International Society for First World War Studies’ President’s Undergraduate Essay Prize 2025
As a part of its mission to support the “study of the First World War”, and “to give young researchers the opportunity to present and discuss their work”, the ISFWWS invites applications for its first annual Undergraduate Essay Prize. The competition is open to any undergraduate students worldwide from a recognised University or HEI with the support of a member of academic or faculty teaching staff, and the essay can be about ‘any aspect of the First World War that you find interesting’.
Regulations:
Prize: The winner will receive a one-time award of £100, and the winning essay will be published as a prize essay via the society journal, First World War Studies*, accompanied by short excerpts from the judges’ comments by way of preface.
Frequency: Annual
Eligibility Criteria:
- Applicants must be a current undergraduate student (at the time of application) from a recognised University or HEI, and have the support of a member of academic/teaching staff.
- The essay topic is open to all subject areas, fields and disciplines, and is limited only to ‘any aspect of the First World War that you find interesting’.
- Essays must:
- be a recent, original piece of work created by the applicant while registered as an undergraduate student, based on a core of primary sources. This can either be adapted from a piece of submitted coursework or created especially for this competition. Literature or scholarship reviews are not eligible.
- be coherently and fully referenced, with a full bibliography attached.
- be 3000 words long (+/- 10%), including references but excluding bibliography.
- not have been previously published, or be under consideration for any other prizes/awards or publication elsewhere.
- not have been submitted for consideration of the ISFWWS Undergraduate Essay Prize in a previous year.
- be written in English**
Application and Selection Process:
- Applications open on 1 st April 2025 and close on 31 st July 2025
- Applicants must submit a PDF copy of their essay and completed cover sheet to president@firstworldwarstudies.org with the subject title ‘ISFWWS Undergraduate Essay Prize submission’
- Any applications that are made without a completed cover sheet will not be considered.
- The winning essay will be chosen by a panel of 5 judges, comprising:
- the Society President, three members of the Society, and a member of the Editorial Board of the society journal, First World War Studies.
- All eligible essays will be fully anonymised by the President prior to being seen by the panel of judges.
- Judges are eligible to support the submission of their own students’ work. In the event of this happening, that judge will recuse themselves from the decision process and, if required, swap their position with a member of one of the existing Awards and Prize Committee.
- In the event of a tied vote between the judges, the President will cast the deciding vote
- The winner will be notified by email no more than 12 weeks after the closing date
- The winning essay will be chosen solely on its academic and scholarly merit based on the following criteria:
- Interaction with existing literature
- Demonstrated understanding of the time period
- Originality of research and argument
- Clarity of writing style
* Publication in the journal as an essay prize is subject to meeting the usual essential publication standards, which will be considered by the judges when deciding the winner. Any edits requested by the journal will need to be completed ahead of publication.
** Submissions in other languages may be considered in future years depending on the makeup of the judging panel