For over 30 years, the PSA has been recognizing excellence in political studies through its prestigious Academic Prizes, celebrating outstanding dissertations, books, articles, and contributions across the field. Our Academic Prizes gives us the opportunity to honor remarkable achievements in research, teaching, and professional contributions within the discipline.

Our nomination period spans from November to January on an annual basis. When nominations are open, you will be able to submit here: /academic-prizes

Prizes will be presented at the PSA's Annual Conference and featured on PSA's social media and website.

 

Prize Categories

  1. PhD Dissertation Prizes
    Recognizes exemplary doctoral work across various political studies subfields:

    • Walter Bagehot Prize (government and public administration)
    • Sir Ernest Barker Prize (political theory)
    • Lord Bryce Prize (comparative politics)
    • McDougall Trust Prize (elections and representation)
    • Elizabeth Wiskemann Prize (social justice)
    • Shirin M. Rai Prize (international relations)
       

  2. Research Prizes
    For substantial contributions to knowledge in political studies:

    • Richard Rose Prize – Early Career researchers
    • Carole Pateman Prize – Open to all researchers
    • Pippa Norris Prize – Team contributions to the field
       

  3. Teaching Prizes
    For excellence in teaching and advancing learning in political studies:

    • Sir Bernard Crick Prize – Early Career educators
    • Vicky Randall Prize – Open to all educators
    • Jacqui Briggs Prize – Team efforts in teaching
       

  4. Professional Contributions
    Recognizes public engagement and service to political studies:

    • Joni Lovenduski Prize – Early Career professionals
    • Sir Isaiah Berlin Prize – Open to all professionals
       

  5. Group Prizes
    Celebrating outstanding contributions by PSA Specialist Groups and academic societies:

    • Specialist Group of the Year Prize
    • Politics Society of the Year Prize
 

Judging Process

Submissions undergo a rigorous judging process to ensure fairness and recognize the most distinguished contributions within each category.

For full details on eligibility, submission guidelines, and judging processes, please refer to our Academic Prizes Policy and see our list of Previous Winners.