Sidney prize is an award given to students who have excelled in their studies as well as contributed to society/student life. The prize can be awarded to a student of any age and is a great way to recognise the efforts of a hard working individual. The award can be decided upon a number of different criteria and is available for students from all over the world.

The University of Sydney offers an extensive range of prizes for submissions in a variety of written forms including poetry, plays and essays. Many of the prizes have a long history and date back to bequests received at the beginning of the 20th century. The 2022 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize was won by Yeena Kirkbright with her story ‘Camperdown Grief Junk’. The story will be published in Overland magazine.

In honour of Dr Ivan Cher, this prize was established in 2004 with a gift from Mandelbaum House and the support of the Mandelbaum Trustees. It is awarded annually on the recommendation of the Chair of the Department of Hebrew, Biblical & Jewish Studies to the student who achieves the highest mark in 12 junior units of the study program in Jewish Civilisation, Thought & Culture provided the work is of sufficient merit.

Awarded to a student who has completed the final year of the Master of Moving Image course with the best portfolio. This prize was established with the support of Sydney Film Production Company Pty Ltd (T/as Sydney Films). The prize is intended to assist with the costs of producing a feature film, and give students experience in working on real projects with industry professionals.

Originally known as the Dexter Prize, it was founded in 1968 by Ruth Edelstein Barnett to commemorate her husband, Sidney Edelstein, who was an expert on colourants and the dye processes used for their manufacture, and founder of the Dexter Chemical Corporation. The Sidney Edelstein Memorial Lecture and Symposium is held at SHOT in February each year.

In 2020, the Art Gallery of NSW launched a new award in memory of the late Australian scientist Sidney Myer. The annual Sir Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards are presented in recognition of the importance of the arts to our sense of identity and the strength of Australia’s community spirit. The awards are determined by a judging panel, which considers both past achievement and the potential of each recipient to continue contributing to Australian society in the future.

In 2004, New York Times columnist David Brooks established the SS Sidney Award to recognize works of “long-form essay that capture the best in contemporary American scholarship and commentary”. The prize is named after philosopher and political theorist Sidney Hook. In 2018, the prestigious prize was won by Amanda Hess for her article on online sexism. This was followed by a piece by Brooks and William Zinsser criticizing student hypersensitivity, which can lead to mental health problems and prevent students from being ready for the workplace.