Prize Winner Jennifer Kyker with Board Members Dwan Reece (left) & Alisha Jones.
SEM 2022 Annual Meeting, New Orleans. Photo by Deborah De La Torre.

SEM Prizes, Section Prizes, and Chapter Prizes recognize individuals for distinguished work in ethnomusicology. SEM Prizes and Section Prizes are announced and awarded at the SEM Annual Meeting, which is held in October or November. Chapter Prizes are announced and awarded at Chapter conferences, which are held between January and May.

SEM also offers various Annual Meeting Travel Awards.

Select the links below for information on prize/award application guidelines and previous awardees.

Note on Publication Dates and Prize Submissions Eligibility:

The publication date for a book is the copyright year listed on the book’s copyright page. The publication date for a journal article is the volume year of the journal. In the event that the publication of a journal issue is delayed past April 1 of the year following its volume year, an article will be considered two years after its volume year. See individual prize guidelines below for further details on the eligibility of submissions.

SEM Prizes

21st Century Fellowship

Lois Ibsen al-Faruqi Award

Ida Halpern Fellowship and Award

Ellen Koskoff Edited Volume Prize

Jaap Kunst Prize

Portia K. Maultsby Prize

Judith McCulloh Public Sector Award

Alan Merriam Prize

Nadia and Nicholas Nahumck Fellowship

Bruno Nettl Prize

Helen Roberts Prize

Charles Seeger Prize

Robert M. Stevenson Prize

Ruth Stone Prize

Klaus P. Wachsmann Prize for Advanced and Critical Essays in Organology

Deborah Wong Research & Publication Award

Honorary Membership

SEM Annual Meeting Travel Awards

Annual Meeting Travel Fund - International Awards

Annual Meeting Travel Fund - North American Awards

Annual Meeting Travel Fund - Student Awards

Gertrude Rivers Robinson Annual Meeting Travel Award

Ric Trimillos Annual Meeting Travel Award

SEM Section Prizes

African and African Diasporic Music Section (AADMS)African Libraries Student Paper Prize

African and African Diasporic Music Section (AADMS) Kwabena Nketia Book Prize

The Applied Ethnomusicology Section Paper/Project Prize 

Applied Ethnomusicology Section Travel Awards

Bess Lomax Hawes Award in Applied Ethnomusicology

Charlotte Frisbie Student Paper Prize (Indigenous Music Section)

Clara Henderson Prize (Dance, Movement, and Gesture Section)

Elizabeth May Slater Prize (Education Section)

Historical Ethnomusicology Section Student Paper Prize

Kealiinohomoku Award (Dance, Movement, Gesture Section)

Marcia Herndon Prize (Gender and Sexualities Section)

Religion, Music, and Sound Section Student Paper Prize

Social Justice Paper Prize (Crossroads Section for Difference and Representation)

The LACSEM Student Paper Prize (Latin American and Caribbean Music Section)

The Lise Waxer PMSSEM Student Paper Prize (Popular Music Section)

The Nazir Ali Jairazbhoy Prize (South Asian Performing Arts Section)

The Richard Waterman Junior Scholar Prize (Popular Music Section)

Wong Tolbert Student Paper Prize (Section on the Status of Women)

SEM Chapter Prizes

The MACSEM Lifetime Achievement Award

Hewitt Pantaleoni Award (MACSEM)

JaFran Jones Award (MIDSEM)

The Marnie Dilling Prize (NCCSEM)

James T. Koetting Prize (NECSEM)

Lise A. Waxer NECSEM Prize (NECSEM)

T. Temple Tuttle Prize (Niagara Chapter)

Ki Mantle Hood Student Prize (SEMSCHC)

The Dale Olsen Prize (SEMSEC)

Thelma Adamson Prize (SEMNW)

Vida Chenoweth Student Paper Prize (SEMSP)

Joann W. Kealiinohomoku Award for Excellence (SEMSW)