Call for submissions: Gewina-Descartes-Huygens Thesis Prize for History of Science, Humanities, Knowledge and Universities

In 2013, Gewina established the Gewina–Descartes–Huygens Thesis Prize to recognize outstanding master’s theses in the history of science and universities. The prize will be awarded for the sixth time at Gewina’s winter meeting, held at the Vesalius Museum in Leuven, 19 January 2027.

Gewina invites recent graduates and thesis supervisors to submit master’s theses in the history of science, the humanities, and knowledge, as well as university history, broadly conceived.

The winner will receive €750 and, if desired, assistance in preparing the thesis for publication as a scientific article.

Eligible submissions must:
• be a master’s thesis on the history of science, knowledge, the humanities, or universities, broadly conceived;
• have been authored by a student who obtained their master’s degree from a Dutch or Belgian university between 1 September 2023 and 31 August 2026.

The deadline for submission is 1 November 2026. Submissions should be sent as an anonymized document to office@gewina.nl with the email subject heading, “Thesis Prize 2026”. Please include the author’s name and educational background solely in the body of the accompanying email. 

For questions, please contact Dr. Valentine Delrue, valentine.delrue@ugent.be

The Gewina-Descartes-Huygens Thesis Prize for Science and University History is made possible by the Descartes Centre for the History and Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities (UU) and the Huygens Institute for the History of the Netherlands.