Thelma Hunter Gender and Politics PhD Prize

Thelma Hunter Gender and Politics PhD Thesis Prize Guidelines

Supervisors are invited to submit dissertations awarded to their PhD students who are Australian residents and a current financial member of APSA in the year of nomination. The Prize will recognise a PhD of distinction in the field of gender and/or women and politics, broadly defined.

The nominated dissertation must be completed at an Australian University and have been passed by examiners on or before the 31 December in the two-years preceding the nomination (e.g. A thesis is eligible for entry in the 2026 competition if it has been passed by its examiners between 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2025).

The winner of the prize will be announced at APSA 2026 Conference. The prize of A$1000 and a certificate will be awarded at the 2026 APSA Conference. 

To nominate a thesis for the prize:

Complete the Thelma Hunter Gender and Politics PhD Prize Nomination Form (see below) and upload via the prize nomination webpage with the following attachments:

• A brief report by the supervisor – half a page – outlining the merits of the dissertation;
• An electronic/PDF copy of the thesis;
• Electronic/PDF copies of all examiners’ reports for the thesis; and
• Evidence of the date the PhD was passed (e.g. a copy of the email from the Graduate Research School (or equivalent body) to the candidate advising that their PhD has been passed). This date must fall between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2025.

All documents should be uploaded to the prize nomination webpage by the announced due date. Please do not submit anything until the call for nominations is announced.

The decision will be made by a judging panel chaired by an APSA Women’s Caucus Executive member (or delegate). The panel will consist of at least three judges (including the chair), with at least two other women caucus members or gender and politics experts in addition to the chair. Past winners will be encouraged to participate in the judging process for future awards. The judging panel will rely both upon the examiners’ reports and their own reading of the thesis to make their determination.

Members of judging panels should adhere to the Guidance on Identifying and Managing Conflicts of Interest. If the Chair of a judging panel has a significant conflict of interest, they must relinquish their position as Chair to one of the other panellists.

APSA reserves the right not to award the prize in any given year.

Nomination Form:

Download Nomination Form here. 

Please submit your completed Nomination Form as an upload attachment via the Thelma Hunter Gender and Politics PhD Thesis Prize nomination website