Pro Civitate Austriae Stiftung - Pro Civitate Austriae des Österreichischen Arbeitskreises für Stadtgeschichtsforschung

Pro Civitate Austriae prize for urban history

You will receive a one-off award of 5,000 EUR for an outstanding academic paper on the comparative urban history of Central Europe. This is a one-off award, not a rolling scholarship. You submit a completed research paper, and if it is selected, you will receive the money. The Austrian Working Group for Urban History Research awards this prize every two years. Papers dealing with the territory of the former ‘Old Austria’ will be given preferential consideration. The prize will be presented at a formal ceremony.

Who can apply

• What you submit: A book, a doctoral thesis or another academic work on comparative urban history in Central Europe. The work must be regarded as an outstanding academic achievement.
• How recent: At the time of submission, the work must not be more than three years old.
• Dissertations: If you submit a doctoral thesis, it must be formally approved and come with a recommending report from a subject expert.
• Language: The paper must be written in German. You may submit it as a manuscript, a PDF file or a hard copy.
• Nationality: Any nationality can apply.
• Age: No age limit.
• Other prizes: If you have also entered the work for another prize, or already won one with it, you must tell the board.

How to apply

You apply yourself; nobody nominates you. Please send your work, a brief summary and your CV to the committee by email or in hard copy. The deadline is 31 March of the year in which the prize is advertised. The committee decides by a simple majority and may consult experts, split the prize or decide not to award it.

How realistic are your chances?

This is a single, prestigious prize for completed research projects in a narrowly defined specialist field. You are competing against a small group of specialists rather than a broad audience. The bar is set high: the jury may decide not to award the prize if no entry is deemed convincing enough. If your research does indeed focus on the history of Central European cities and, ideally, also incorporates the history of the former Austria, your prospects are good. However, a well-developed, completed piece of research is an essential prerequisite.