Information for student nominees
Up to five President's Awards for Excellence in Student Leadership are presented each year during convocation to recognize excellence in student leadership for graduating (undergraduate or graduate) students.
Information for student nominees
To be considered for the President's Award, you must first be nominated by someone, and you must complete the student nominee form linked below.
This form provides you the opportunity to share up to ten examples of positive contributions you have made to the UCalgary community.
The webform closes on March 1, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. MT.
Student nominee eligibility
To be eligible for nomination, students must be in their graduating year of a graduate or undergraduate program. Nomination is based on the degree the student is currently receiving, and students are eligible to receive the award one time only.
Should a student become ineligible at any point in the process (e.g., if the student intends to graduate but does not do so in the planned year), their nomination will be withdrawn.
As a student nominee, you must:
- Use an @ucalgary.ca email address for your submission
- Be in good conduct standing for non-academic misconduct, which will be verified by the Student Conduct Office
- Consent to a review of your transcript by the selection committee
- Have only one nominator
- Successfully convocate (if a student does not convocate, a new nomination will need to be submitted in their graduating year in order to be considered)
- Note: Students in the Leaders in Medicine program are only eligible in their graduating year (i.e., the year they are attending convocation).
Please note that in submitting your application, you are verifying that you are in good conduct standing and you consent to this being verified by the Student Conduct Office. Note that details of non-academic misconduct cases are not shared through this process.
If you are currently involved in a non-academic misconduct process, or have been found responsible for a violation of the Student Non-Academic Misconduct Policy and you are unsure of your conduct standing, please contact conduct@ucalgary.ca to verify your status. More information can be found at the Student Conduct Office FAQ page.
Dates and deadlines
Applications are now closed.
Frequently asked questions
You must have only one primary nominator. Click here to find information for nominators.
You must successfully convocate in order to receive the President’s Award for Excellence in Student Leadership. If you are selected to receive the award but do not convocate, you need to be nominated again in your graduating year in order to be considered at that time.
No, you must use an @ucalgary.ca email address to submit your nomination form.
Yes, part of the process for completing the nominee form is to provide consent for the selection committee to review your transcript. Part of the criteria for this award is academic excellence.
The President’s Award is one of the university’s premier awards, and each winner is expected to attend their convocation ceremony to receive the award from the president. Winners will also be invited to attend the convocation dinner.
Feel free to emphasize your involvement, but don’t overstate your role or claim any undue credit. For example, if you co-founded a group on campus with two other students, please provide those details rather than simply stating that you founded the group. One sign of a good leader is that you work well with others. You don’t need to lead every project in order to make an important and valuable impact.
Yes you can. Please feel free to include examples of work that made a big impact for a small number of people.
This award is connected to the credential you’re graduating with, so your examples should be primarily from your time completing that credential at UCalgary. The evaluation committee understands that some programs are shorter than others, and will take that into account when reviewing the nominations.
We’re so glad you asked! Here are some ways you can ensure your submission is as strong as possible:
- be concise
- provide honest information
- refrain from embellishing your answers
- don’t include paid positions (focus on volunteer positions and/or activities that go above and beyond paid experience)
- don’t include activities that aren’t relevant to the university or community building (for example, being the leading scorer on a sports team)
No. You only need to be graduating in the year that you apply for the award.
Yes. Completed nominator and nominee forms, as well as supporting letters, are due for any students being considered for the President's Award at the June or November convocation ceremonies. Because all nominations are adjudicated at the same time, nominees are required to apply by the March deadline even if they are planning to graduate in November.