diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index 2bf39e3..d7b3697 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ install:
   - pip install $NUMPY
   - if [[ $TRAVIS_PYTHON_VERSION = pypy* ]] ; then pip install "numpy<1.16.0" ; fi       # FIXME: pypy bug in numpy
   - python -c 'import numpy; print(numpy.__version__)'
-  - pip install "awkward>=0.9.0"
+  - pip install "awkward>=0.9.0rc1"
   - python -c 'import awkward; print(awkward.__version__)'
   - pip install pytest pytest-runner
   - pip install --upgrade pyOpenSSL     # for deployment
diff --git a/appveyor.yml b/appveyor.yml
index a4bc91e..92d61ba 100644
--- a/appveyor.yml
+++ b/appveyor.yml
@@ -46,5 +46,5 @@ install:
 build_script:
   - "pip install %NUMPY%"
   - "pip install pytest pytest-runner"
-  - "pip install awkward>=0.9.0"
+  - "pip install awkward>=0.9.0rc1"
   - "pytest -v tests"
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 6535878..24457ba 100755
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ def get_description():
       download_url = "https://github.com/scikit-hep/uproot-methods/releases",
       license = "BSD 3-clause",
       test_suite = "tests",
-      install_requires = ["numpy>=1.13.1", "awkward>=0.9.0"],
+      install_requires = ["numpy>=1.13.1", "awkward>=0.9.0rc1"],
       tests_require = [],
       classifiers = [
           "Development Status :: 4 - Beta",