On June 25, 2025, researcher Lourival Aguiar Teixeira Custodio, of the Department of Anthropology at the Faculty of Philosophy, Letters, and Human Sciences (FFLCH) of the University of São Paulo (USP), was honored with an honorable mention in the 14th edition of the USP Outstanding Thesis Award; supervised by Professor João Felipe Ferreira Gonçalves, his work “Habaneros Negros: Racial Relations, Stigmatization, and Afro‑Cubanidad in a Havana Neighborhood” was recognized in the broad area of Social and Cultural Inclusion and Reduction of Inequalities. Another FFLCH student also received an honorable mention, and two others were awarded prizes in their respective fields. According to Professor Murilo Romero, general coordinator of the award, the ceremony recognizes and rewards the most outstanding theses across the various disciplines of the University.
In all, 39 researchers were honored during the event, which encompasses thirteen major areas: Agrarian Sciences, Biological Sciences, Exact and Earth Sciences, Health Sciences, Engineering, Human Sciences, Linguistics, Literature and Arts, Interdisciplinary Studies, Applied Social Sciences, Social and Cultural Inclusion and Reduction of Inequalities, Innovation, Economic Sustainability and Secular Economy, and Environmental Sustainability.
Other Awarded or Recognized FFLCH Students
In the broad area of Human Sciences, Victor Gonçalves de Sousa received a prize for his dissertation “Practical Reason and Its Role in Determining the Ends of Action in Aristotle’s Practical Philosophy,” under the supervision of Evan Robert Keeling, faculty member of the Department of Philosophy.
Ellen Maria Martins de Vasconcellos was awarded in the broad area of Linguistics, Literature, and Arts for her dissertation “Surviving Catastrophes: A Contemporary Literary Analysis,” supervised by Professor Pablo Fernando Gasparini, of the Department of Modern Languages.
Apoena Dias Mano received an honorable mention in the broad area of Social and Cultural Inclusion and Reduction of Inequalities for her dissertation “From Friction to Action: A Mobile Ethnography on Socio‑spatial Inequalities,” supervised by Bianca Stella Pinheiro de Freire Medeiros.
Award Criteria
According to Romero, the selection of research begins with each graduate program within the University’s units nominating three outstanding theses to the Office of the Vice‑Provost for Graduate Studies (PRPG) at USP.
Upon receipt of these nominations, the PRPG appoints coordinators for each major area; these coordinators, together with their commissions of researchers, determine which theses demonstrate the greatest originality, relevance to scientific, technological, cultural, social, and innovation‑driven development, and the highest added value to the educational system.
The winners receive BRL 10,000, and their supervisors are awarded BRL 5,000. “The ceremony honors the excellence of the results achieved,” emphasizes Adenilso Simão, Deputy Vice‑Provost of the PRPG.