Bettino Craxi Foundation - Bettino Craxi Degree Prize

Bettino Craxi Degree Prize

You will win a cash prize of 500 to 1,500 EUR and a certificate in recognition of an outstanding dissertation on the Italian politician Bettino Craxi. The Fondazione Bettino Craxi in Rome awards three prizes per round. Two of these go to Category A for the best doctoral or master’s theses (first prize 1,500 EUR, second prize 1,000 EUR). One goes to Category B for the best bachelor’s thesis (500 EUR). The winning topics cover Craxi’s political career, his time as Italian Prime Minister (1983–1987), his role in European integration, and his involvement in the Socialist International and the Mediterranean region. This is a one-off competition for a completed thesis, not an ongoing scholarship.

Who can apply

• Degree: You have already obtained a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree from an Italian university.
• Thesis topic: Your dissertation is about Bettino Craxi and his political career.
• Timing: You have successfully defended your doctoral thesis within the timeframe specified for this round. For the fifth round, this was between 1 January 2014 and 3 November 2017.
• Grades: There is no minimum mark required. Simply enter your final mark on the form.
• First-time entry: You have not yet taken part in a previous edition of this competition.

How to apply

Please send the application form, together with your complete dissertation, to the Foundation in Rome by post or email by the deadline of 3 November. A panel of professors will assess the anonymised entries and announce only the winners. If you win, you must attend the awards ceremony in person; otherwise, the prize will be forfeited.

How realistic are your chances?

This prize is very narrowly defined: your final dissertation must focus specifically on Bettino Craxi, meaning that only a small group of graduates qualify for it each year. If you have written a compelling final dissertation on precisely this topic, you have a genuine chance of being among the three winners. Please note that no current calls for entries have been documented since 2017. You should therefore check whether a new round is currently open before preparing your submission.