AAG Annual Meeting: San Francisco, California, March 17–21, 2026
The Geographic Information Science and Systems Specialty Group (GISS-SG) of the American Association of Geographers (AAG) is pleased to announce the 2026 Honors Competition for Student Papers on Geographic Information Science and Systems topics to be presented at the annual meeting. The purpose of this competition is to promote scholarship and written and oral presentation by students in the field of GIS. Papers are invited from current graduate and undergraduate students on any topic in geographical information systems and geographic information science.
Any paper that advances any aspect of GIS is welcome. We encourage papers on theoretical, conceptual, and methodological developments in GIS as well as on particular innovative GIS applications. Papers must be based upon original work, completed as an undergraduate or graduate student, relevant to the field of GIS and current GIS research. Papers must be mainly written by the applicant, but having co-authors is allowed. Students who are selected as finalists will be placed in a special session at the annual meeting. A single submission can only be submitted to one AAG special group honor paper competition. The only exception is a student who is also selected as a Nystrom Dissertation Award finalist, in which case, he or she may present in the Nystrom paper session instead.
Enhancing diversity, promoting inclusion, and broadening participation in the discipline of geography are goals that are central to the AAG and its mission. The GISS-SG strongly encourages female students and students in underrepresented groups in geography to participate in this competition.
IMPORTANT DATES
– November 7, 2025: extended abstract (~1000 words) and AAG conference abstract PIN due to Dr. Sisi Wang at siqinwan@usc.edu (pls entitle the email as “AAG GISS student competition submission)
– November 22, 2025: finalists (both undergraduates and graduates are welcome) notification
– February 14, 2026: for graduate student finalists, full paper due to Dr. Sisi Wang at siqinwan@usc.edu; for undergraduate student finalists, no full paper required.
Note: prior to extended abstract submission you must submit your conference abstract on the AAG website at which point you will obtain your abstract ID/PIN (AAG Abstract Submission Deadline: Oct 30, 2025).
AWARDS
Finalists (5-10 students will be selected each year depending on the number and quality of submissions) will be selected on the basis of the quality of extended abstracts. The extended abstract no longer than 5 pages, demonstrating GIS novel methods, toolkits, or applications of GIS to solve a real-world problem, is used by the GISS-SG Awards Committee to choose the competition finalists. Graduate student finalists must submit a paper of a substantive nature that constitutes an expanded discussion of the material to be presented orally at the annual meeting. Full paper submission is not required for undergraduate finalists. Subsequent to the oral presentations by the finalists, there will be special awards for the top 2 presenters, which will be determined immediately following the on-site presentation session-the prizes of $500 for 1st place and $250 for 2nd place. The awards are decided on the basis of the written paper or extended abstract and the oral presentation. The awards committee reserves the right to not offer such prizes if the papers are not of sufficiently high quality. The results of the competition will be published in the AAG Newsletter and the GISS-SG newsletter, as well as on the specialty group’s web page and social media.
ELIGIBILITY
The competition is open to students at all academic levels. Any paper first-authored and presented by a student is eligible for the competition, provided the paper has not already been published or presented somewhere. There is no limitation on the number of co-authors, however, the applicant student is required to be the first author. It is worth noting that your extended abstract/paper can only be submitted to one AAG special group honor paper competition. Applicants must be a current member of the AAG GISS Specialty Group (GISS-SG). For instructions on how to become a member of the Geographic Information Science and Systems Specialty Group, simply contact the AAG.
JUDGING
Extended abstracts and written papers will be judged by the GISS-SG Awards Committee (Chair, Vice Chair, Academic Director, Communications Director, Commercial Director, Governmental Director, and Student Director) on several criteria: potential contribution to the field of GIS, originality, appropriate use of methodology, scholarship, organization, and written composition. The oral presentation of papers will be judged on professional delivery, organization, clarity, and appropriate use of graphics. Judging will take into account the academic level of the applicants.
FINALISTS
Finalists will be notified by November 22, 2025. Each graduate student finalist will be asked to submit a written paper of about 4,000-6,000 words, expanding on the material in the extended abstract. This paper will be due no later than February 14, 2026. Details about the final written paper are provided lower on this page.
GUIDELINES FOR EXTENDED ABSTRACTS
To be considered for participation in the GIS paper competition, an extended abstract must be submitted (about 1000 words, no more than 5 pages including figures; references don’t count to the page limit) (12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and single-spaced lines). Applicants must clearly indicate that they wish to be considered for the GISS-SG Student Paper Competition. All submissions not accepted for the competition by the awards committee will be incorporated into the AAG meeting program in other sessions. Students can use the Word Template or Latex Template for extended abstract submissions. Applicants must also submit an AAG abstract PIN which is issued when successfully submitting an abstract for the AAG meeting (in other words, you must register for the AAG in-person meeting and submit a short abstract using the AAG’s registration website, before submitting your longer abstract to the GISS-SG competition). The extended abstract and AAG abstract PIN are due to the GISS-SG Academic Director. Please send abstracts with [GISS Competition-First and Last Name-Grad/Undergrad] headline via email as an attachment (Microsoft Word or PDF) to Dr. Sisi Wang (siqinwan@usc.edu).
GUIDELINES FOR FULL PAPERS
Papers, including the related bibliography and associated tables and figures, should be submitted in the format used by the International Journal of Geographical Information Science (see www.tandfonline.com/action/… ). A cover page listing the author’s (or authors’) name(s), student status, academic affiliation, faculty advisor for the paper, mailing address, phone numbers, and email address should also be included. The second page should include only the title of the paper and the 250-word abstract. The content of the paper should begin on the third page. The final written paper should be submitted electronically via email to Dr. Sisi Wang (siqinwan@usc.edu) as an attachment (12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, double spaced). The content of the paper is limited to about 20 pages in length (including text, references, figures and tables, about 4000-6000 words total).
Please send all submissions and inquiries to:
Dr. Siqin (Sisi) Wang
Academic Director, Geographic Information Science and Systems Specialty Group
Associate Professor, Spatial Sciences Institute, University of Southern California
Email: siqinwan@usc.edu
