Best PhD Thesis Prize
UACES awards a prize annually for the PhD thesis that has made the most substantial and original contribution to knowledge in the area of contemporary European Studies in the previous year.
Scroll down for competition rules, eligibility and how to enter the 2014 prize.
2012 Winner
Awarded to Alison Johnston, for her thesis European Monetary Union and Institutional Change: The Perverse Effects of Supranational Macroeconomic Regimes on Wage Inflation submitted to the London School of Economics & Political Science. The thesis seeks to explain the divergence of sectoral wages agreements - which consisted in a strong rise of wages in the public or sheltered sectors and moderate wage increases in the sectors exposed to trade competition - after the introduction of the single currency.
The judges described the thesis as ‘excellent’ and praised Alison for her ‘innovative’ approach and the ‘considerable attention’ paid to ‘resolving a puzzle that really does seem quite anomalous.’
| Year | Winner | Thesis Title | Institution |
| 2013 winner to be announced on 3 September 2013 | |||
| 2012 | Alison Johnston | European Monetary Union and Institutional Change: The Perverse Effects of Supranational Macroeconomic Regimes on Wage Inflation | London School of Economics & Political Science |
| 2011 | Heike Klüver | Lobbying in the European Union: Interest Group Influence on Policy Formulation | University of Mannheim |
| 2010 | Ronan McCrea | Religion and the Public Order of the European Union | London School of Economics & Political Science |
| 2009 | Frank Häge | Decision-Making in the Council of the European Union: The Role of Committees | Universiteit Leiden |
| 2008 | Mihalis Kritikos | Institutions and Science in the Authorization of GMO Releases in the EU (1990-2007): The False Promise of Proceduralism | London School of Economics & Political Science |
| 2007 | Thomas Larue | Agents in Brussels: Delegations and Democracy in the European Union | Umeå Universitet |
| 2006 | Sara Hobolt | Europe in Question: The Role of Political Information in Referendums on European Integration | University of Cambridge |
| 2006 | Maria Strömvik | To Act as a Union: Explaining the development of the EU’s collective foreign policy | Lunds Universitet |
| 2005 | Dermot Hodson | Economic Governance and the Dual Outcome in Euro Area Fiscal Policy 1999-2002 | London School of Economics & Political Science |
Nominate for 2014 Best PhD Thesis Prize
The deadline for nominations is 31 January 2014.
To be eligible for the award, the PhD thesis must:
- have been written in English;
- have been examined in the previous calendar year (i.e. up to 31 December 2013);
- be authored by an Individual or Student member of UACES.
Nominations should be sent to the UACES office and must be made by the PhD supervisor in conjunction with the external examiner and must include:
- two printed copies of the thesis (i.e. we mean hard-copies, which should be bound, although we do not expect expensive binding);
- an electronic copy of the thesis (PDF sent to admin@uaces.org);
- a copy of the completed nomination form.
The prize is 100 GBP and the winning scholar will be invited to attend our Annual Conference as our guest and to collect the prize.
Competition Rules
- The jury's decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into;
- No responsibility is accepted for ineligible entries;
- UACES does not accept any responsibility for late or lost entries. Proof of sending is not proof of receipt;
- UACES reserves the right to cancel this competition at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion;
- It is not always possible to return submissions;
- Entrants will be deemed to have accepted these rules and to agree to be bound by them when entering this competition.