PRIZE: The BAIS Award schemes now open

Awards, Postgrad, Scholarships and Grants

The the BAIS Book Prize (deadline 1 Jan 2024), the Postgraduate Bursary Scheme and the Postgraduate Essay Prize (deadline for both 17 March 2024) are all now open for submissions.

THE BAIS BOOK PRIZE

BAIS invite submissions to our fourth BAIS Book Prize. There will be a prize of £200 which will be presented in May 2024. The prize will be judged by our Advisory and Executive Councils.

Please follow these instructions:
• Prize entries must be single-authored monographs published in 2023. Essay collections will not be accepted.
• Authors must be members of the British Association for Irish Studies who have paid their membership dues (or should join when they apply)
• Authors must be based in England, Wales, or Scotland in the year the book is published. You should be registered at educational institutions located in either England, Wales or Scotland or, if you are academically unaffiliated, you should reside in England, Wales or Scotland.
• Entries will be considered in Irish or English.
• The decision of the BAIS Essay Prize Committee will be final.
• If Executive and Advisory Council members submit their work, they must recuse themselves from the judging panel.
• The book must be delivered as a PDF (they will not be circulated beyond the judges). Due to the international geographical spread of our judges, paper copies will not be accepted.
• The absolute deadline for receipt of book PDFs by email is 1st January 2024.
• All areas of ‘Irish Studies’ (broadly defined) will be considered. Comparative works will be considered, but they must have a substantial Irish element to them.

Please email the PDF copy of your book and a short (100 word) biography to the BAIS Book Prize Co-Ordinator, Prof Mo Moulton, at m.moulton@bham.ac.uk

BAIS POSTGRADUATE BURSARY SCHEME

The BAIS Postgraduate Bursary Award Scheme has become the major scheme of its kind in the UK. Each year, we make significant funds available to students researching Irish-related topics at British universities

Applicants must be members of the British Association for Irish Studies who have paid their membership dues (or should join when they apply) and must be registered at educational institutions located in either England, Wales or Scotland.

We aim to support research that uncovers new or neglected areas in the field. As an applicant, you are encouraged to produce a specific and targeted funding request, detailing how the award will support your research. Your applications will be assessed by a panel of important international academics, ensuring that this is a valuable award in more ways than one. We are keen to recognise the diversity of work taking place on Irish culture and society when coming to our final decision. In any one year we usually give bursaries to between three and six winners (sums are usually between £300–£1000). The bursaries are presented to successful candidates by the Irish Ambassador to Great Britain, at our Awards Ceremony held at the Irish Embassy in London.

The scheme has given rise to important research which has been published internationally. A number of the students it has helped in the past are now lecturing in the field of Irish Studies at universities in Britain and Ireland. Students may apply to use the bursary for travel expenses, payment of fees, subsistence or other expenses related to the completion of their research projects. Applicants must be members of the British Association for Irish Studies (or should join when they apply). Applicants will be required to submit a completed Application Form together with two completed forms from referees, who should send these direct to the Chair of the Bursaries Committee. The decision of the BAIS Postgraduate Bursaries Committee will be final.

The deadline for submission of applications is 17 March 2024 and the awards will be announced in May 2024. Please download and complete the forms here:

For more information, please contact the Chair of the Bursaries Committee: Deirdre Canavan (deirdre.canavan@kcl.ac.uk) 

BAIS POSTGRADUATE ESSAY PRIZE

The British Association for Irish Studies, in association with Irish Studies Review and Cambridge University Press, is pleased to announce the BAIS Postgraduate Essay Prize. Entries are invited for an essay on any aspect of Irish Studies. The winning entry will be published in Irish Studies Review and the winning author will receive £500 of Cambridge University Press books of their choice. Entrants should be student members of BAIS who are registered for Masters or Doctoral programmes in Great Britain. Essays should be between 5,000 and 8,000 words in length and be presented in accordance with the Instructions for Authors of Irish Studies Review. All essays must be submitted electronically by 17 March 2024. The Prize will be judged by a multi-disciplinary panel. The winner will be announced in May 2024.

Applicants must be members of the British Association for Irish Studies who have paid their membership dues (or should join when they apply) and must be registered at educational institutions located in either England, Wales or Scotland.

For more information on all of the awards CLICK HERE.