Student Essay Prize

Submissions are invited for the Design History Society Essay Prizes, established in 1997 to foster and support high standards in design history research in higher education. The awards recognise exceptional student contributions to the field of design history.

Two essay prizes are awarded annually; one to an undergraduate student and the other to a postgraduate (MA or PhD) student and 4 runner up prizes.

The Undergraduate and Postgraduate Essay Prize includes:

• One year's membership of the Design History Society (includes subscription to the Journal of Design History)
• Free place at the Design History Society conference “Displaying Design” in September 2023
• £100 in Oxford University Press book tokens
  

Runners up will receive one year’s free membership of the Design History Society (includes subscription to the Journal of Design History).

Winners of the Essay Prize are announced at the Annual DHS Conference. All authors are informed of the competition results in late July.

Essay Prize entry requirements:

• Undergraduate and Postgraduate student essays completed at any point between January 2022 and the submission date of the prize can be nominated for the 2023 prizes.
• The length of the Undergraduate essay should be between 2,000 and 6,000 words, including image captions and references/footnotes, but excluding the list of illustrations and bibliography. This may take the form of a free-standing essay or a visual essay. Visual Essays must be accompanied by a 1500 to 2000-word rationale with the overall content (words plus images) being equivalent to a 2,000 to 6,000 word text-based essay 75 quotes and 75 images. A word count must be provided with the essay and on the submission form.
• One digital copy of the Undergraduate essay should be emailed to the Design History Society administrator Jenna Allsopp: designhistorysociety@gmail.com, by 28 June 2023. The email subject line should clearly state “DHS Essay Prize” and the category of entry: “undergraduate”/ “postgraduate” The essay must not be previously published.
• The length of the Postgraduate essay should be between 6,000 words and 8,000 words, including image captions and references/footnotes, but excluding the list of illustrations and bibliography excluding references, image captions and bibliography. This can take the form of a free-standing essay or a thesis chapter re-worked into a free-standing essay. A word count must be provided with the essay and on the submission form.
• One digital copy of the Postgraduate essay should be emailed to the Design History Society administrator Jenna Allsopp: designhistorysociety@gmail.com, by 28 June 2023. The email subject line should clearly state “DHS Essay Prize” and the category of entry: “undergraduate”/ “postgraduate”. The essay must not be previously published.
• The essay must be accompanied by an academic nomination and Application Entry Form, available on this page.
• Essays must be submitted as PDF files with the accompanying entry form either included within or alongside the PDF in the submission email.

Essay Prize Criteria
In order to obtain the highest standards for the Design History Society Essay Prize, each submission must be supported by a professional in the field. Consideration should be given to the following selection criteria:

1. Initial selection criteria should reflect the internal assessment requirements of the nominating institution: for example, an essay graded First Class Honours.
2. The following attributes should be present in every essay selected for submission, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level:
   • Originality
   The essay should demonstrate a mature and novel approach to issues, themes, and discourses currently relevant in the field of design history.
   • Research
   The essay should demonstrate excellence in terms of breadth of research and should combine a good balance of primary and secondary sources.
   • Method
   Methods of research and delivery should reflect good practice in design history. For example, an ideal essay would demonstrate one or more of the following:
   · detailed, object-focused description and analysis
   · application of appropriate historical approaches (social, economic, cultural, etc.)
   · a sophisticated approach to interpretation, utilizing relevant theoretical perspectives (Marxism, feminism, etc.)
   · correct use of discipline-specific methodologies (archaeology, anthropology, etc.)
   • Criticality
   Competence in questioning the essay’s subject material and engaging incorporated resources, discourses and methods should be present and coherent. Submissions should surpass description of their material and demonstrate an ability to critically engage in their subject matter to further an argument.
3. Finally, the essay should:
   • be well-structured, well-written and presented to a high standard
   • include appropriate citations (footnotes or endnotes) and bibliography
   • be written in English
4. We wish to remind our applicants that;
   • the DHS is committed to supporting equalities and therefore invites applicants to reflect on and state clearly how their proposed projects address inequalities.
   • the DHS is also committed to addressing sustainability issues and invites applicants to state how their project has been shaped with an environmentally-conscious approach (in relation to travel, participation and use of resources).
   
   Good Luck!