Prizes

The MJMCE UG Dissertation Prize, Master’s Dissertation Prize, and Doctoral Thesis Prize honour exceptional undergraduate and postgraduate research related to European Studies in its broadest sense. Open to interdisciplinary work across the social sciences and humanities, the prizes recognise originality, scholarly excellence, and meaningful contributions to knowledge, while offering recipients greater academic visibility and career development opportunities.

Previous Doctoral Prize Awardees

Sarah Elmammeri (2025)
Awarded for her thesis:
Trapped between Borders: Constructing a Multiperspective Approach to Bordering Practices in the EU between the International, Regional and National Layers

Christopher Fardan (2024)
Awarded for his thesis:
Extreme Nationalism in Contemporary Norway: Ideologies, Mobilisation and Activism

Previous Master’s Dissertation Prize Awardees

Mia Costello (2025)
Awarded for the dissertation:
Language of Protection: A Corpus-Based Analysis of Anti-Transgender Government Rhetoric in the UK

A Special Commendation was also awarded to Dominika Miskova for a project on ‘Unpaid work in Central Eastern Europe: The impacts of rising social conservatism and increased neoliberalisation on unpaid care labour in Slovakia and Poland’

Sophie Stanford (2024)
Awarded for the dissertation:
Socialist Solidarity or Self-Interest?: The Impact of the Vietnam War on Romanian-American Bilateral Relations During the 1960s

Marton Jasz (2023)
Awarded for the dissertation:
Environmental Policy and Air Pollution Exposure in Europe

Joseph Duluc (2022)
Awarded for a dissertation exploring campaigners’ digital strategies during the 2022 French presidential election using a mixed-method approach.

Previous UG Dissertation Prize Awardees

Orla Kennedy (2024/25)
Awarded for the dissertation:
Ireland’s Mother and Baby Homes: Redress, Advocacy and Organisational Support for Survivors

Two Special Commendations were also awarded to Jasmine Abdel-Kader for a dissertation on ‘Constructing Purity, Excluding Desire: The Aryan Ideal and Homoerotic Undercurrents in Nazi Visual Culture’ and to Sophie Sprague-Kelly for a dissertation on ‘Redefining Lieux de Mémoire: Women’s Commemoration in the Panthéon under François Hollande, 2012-2017’.

Phoebe Ashton (2023/24)
Awarded for the dissertation:
To What Extent Did the Media Affect Voting in the EU Referendum?

Two Special Commendations were also awarded to Roberta Cilenti, James McLean, Ella O’Sullivan, and Josephine Eaton.

Jay Swinnerton (2022/23)
Awarded for the dissertation:
Basta che ci vedeva: A cultural history on the experiences of homosexuals during the Italian Fascist period and their legacy in popular memory narratives

A Special Commendation was also awarded to Evie Freemantle.