Postgraduate Scholarships 2009-10
The German History Society is offering three Postgraduate Bursaries, each of £2000, for the academic year 2009-10. These may be used to fund language courses, archive study trips, fees or general maintenance and are offered in addition to the pre-existing travel and workshop bursaries dispensed by the Society.
- The scholarships are open to any student currently registered for a higher degree at a university in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland, and to those who have completed a PhD within two years of the deadline for application but who have no other institutional sources of funding.
- Applicants should be a member of the German History Society.
- Applicants should submit (in electronic form) the following to the Postgraduate Officer:
- An A4 outline of their project, including a statement of the progress made thus far and a brief schedule of work for the coming 12 months.
- A brief statement of how they would use the scholarship and how it would further their academic work.
- A statement of other sources of funding applied for and/or received.
- Applicants should also ask their supervisors to submit a reference directly to the Postgraduate Officer. The reference should confirm the details of the application and make the case for support in the usual manner.
- The closing date for receipt of complete applications, including references, is 1st May 2009.
- Applications will be considered by a panel drawn from the Committee of the Society; the Society expects to be able to notify applicants of the outcome by early June.
- In making their decision the panel will consider applications in the round, and will take into account the academic quality of the proposal; the progress that the applicant has made thus far; the availability to the applicant of alternative sources of funding; the extent to which the applicant has made good use of these; the likelihood that the Society’s money will make a tangible difference to the likely success of the project concerned.
The German History Society supports its postgraduate members currently registered for a higher degree at a university in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland (defined as students enrolled on MA and PhD degrees as well as postdoctoral researchers without access to institutional sources of funding in the first two years after submission of their PhDs) as follows:
(a) Financial assistance for attendance at GHS events, research / conference trips, workshop organization and language training
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Bursaries for attendance at German History Society events
Postgraduate members of the German History Society currently registered for a higher degree at a university in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland are invited to apply for financial support to attend the Society’s own regional conferences and Annual General Meeting. Applications should only be made where all alternative avenues of financial support have already been exhausted; the Society will consider contributing up to £50 towards travel and accommodation expenses.
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Research Grants and Conference Attendance
Postgraduate members of the Society currently registered for a higher degree at a university in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland may apply for a sum of up to £500 to assist with travel and accommodation expenses on research trips to archives / libraries with relevant resources for historians of the German lands OR for up to £500 for travel, accommodation and registration expenses associated with conference attendance (priority may be given to those presenting papers). Again, other avenues of financial support must have been exhausted. Each application must include a detailed budget for the trip and a statement of the aims and objectives (no longer than 300 words). Depending on the number of bids and the society's financial position, individual research projects may be supported more than once.
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Organize your own workshop or conference
Postgraduate members of the Society currently registered for a higher degree at a university in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland are invited to apply for funding to organize their own 1-day workshop or mini-conference on a topic relating to their research. Proposals of max. 500 words should sketch the theme and format of the meeting and indicate up to four speakers /commentators from the UK / German-speaking countries to be invited. The maximum contribution available is £500 (please note that the Society is only able to fund one such event each year).
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German Language Courses
Postgraduate members of the Society currently registered for a higher degree at a university in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Irelandmay seek assistance in improving their language skills. Applications of max. 300 words should provide details about the course (preferably offered by a qualified provider in Austria, Germany or Switzerland) and the ways in which attendance would benefit the candidate’s research. The Society can consider requests for support of up to £500.
Each application must be accompanied by a statement confirming membership of the German History Society and by a brief reference from the postgraduate's supervisor / academic director. All materials should be sent by email to the Society's Postgraduate Officer, David Lederer.
Payments from this fund can be made in sterling only, and are entirely at the discretion of the committee of the Society. No correspondence will be entered into where applications are refused.
(b) Essay Prize
The German History Society (GHS), in association with the Royal Historical Society (RHS), will award a prize of £500 to the winner of their annual essay competition. In addition, the article will be considered for publication in German History.
The prize will be presented to the winner at the Annual General Meeting of the GHS in October 2009.
The Rules
- The essay can be on any aspect of German History, including the history of German-speaking people both within and beyond Europe.
- Any postgraduate registered for a degree in a university in either the UK or the Republic of Ireland is eligible to enter the competition. All postgraduates who submitted their dissertation within the last twelve months are also eligible.
- The text of the essay must not exceed 10,000 words.
- Two hard copies of the essay must be submitted to the office of the RHS, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT by Monday 15 June 2009 along with details of the author's name, address (including e-mail address), institutional affiliation and degree registration.
The Decision
- The essays submitted will be read by a jury of three historians, two nominated by the GHS and one by the RHS. (The two societies reserve the right to nominate additional jurors if this is considered appropriate).
- The jury reserves the right not to award a prize in any particular year.
- The decision of the jury is final.
- The jury will make its decision by October 2009.
