The Michael Dockrill Thesis Prize

The BIHG Thesis Prize was established in 1996. It is awarded annually to the best doctoral thesis on any aspect and any period of International History, which has been awarded a degree by a British University or a British University College or College of Higher Education during the calendar year.

Michael DockrillIn 2018 the BIHG were saddened by the death of Michael Dockrill, a former Chair of the Group and one of the country’s foremost international historians As an gesture of recognition, the committee decided to rename the BIHG thesis prize as ‘The Michael Dockrill Prize’. It was felt this was particularly appropriate given the prodigious number of PhD theses Michael Dockrill either supervised or examined over his career.

The thesis is judged by a Panel drawn from members of the BIHG Committee. In judging the competition the Panel pay particular attention to originality of approach, thoroughness of research, style of writing and presentation, and contribution to historical scholarship. Owing to the ongoing restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic, the BIHG will annouce the results in September.

The deadline for submissions for the Michael Dockrill Thesis Prize is Friday 26 March 2021. Individuals wishing to be considered for the prize should email a pdf copy of their thesis to Dr Martin Folly and Professor Gaynor Johnson.  For very large files, it might be necessary to use a file transfer service such as WeTransfer.

  1. The thesis prize is awarded annually.
  2. Only theses awarded a doctoral degree by a United Kingdom University or University College or College of Higher Education are eligible for consideration.
  3. The thesis can be on any aspect and period of International History.
  4. The competition will be judged by a Panel drawn from members and officers of the BIHG Committee.
  5. The final submission date is 29 May of the year following the award of the doctoral degree.
  6. The doctoral degree must be awarded during the calendar year preceding the award of the prize. Candidates should include a copy of the correspondence from their university or college which confirms the award of the degree.
  7. (Not applicable in 2020) Candidates for the prize should submit two copies to the address below and these will be returned on completion of the competition.
  8. Candidates should provide the names of their internal and external examiners, whose views on the thesis may be requested.
  9. The successful candidate will be invited to present a paper on an aspect of his /her thesis to the annual conference of the BIHG where all their conference expenses will be met.