In October 2026, academic solidarity network UNE – the University of New Europe – will be awarding the UNE Best MA Thesis award. We welcome thesis submissions from students at risk or in need in any domain within the Social Sciences and/or Humanities. The award is intended for theses that deal with war, conflict, violence, and/or post-war reconstruction, including the impact of these processes on research, teaching, and academic freedom and critical thinking.
Nomination criteria are:
• The submitted MA thesis has been formally approved by an acknowledged academic institution between March 2024 and March 2026.
• The thesis is either (self-)nominated by the student or by their teacher(s).
• UNE is open to submissions in different languages; in case of doubt, contact the team.
• The work has been produced under conditions of risk or exile; we demand no formal at-risk statements, but we do ask applicants to explicate these conditions in 1-2 sentences in the submission mail.
• The submission includes a recommendation letter (1 A4) from the supervisor.
• The topic of the dissertation aligns with the proposed thematic focus.
We welcome submissions via universityofneweurope@protonmail.com by April 15, 2026, at the latest. We ask participants to submit a PDF version of their thesis, a supervisor recommendation letter, and a short accompanying mail with compact details (in 1-2 sentences) on the at-risk conditions in which the work was produced.
The appointments committee – comprising members of the governing board of the University of New Europe and Off University – will assess the eligible submissions and announce its decision by late summer 2026. In constituting the committee, particular care has been taken to ensure sensitivity to the unequal academic conditions under which students from Ukraine and from other parts of Central and Eastern Europe currently conduct their work.
The winner will be announced at the DGO-Congress of Central and East European Studies, which takes places in Berlin on October 8 & 9 this year. Depending on the needs and ambitions of the winner, the prize will consist of (partial) coverage of travel costs and accommodation to attend the DGO congress and/or book vouchers. UNE also offers the winner a publication advice.