To promote and to recognize research excellence in Human Resources Management.
To provide more visibility to individuals who have completed a master’s program in Human Resources or an aligned discipline at a Canadian university.

THE AWARD

The award consists of a certificate and a cash grant of $2,000.

ELIGIBILITY

The competition is open to any person who, during the past two academic years (2009-2010, and 2010-2011), has successfully defended a thesis which was a requirement for obtaining a master’s degree from a Canadian university, in a discipline aligned with the field of Human Resources Management (including programs of administrative studies, business administration, psychology, education, etc.).

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Initially, interested individuals are required to submit a thesis summary, and an Award Application form. The summary (2-5 single-spaced pages excluding references) should briefly outline the purpose of research and hypotheses, describe the methodology used, summarize the major findings, and discuss the research and practical implications particularly as they relate to human resources practice. The Award Application can be downloaded and mailed in along with three copies of the thesis summary to the Human Resources Research Institute. Three copies of the thesis abstract and two copies of the Award Application form should be submitted to:

Awards Committee
HRRI
150 Bloor St. West
Suite 200
Toronto, ON M5S 2X9

The deadline for receipt of the summaries is February 24th, 2012. No e-mail or electronic submissions will be accepted. The 2012 Best Master's Thesis Award has now closed.

SELECTION PROCEDURES

Theses abstracts will be blind reviewed by a committee, consisting of three professors, with research expertise in the field of Human Resources Management. The committee will choose the three best theses, and ask their authors to submit a thirty page paper, based on the thesis. These papers will be reviewed by the same committee, which will determine the winner.

The winner will be notified of the results by June 15th, 2012. The award winner will be announced by HRRI, and recognized in an appropriate way by the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA).

DEADLINES

The deadlines for the activities of the Awards Committee are as follows:
February 24th, 2012 – last date for submission of abstracts and application forms
March 15th, 2012 – top three finalists to be notified of their selection
May 9th, 2012 – last date for submission by finalists of article based on thesis
June 15th, 2012 – winner and runners up notified

Recent Award Winners

2011

David Whiteside, Wilfrid Laurier University—2011 HRRI Winner for Best Master’s Thesis with a cash prize of $2,000, The Sounds of Silence: The Roles of Overall Fairness and Perceived Organizational Support in Predicting Employee Silence.

2010

Guillaume C.F. Pain, John Molson School of Business at Concordia University, 2010 Winner for Best Master’s Thesis with a cash prize of $2,000, Organizational Learning: Bridging Theory to Practice, an exploration of the gap that exists between organizational learning (OL) theory and OL practices replicated in the workplace.