Each year, approximately one dozen of Carolina's junior faculty are selected as Breakthrough Stars. To be considered, candidates must be tenured or tenure-track assistant or associate professors, relatively early career, and demonstrate considerable contributions to their fields in terms of research and scholarly activity while at USC. This award is open to junior faculty working in all disciplines and campuses.

Nomination calls are sent out in the fall each year. Any faculty member can submit a nomination (one nomination per year, per faculty member), for a candidate who meets the eligibility requirements in the guidelines document. Award recipients are announced in January, and honored at an awards dinner in the spring.

The faculty member submitting the nomination should be familiar with the nominee's work.

2023 Breakthrough Stars Nomination Materials

 The below guidelines and forms are from the fall 2022-2023 Breakthrough Star Awards nomination cycle. This documentation is subject to change from year to year.

Submit nominations here.