Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society
Founded 1855

To celebrate the coronation of King Charles III, LAHS will inaugurate four dissertation prizes for extended projects that focus on the Archaeology and History of Leicestershire and Rutland.

There will be two prizes for Archaeology, for the best Undergraduate (BA/BSc) and the best Post-Graduate (M-level) dissertations, and two prizes for History, one for Undergraduate and one for Postgraduate levels. The subject area includes comparative studies, where Leicestershire/Rutland is one of the main comparisons used. It also includes art and design histories, and museum and heritage studies where the focus is on Leicestershire and/or Rutland.

The inaugural prize is for dissertations submitted within the last two academic years at any UK university or institute of higher education. The 2023 prize will be for dissertations written during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 academic years. Dissertations should not previously have been published or be in publication. Thereafter, the prizes will be for dissertations written in the previous academic year alone.

Each prize winner will be awarded £250 and the opportunity to publish some of their work in the Leicestershire Historian. The abstract will be published on the LAHS website. There will be an opportunity for the winners to present their work at the annual members’ evening.

The winners will also be awarded LAHS membership for one year. Copies of the winning dissertations will be printed and lodged in the LAHS library, in The Guildhall, Leicester.

The deadline for 2023 prizes is 1 June 2023. The prizes will be awarded at the September Scarborough Lecture meeting. Thereafter, the deadline will be 31 December annually and prizes will be awarded at the Joan and Alan North Annual Lecture Meeting in March. An application form should be submitted along with a copy of the dissertation. Electronic copies of each are required. The Application form can be found here PDF 114KB.

Enquiries should be directed to the convenor of the prize committee, Professor Elizabeth Tingle, at competitions@lahs.org.uk

These guidelines can be downloaded here PDF 111KB.

Last update 6/5/2023