The British Society for the History of Philosophy Graduate Student Essay Prize is awarded biennially to the writer of an essay that makes a significant contribution to the history of philosophy.

The competition is open to postgraduate students who are in full- or part-time education for at least six months in the year prior to the deadline for submission. The competition is not restricted to philosophy students, but is open to any student with research interests in any aspect of the history of philosophy. There are no restrictions on age or nationality and candidates may be registered at any university in any country. Entry is not limited to members of the BSHP.

The Prize is worth £500. The Prize may be awarded to the writer of one outstanding essay, or may be divided between two or more entrants. The winner will be decided by a subcommittee of the BSHP Management Committee. The subcommittee has powers to request specialist opinion on the entries.

Where the winning entry or entries are deemed of sufficient quality and significance, they may also be published in the British Journal for the History of Philosophy. The Journal Editor’s decision on publishing the winning essay(s) is final.

Entries should be in English, and should not exceed 10,000 words in length (including footnotes, references and abstract). Each entry must be accompanied by an abstract of between 300 and 500 words, and a list of references. Entries that are too long or without an abstract or list of references will not be considered. Each entry should be prepared for blind refereeing: there should be no reference to the author, either by name or department. Any references to the author’s own work, for example, should be given in such a form as not to identify the author. Each entry should contain a separate title page (if emailed, then this must be sent as a separate file) giving the name, institution and address of the author. Candidates should supply proof of their postgraduate student status, including details of the university at which they are registered, and the name(s) of their supervisor(s).

Submissions for the next Prize will be accepted by either email (Word or RTF files), or snailmail, and should arrive not later than 30 November 2014. If snailmail is used, please enclose a floppy disk or CD containing an electronic copy of the essay (Word or RTF file). Electronic submissions (which are preferred) should be sent to: mfs10@cam.ac.uk<mailto:mfs10@cam.ac.uk>, with the words ‘BSHP Essay Prize’ in the subject line. Snailmail entries should be sent to Dr Marina Frasca-Spada, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, CB2 3RH, United Kingdom, with the words ‘BSHP Essay Prize’ clearly written on the envelope.

The Prize is presented at the BSHP annual spring conference.

Further details: www.bshp.org.uk<http://www.bshp.org.uk>

Questions concerning the Essay Prize should be directed to the BSHP Chair:  Professor Stephen R.L. Clark <srlclark@liv.ac.uk>