The Public History Prizes

in partnership with the Historical Association & the IHR Public History Seminar

New student prizes

We are delighted to announce two new awards designed to recognise outstanding work on themes relevant to public history by undergraduate and postgraduate students.

These awards are part of a suite of national prizes launched in 2015 by the Royal Historical Society and the Institute of Historical Research Public History Seminar, which aim topromote the field of public history by recognising work that enhances public understanding of the place of the past in today’s social, political and cultural life.

The Historical Associationhas now joined the partnership, giving a welcome new reach into student work, as well as bringing the two main professional bodies for history together to celebrate the best of public history in Britain.

The Student Awards will be made annually. Winners will receive a plaque and an award of up to £300. In addition, winners and highly commended entrants will be invited to speak about their work at a one-day symposium in early 2018.

Closing date: 30th November 2017

General criteria

The judges are looking for student work that responds in creative and innovative ways to the interpretation and exploration of the past in the present. We have a broad and inclusive understanding of public history and welcome any form of historical representation or argument that engages public audiences and/or deals with the roles of heritage, history and historians in public life.

  • At the time of submission the author/creator must be a registered student.
  • All submissions must be made electronically and be easily accessible. For example PDFs of exhibition boards, digital files for film and/or podcasts.
  • Essays and other academic writing are welcome but must deal with themes relevant to public history. For example, what public history is, its priorities, methods and concepts.
  • All entries should include a covering sheet containing:
  • A short commentary (no more than 300 words) explaining how the work connects to important themes and concerns in public history.
  • A short reference by the student’s supervisor, tutor or mentor (the latter may represent a partner organisation) concerning the qualities of the entry.

Additional undergraduate criteria

  • Texts of any kind should not exceed 3000 words including footnotes/endnotes but excluding bibliography.
  • Recognising that undergraduates may not be in the position to realise public history outputs such as exhibitions, submissions may include plans, designs, posters, models, mock-ups and similar outputs that show an intended ‘product’.
  • Any non-textual submission must be accompanied by an explanatory essay.

Additional postgraduate criteria

  • Texts of any kind should not exceed 5000 words including footnotes/endnotes but excluding bibliography.
  • Outputs may include an exhibition, podcast or video programme, a website, an audio-trail or a piece of popular historical writing. If the output is not submittable, images should be provided and an indication of whether jurors can arrange a visit to see the output in situ.
  • All postgraduate submissions must include a critical reflection covering historical research and project design. Aspect to consider include:
  • Methodology and sources
  • Ethical considerations
  • Any collaborative/partnership work
  • An evaluation of the output
  • Where the submission is primarily non-textual, the jurors will expect a substantial critical reflection. For primarily textual submissions the critical reflection should be shorter and include any aspects from the above list not covered in the main submission.

For further information visit