The GeogEd research group welcomes the submission of entries for the best UK undergraduate dissertation which makes a contribution to knowledge in the areas of both geography and education. Typically, this will relate to the geographies of education or geography education.

The winner will receive a prize of £100 and a year’s subscription to the Journal of Geography in Higher Education. One entry will be highly commended and receive a prize of £50.

Nominations and eligibility

  • Nominations can be made by dissertation supervisors, dissertation module convenors, programme directors, directors of education or heads of department.
  • A department may submit more than one entry, which will typically have been assessed as first-class work, and nominated dissertations should not be submitted for consideration for any other RGS-IBG prizes.
  • Students taking joint degrees are eligible to enter for the prize, provided that at least half their course is in geography.
  • Dissertations completed as part of Scottish 4-year MA undergraduate programmes are considered eligible for consideration for undergraduate prizes.
  • The dissertations should be circa 10,000 words in length and submitted for formal assessment in the current academic year. Where work has been through a deferred or mitigated process and could not have been submitted in year, it will be eligible for submission in the following academic year.

Student must have given their agreement for the submission to be made on their behalf, and that for winning or highly commended entries, the title of the dissertation, and student’s name, are added to the research group website. Student will be invited to complete a short written interview for inclusion on the research group’s website.

Submissions should be made to: Dr Matt Finn, the group’s dissertation prize co-ordinator by Monday 2nd September 2024. Please provide (i) a single PDF file of the dissertation (fully anonymised); (ii) a copy of the appropriate departmental dissertation regulations; and (iii) a non-university contact email for the student. Please include “GeogEd UG dissertation submission” in the email subject.

Evaluation Process

The dissertation prize co-ordinator will make an initial evaluation of eligibility considering whether the dissertation (i) frames its contribution in relation to the geographies of education, or geography education; and/or (ii) draws on literature from the geographies of education, or geography education.

Eligible dissertations will then be sent to committee members for evaluation using an assessment form. The dissertation prize co-ordinator and another member of the committee will consider the assessment feedback and select an overall winner and any highly commended entries. Winning students and nominating member of staff will be contacted, and the student will be invited to complete a short written interview for inclusion on the research group’s website.