadline: 11:59pm EDT, 15 April 2024

The Alfred Einstein Award will honor each year a musicological article of exceptional merit, published during the previous year (2023) in any language and in any country by an early-career scholar who is a member of the AMS or a citizen or permanent resident of Canada or the United States. “Early-career" is here defined as no more than twelve years beyond completion of the PhD degree. If you are an author who is more than twelve years beyond the PhD, a confidential eligibility appeal* can be submitted, please see below for additional details.

The committee, consisting of five scholars, will choose a single winner from among all the candidates. The winner receives a monetary prize and a certificate, as well as recognition at the Annual Meeting of the Society. An individual may receive the award only once, but winning the Einstein Award will not preclude winning the H. Colin Slim Award at a later stage of the career. An article may receive an AMS award only once.

Anyone may submit a nomination. Nominations, including self-nominations, must be submitted by 15 April 2024.

*Eligibility Appeals: If you are an author whose career trajectory does not technically fit the stated eligibility criteria for "early career professional," you may request that your article be considered if you can otherwise show that you are still in the early stages of your musicology research or teaching career. Such requests are kept confidential and if approved, will authorize you to nominate your work for the Einstein Award. Eligibility appeals are generally granted to those whose publication does not fall within the twelve-year post terminal degree window because of delays caused by career switching, ill health, pregnancy, or other personal circumstances.

If you wish to make an eligibility appeal, please email your request and rationale to ams@amsmusicology.org at least six weeks prior to the award nomination deadline. Your email should specifically state the eligibility criteria that you do NOT meet and which you would like waived, and why. Decisions on eligibility appeals will be provided within one month of the submission of the appeal. If your eligibility is approved, you will be authorized to submit a nomination for the Einstein Award. Your nominated work will still have to undergo the usual committee review process and meet all other applicable requirements.

View current committee membership