23

Call for submissions for the BNAC PhD Dissertation Prize 2026

The Britain-Nepal Academic Council (BNAC) is pleased to announce the call for submissions for the PhD Dissertation Prize 2026. There are up to two prizes to be awarded this year, and we will accept applications from eligible applicants up until 20^th March 2026. The details of the call, including eligibility criteria, assessment criteria and instructions for preparing your submission, are as follows:

Eligibility

1. Applicants must either be registered for a PhD or have graduated from a PhD programme in any country within the last two years (i.e. have passed their PhD no earlier than 31^stDecember 2023).
2. Applicants who took part in the 2024 and 2025 Prize competitions and did not win the prize may also apply with a new paper, if they meet the above eligibility criterion (point 1).

PhD Paper

1. Applicants should submit a chapter from their PhD thesis, or a paper drawn from their thesis and submitted for review, not exceeding8,000 words (not including bibliography). Submissions overlength will be disqualified.
2. Published articles are not eligible.
3. The paper must be single-authored.
4. The paper should be in a field of the social sciences or humanities, or in a technical field dealing with social dimensions such as public health and community forestry, and related to Nepal or the Nepali cultural world, broadly understood.
5. Applicants should submit evidence of their eligibility along with their paper (i.e. confirming PhD registration or graduation)

 Deadlines

1. Deadline for submission of applications: 23.59 (UK time) on 20^thMarch 2026.
2. Notification of the winner: 22^nd May 2026.
3. Award of the prize: at the BNAC Nepal Study Days in Birmingham (June, date to be confirmed).

 Selection

The winner(s) will be selected by the BNAC PhD Dissertation Prize panel comprising Dr Ben Campbell, Dr Uma Pradhan, Dr Krishna Adhikari and Patricia Mundelius, using the following criteria:

• The extent to which the chapter/paper makes an original contribution to the study of Nepal,
• The extent to which the chapter/paper makes an original contribution to relevant disciplinary fields,
• The level of rigour in the research methods used,
• The originality and efficacy of any innovations in the research methods used,
• The richness of the empirical data in the paper/chapter,
• The critical use of the empirical data, and
• The clarity of the paper’s structure, narrative and argument(s).

The prize

1. The winning candidates (up to two) will each receive a cash prize of £250.
2. A runner up candidate will also be named, provided there are sufficient submissions of quality.
3. We will encourage the winning authors to publish their work in a journal such as HIMALAYA or The European Bulletin of Himalayan Research (EBHR).
4. The prize winner(s) is/are highly encouraged (not obliged) to attend the Nepal Study Days 2026, which will be held in Birmingham (June, date tbc), and to present their paper(s) there.

Please send your submission to: ben.campbell@durham.ac.uk with ‘BNAC Dissertation Prize 2026 submission’ in the subject line, within the stipulated deadline.