Each year, the Friends of The Women’s Library celebrate original research into women’s history by awarding prizes for outstanding LSE dissertations. If your work draws on the Library’s rich collections, we’d love to read it.
Christabel Pankhurst at meeting of Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) leaders, ca 1906-1907; printed inscription on reverse ‘Barratt’s Photo Press Agency, 8 Salisbury Ct, Fleet St, EC’
The Friends offer two prizes for exceptional LSE dissertations that explore women’s history. Open, one to LSE third-year undergraduates and the other to MSc postgraduates studying at LSE, these awards support original research in the field. The Friends look for essays making extensive, though not exclusive, use of the archive and print resources of the Women’s Library at LSE.
Dissertations should be 8,000-10,000 words in length. A prize of £300 is offered for a third-year dissertation and a prize of £500 for a thesis that has been awarded a Master’s degree. More than two prizes may be awarded.
Third-year dissertations should have already been marked and passed by LSE academic staff before reaching appropriately qualified members of the Friends’ Executive Committee for assessment. The Friends expect that submissions received for consideration will have been awarded Class 1 or high 2.1 marks.
The deadline for third-year submissions is the end of July and for MSc theses is mid-November.
Dissertations should be sent to chair@friendsofthewomenslibrary.org.uk. A cover note from the dissertation or thesis supervisor confirming that the work is by the named student and has been awarded the mark or degree it carries, should accompany the essay when it has been submitted by the supervisor or course tutor. Students may submit their work independently, but must also request their supervisor or tutor to send a confirmatory email.
Who can apply:
LSE third-year undergraduates and MSc postgraduates
Focus:
Dissertations exploring women’s history, with substantial use of The Women’s Library collections
Word count:
8,000–10,000 words
Prizes:
£300 for undergraduate dissertation
£500 for MSc thesis
(More than two prizes may be awarded)
Deadlines:
Undergraduate: End of July
MSc: Mid-November
How to submit:
Email your dissertation to:
chair@friendsofthewomenslibrary.org.uk
Include a cover note from your supervisor confirming authorship and awarded grade/degree
Contact for research guidance:
Dr Gillian Murphy, LSE Curator for Equality, Rights and Citizenship
G.E.Murphy@lse.ac.uk
Relevant departments of LSE receive notification of the current year’s awards from the Friends and from LSE Library staff, who also distribute notices at LSE research evenings.
Among the many collections in the Women’s Library that applicants might consider exploring are British and international women’s organisations; war work; refugee relief; peace campaigns; campaigns around trafficking and slavery; British-Indian relations; the League of Nations; women in journalism and the media; civil and family law; housing; interwar and ‘Second Wave’ feminism. Those who would like to investigate further the resources of the Women’s Library are encouraged to contact Dr Gillian Murphy, LSE Curator for Equality, Rights and Citizenship, who can introduce them to the full range of manuscript and print collections: G.E.Murphy@lse.ac.uk.
Prize-winning essays to date have made a comparative study of sex work in Kingston, Jamaica, and London, 1864-1938 (Molly Blackall, 2019); offered an analysis of the Indian women’s journal Mukti (Vartika Rastogi, 2022); and examined the question of conscription and conscientious objection in the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, 1915-1945 (Sarah Engelmann, 2024).
We look forward to reading your essays!