Early Career Researcher Prize
Submit your proposal here: Proposal Form.
Deadline: 16 November 2025
The winning proposals will be announced in December 2025.
This prize is offered to early career researchers working in specific fields within the social sciences, arts and humanities (SSAH) as a way to financially support the scholarly endeavors of novice researchers. An early career researcher is considered someone within six years of their first academic appointment or the award of their PhD.
Only monograph proposals will be eligible for evaluation. A monograph proposal is one that details a clear concept (including abstract, topic and approach) and a detailed chapter outline that will be written by one or a small group of authors. A monograph does not have individual chapter authors, therefore all authors involved in the project need to review and agree on all content submitted in the proposal as well as all content included in the manuscript if the proposal is selected for the Early Career Researcher Book Prize.
What kind of researcher is eligible? Researchers within six years of their first academic appointment or the award of their PhD.
What kind of books are eligible?
Monographs (all content written and approved by one or a small group of authors). PhDs and extended PhDs are not eligible for submission. If you would like to publish your PhD, please contact us at bksubmission@mdpi.com.
What topics are eligible?
We are currently accepting proposals in the following fields. More information about scope can be found by visiting the journal webpage.
What information do I need to include in my proposal?
The proposal must include information about the author’s affiliation, background, and stage of the project (new idea or completed draft). A viable proposal will include a clear and concise abstract, topic & approach, as well as a comprehensive chapter outline. The evaluation committee is making their decision solely on the material submitted with the proposal so this is the only opportunity to promote how the book would impact the field.
How will the proposal be evaluated?
Proposals must be submitted to one of four participating journals. The particular journal submitted to should be the one that most closely matches the scope of the work. Each of the journals will have an independent evaluating committee made up of Editorial Board Members of that journal. Each of the four committees will select one winner.
What does the winner receive? The winning proposals will be offered a full book processing charge (BPC) waiver and the opportunity to publish their monograph free of charge. The resulting monographs should be around 150-250 pages.
Where should the proposal be submitted? Proposals must be submitted online via our form here: Proposal Form.
For any questions about the prize, please contact the MDPI Books Editorial Team at bksubmission@mdpi.com.