Association pour le développement de l'histoire des femmes et du genre - Mnemosyne Award

What the Mnemosyne Award gives you

You will receive a cash prize of 800 EUR for the best Master’s thesis 2 (M2) on the history of women and/or gender issues. The M2 Master’s thesis is the academic dissertation completed at the end of a two-year Master’s programme. The winning thesis will also be published as a book by Presses universitaires de Rennes, with the association contributing towards the publication costs. In addition, an abstract of every submitted thesis with a historical focus will be published in the association’s journal ‘Genre & Histoire’. The prize is awarded annually by the Association Mnemosyne, a French association dedicated to women’s and gender history, and has been awarded since 2003.

Who can apply

• Your work: You have written a Master’s thesis 2 (M2).
• Language: You wrote the dissertation in French.
• Where you defended it: You defended it at a French university.
• Topic: Your research focuses on the history of women and/or gender, whether in France or abroad.
• Timing: For the 2026 round, you defended the thesis between 16 July 2025 and 15 July 2026.
• One attempt: You can only take part once – and that’s it.
• Nationality: Applicants of all nationalities are welcome to apply. The decisive factors are your doctoral thesis and the French university at which you defended it.

How to apply

Applications must be submitted exclusively by email by 30 September 2026. Please send a ZIP folder containing your complete dissertation (PDF), a 5,000-character summary, your contact details and a current CV. As the files are very large, please upload them to a file-sharing service such as WeTransfer and send the download link by email. Each dissertation will be read by at least two members of the judging panel, and the winner will be announced at the Society’s annual general meeting in January.

How realistic are your chances?

This is an annual award aimed at a narrowly defined target group: French-language M2 theses on women’s and gender history that have been defended at a French university. The field is small – typically between 10 and 45 submissions per year – and you may only apply once; therefore, your single submission must hit the mark. If your doctoral thesis fits the theme perfectly and is convincing in terms of sources, methodology and writing style, you stand a real chance.