ACADEMIC POLICIES

Delegate Resources, Rules of Procedure, Awards Policy, and more.

 ON THIS PAGE

  • ECOSOC/GA ROP

    Read the Rules of Procedure for the General Assemblies and ECOSOC & Regional Bodies committees at UTMUN 2026.

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  • ICJ ROP

    Read the Rules of Procedure for the International Court of Justice committee at UTMUN 2026. This ROP is separate from all other ECOSOC committees.

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  • SPECIALIZED ROP

    Read the Rules of Procedure for the Specialized Agencies at UTMUN 2026.

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  • CRISIS ROP

    Read the Rules of Procedure for the Crisis Committees (and Midnight Crisis) at UTMUN 2026.

    Click Here

Individual Awards Policy

The University of Toronto Model United Nations conference prioritizes learning, collaboration, and student leadership. Although awards act as a means to acknowledge delegates for their diplomacy and active participation in committee, they do not define success as a delegate. The UTMUN Secretariat urges delegates to strive for academic excellence and enjoy the experience to its fullest by engaging in debate. Success is defined by the relationships forged, skills learned, and potential unlocked through participation at UTMUN.

Individual and delegation awards will be presented during the Closing Ceremonies. To be eligible for individual awards, delegates must submit a position paper in accordance with the guidelines here.

AWARDS CRITERIA

Awards are determined by each committee's Dais, led by the Director, based on delegates’ performance. UTMUN has four (4) categories of awards: Best Delegate, Outstanding Delegate, Honorable Mention, and Best Position Paper. The number of awards available varies depending on committee size and structure.

Note: ICJ has four (4) categories of individual delegate awards: Best Judge, Outstanding Judge, Best Advocate, and Outstanding Advocate. Memorandums are required for award contention and factor into the evaluation process for all individual awards.

Award criteria based on the following three categories:

1. Consistent Participation

  • Delegates are evaluated on their active and consistent participation in terms of their speeches, notes to other delegates, private directives to backrooms, and participation in resolution paper/public directive drafting.

  • Delegates are expected to contribute to the committee’s overall course of action and are evaluated on the extent to which they influence the committee’s direction through leadership and participation.

2. Knowledge and Skill

  • Delegates should demonstrate a good understanding of the committee’s topics, goals, and structure. They are evaluated on their ability to conduct effective research and utilize their knowledge to lead the committee during debate.

  • Delegates must adhere to and exemplify a clear understanding of the UTMUN Rules of Procedure outlined here.

  • The quantity and quality of a delegate’s speeches, notes/private directives, and resolution papers/public directives are also taken into consideration.

3. Professionalism and Equity

  • Delegates are expected to collaborate with other delegates in the committee, demonstrating diplomacy and teamwork.

  • Delegates are evaluated on their ability to further their own goals as well as act as a leader, boosting the performance of other delegates to the benefit of the committee at large. Delegates should strive to foster a collaborative and supportive environment.

  • Delegates must adhere to the UTMUN Equity Policies outlined here. If equity violations are found, they will result in disciplinary action from the dais in terms of award consideration.

DELEGATION Awards Policy

AWARDS CATEGORIES

Diplomacy is and has always been a group endeavor, requiring strong collaboration, team work and vision to plan and execute. In recognition of the extreme care, passion and team work delegations invest in preparation for UTMUN, the UTMUN Secretary-General will present delegation awards at closing ceremonies after individual awards are presented.

UTMUN has five (5) categories of delegation awards: Best Overall Delegation, Best Large Delegation, Best Small Delegation, Outstanding Large Delegation and Outstanding Small Delegation.

Schools are designated ‘small’ or ‘large’ depending on if the final number of confirmed delegates attending with the school falls above or below the average delegation size per iteration.

  • EX. If the average delegation size is 15 delegates, ‘small’ delegations constitute those bringing 15 or fewer students.

AWARD CALCULATIONS

Points are granted to schools depending on which and how many individual awards are won by their students. Best Delegate awards receive 4 points, Outstanding Delegate awards receive 3 points, Honourable Mentions receive 2 points, and Best Position Papers receive 1 point.

The points are tallied and standardized over the total size of the delegation, receiving a ‘ratio’ of points per student. These ratios will determine the award winners, with the largest overall ratio winning Best Overall Delegation.

UTMUN encourages delegates to complete research for their committees prior to the conference. The research process is an important component of UTMUN preparation as it allows delegates to have the optimal experience by fully engaging with committee topics and country/character assignments. Thus, UTMUN maintains a prohibition on technology use during committee sessions with the exception of resolution paper writing.

GA/ECOSOC/Spec (RKP, Fiji)

Delegates are prohibited from accessing the internet on electronic devices during debate unless otherwise stated by the dais. Exceptions apply to unmoderated caucuses dedicated to drafting resolution papers. With permission from the dais, delegates are allowed to use electronic devices solely for the purpose of writing resolution papers. During this time, delegates may not access generative AI assistance or conduct research not relevant to their immediate resolution paper.

Working on resolution papers (pre-writing) outside of committee sessions is strictly prohibited, and if found, will result in disciplinary action from the dais in terms of award consideration.

Crisis/Spec (All other)

Delegates are prohibited from accessing the internet on electronic devices during the duration of committee unless otherwise stated by the dais. No technology is allowed during unmoderated caucuses. Public directives will be written on special paper provided by UTMUN and collected at the end of each conference day.

 Technology Policy

POSITION PAPERS

All delegates must submit a position paper to their committee Dais to be eligible for individual awards. Full formatting guidelines and submission instructions can be found here.