Menu
Log in


Member Login:

Log in



ISQOLS Best PhD Dissertation Award on Quality of Life, Well-being, and Happiness

The International Society for Quality of Life Studies (ISQOLS) presents the Best PhD Dissertation Award to recognize outstanding doctoral research in the fields of quality of life, well-being, and happiness.

The aim of this prestigious award is to promote and support the work of emerging scholars whose research makes significant contributions to applied social science topics related to quality-of-life studies.

Dissertations must be written in English and defended within the two calendar years preceding the award year. Nominations are typically submitted by the candidate’s advisor or a scholar familiar with the dissertation.

Award Details:

  • $1,500 USD prize for the winner

  • ‍ Free ISQOLS membership for one year

  • Free access to Applied Research in Quality of Life for one year

  • ️ Free registration to the ISQOLS Annual Conference

  • Up to five second-place prizes of $300 USD with additional benefits

Winners are recognized at the ISQOLS Annual Conference and may be invited to present their research during a dedicated session or webinar. This award celebrates academic excellence and encourages impactful contributions to global conversations on well-being and happiness.

The next call for the 2026 award will be announced in Fall 2025.
The nomination deadline will be 31 December 2025.

See past winners below.




2023 Award recipients: 

1st prize: Veronica Vienne “Essays on Well-being and the Environment”.

2nd prize (jointly):

Leonie Steckermeier “Autonomy and the good life. Toward a better understanding of the inequality of perceived autonomy and its significance for individual life satisfaction.”

Chris Swerts, “Towards a better understanding of the quality of life of adolescents in youth care : the development of the Quality of Life in Youth Services Scale (QOLYSS)”

3rd prize (honorable mention): Alba Aza, “Longitudinal study of quality of life in people with acquired brain injury"


2022 Award recipients: 

First Place:

Caspar Kaiser

“Four essays on applied and methodological issues in the study of subjective life satisfaction”


Second Place:

Emma Pleeging

“Understanding hope. Insights into the definition, relevance and measurement of hope from an interdisciplinary perspective”

-and-

Alberto Prati

“Memory and Subjective Well-Being. Empirical Analysis of Workers' and Consumers' Endogenous Recall Behaviors”


Honorable Mention: 

Laura Dewitte

“Losing memory, losing meaning? Towards a deeper understanding of meaning in life in older adults with Alzheimer’s disease.”


2021 Award recipients: 

First Prize:

Lucía Macchia

Subjective well-being and economic and political conditions in Latin America


Second Prize: 

Lucía Morán

Quality of life in children and youth with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability

and

Antje Jantsch

An investigation into the relationship between subjective well-being and (relative) wealth in Germany


Honorable Mention: 

Susanne Elsas

Satisfaction as an outcome, as a means, and as a cause 

and

Jessica Dávalos Aceves

The Impact of Economic and Social Context Over Human Well-Being in Latin America



2020 Award recipients: 

First Prize:

Mariana Filipa da Silva Amorim

"Quality of life in parents of very preterm infants: insights from family integrated care"

Download here: Mariana Filipa da Silva Amorim Dissertation .pdf

Second Prize: 

David B. Newman

"The Dynamics of Well-Being in Daily Life: A Multilevel Perspective"

Download here: David Newman Dissertation.pdf

Honorable Mention: 

Yu Heng Kwan

“Quality of Life of Patients with Spondyloarthritis”

Download here: Yu Heng Kwan Dissertation.pdf


2019 Award recipients: 

First Prize:

Jennifer Gerson 

"Social media use and subjective well-being: An investigation of individual differences in personality, social comparison and Facebook behaviour"

Download here: Jennifer Gerson Dissertation.pdf


Second Prizes:

Martijn Hendriks

"Migrant Happiness Insights into the broad well-being outcomes of migration and its determinants"

Download here: Martijn Hendriks Dissertation.pdf

Efstratia Arampatzi

"Subjective Well-Being in Times of Crisis, Evidence on the wider impact of economic crises and turmoil on subjective well-being"

Download here: Efstratia Arampatzi Dissertation .pdf


ISQOLS recognizes these other submissions: 

Sarah Dickerson: “Psychological well-being and Health Gains in the Developing World: Evidence from Peru and Malawi.”

Isabella Bertmann: Taking WellBeing and Quality of Life for Granted? An Empirical Study on Social Protection and Disability in South Africa” 

Isabella Bertmann Dissertation.pdf

Christian Kreke: "Evaluating the Non-Monetary Impacts of Major Events, Infrastructure, and Institutions"

Christian Krekel Dissertation.pdf

Kelsey O'Connor: "Three essays on social policy: institutional development, and subjective well-being as a cause and consequence of labor market outcomes."

Kelsey O'Connor Dissertation.pdf

Lilian Jans-Beken: "Appreciating Gratitude: New Perspectives on the Gratitude – Mental Health Connection"

Lillian Jans-Beken Dissertation.pdf

Lara Sofia Nascimento Palmeira:"When weight stigma gets under the skin: The development of Kg-Free – a new integrated acceptance, mindfulness and compassion-based group intervention”

Lara Palmeira Dissertation.pdf

Eric Trevan: "The Influence of Import Substitution on Community Development as Measured by Economic Wealth and Quality of Life"

Eric Trevan Dissertation.pdf


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Past Recipients:

2012: George Mackerron

2009: Melania Calestani

  • Honorable Mention: Adrian John Tomyn; Mehrdad Mazaheri

2007: Anke C. Zimmerman

  • Honorable Mention: Monica Gonzales

2006: Michael F. Steger

  • Honorable Mention: Ralph Kober; Cathy Rozel Franworth

2004: Karen Hwang

  • Honorable Mention: Marjan Drukker; Shannon Michele Suldo

2003: Peggy Schyns

  • Honorable Mention: Kyungmi Kim

2001: Eunkook M. Suh

  • Honorable Mention: Whitney Boling; Janet Davis Neal; Jiyeon Park; Ann P. Turnbull; Nansook Park

2000: Sirpa Sarlio-Lahteenkorva
1998: Barbara Ann Sherman
1997: Martha Kay Parker




The International Society for
Quality-of-Life Studies
(ISQOLS)


Address:
ISQOLS
P.O. Box 118
Gilbert, Arizona, 85299, USA

Email:
office@isqols.org

Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software