The Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology offers two annual prizes for dissertations from British and Irish universities, one for undergraduate and one for postgraduate dissertations, on the subject of the post-medieval archaeology of Britain, Europe and the wider world, from c.1500 to the present day. The aim of the prizes is to encourage new research in the field of post-medieval archaeology in British and Irish universities.
Since Autumn 2021 we have opened this prize call also to European universities (defined here as any member state of the Council of Europe). From 2022 onwards, the prize call also includes dissertations on critical heritage studies or cultural heritage management that focus on post-medieval or contemporary archaeology.
The Undergraduate (UG) Dissertation prize deadline is 1st September each year
The Post-graduate (PG) Dissertation prize deadline is the 15th December each year
The deadline for the Undergraduate Dissertation Prize is 1st September. Dissertations submitted for an undergraduate degree awarded in the previous academic year are eligible for nomination. The prize is £250, free membership of the Society for one year, and a conference bursary for the year of the award.
The deadline for the Postgraduate Dissertation Prize is 15th December. Dissertations submitted for a TAUGHT POSTGRADUATE* degree awarded in the previous academic year are eligible for nomination. The prize is £250, free membership of the Society for one year, and a conference bursary for the year of the award.
We invite University and College departments to nominate one dissertation each for each of the Dissertation Prizes. Submissions from individual students are not accepted. For further information, please contact the prize co-ordinator.
To nominate dissertations in either category, through either postal or electronic format, please contact the prize co-ordinator Dr. Erki Russow, prizes@spma.org.uk. Nomination forms will be emailed to enquirers and arrangements made for submission.
* Taught Postgraduate degrees are those equivalent to a standard English taught MA/MSc (generally year-long courses where the dissertation is one part of a larger taught component, i.e. excluding MRes degrees); this would include Scottish MPhil degrees. Please contact the prize-coordinator if there are any doubts regarding eligibility.