uaces best thesis prize

Dr Sara Binzer Hobolt awarded UACES Prize for Best PhD Thesis

The prize was awarded at an Awards Ceremony during the Annual Dinner at the 36th Annual and 11th Research Conference, held in Limerick, Ireland in September 2006.

Sara is a University Lecturer in Comparative European Politics and a Tutorial Fellow in Politics, Lincoln College.

QS WORLD RANKINGS FOR POLITICS & INT’L STUDIES: 2

BEST UK UNIVERSITIES FOR POLITICS – THE GUARDIAN: 1

THE WORLD UNIVERSITY RANKINGS FOR POLITICS AND INT’L STUDIES: 1 IN THE UK

IES associate Lisanne Groen wins UACES Best PhD Thesis Prize

The prize is awarded to the PhD thesis that made an original and promising contribution to research in the area of contemporary European studies. Lisanne obtained her PhD in October 2016 at the IES under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Sebastian Oberthür. In her thesis, she explains the degree of effectiveness of the EU at important decision-making moments in the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in seven case studies. She argues that the degree of fit of the EU’s activities with its position in the international constellation of power and interests of all negotiating parties has a significant influence on its effectiveness score. The EU can only reach a high degree of effectiveness if the degree of fit of its activities is high.

Lisanne is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability in Tokyo, Japan. There, she analyses and evaluates the policies for low-carbon technology transfer pursued by Germany, France, the UK, the EU, and multilateral partnerships in which EU member states participate.

UACES PhD Thesis Prize 2025 Nomination Form

Please complete the below form, filling in all fields. To complete the nomination, please email a copy of your thesis to [email protected] before the deadline (1 December 2024).

If you are being examined between 1 December and 31 December, please ensure you have emailed us to let us know you'd like to be considered for an extension.

• Nominee name * First Name Last Name
• Email * [email protected]
• Institution and department *
• Title of PhD *

• Supporting statement (max. 150 words) *
• Confirm you are a UACES Member * Yes
• Should be Empty:

Lisanne Groen

Dr. Lisanne Groen is a Senior Associate Researcher at the Brussels School of Governance. She is also an assistant professor in international environmental governance at the Open Universiteit in Heerlen, the Netherlands. She focuses on national, EU and international climate change (adaptation and mitigation), energy and biodiversity policy. Lisanne obtained a BA in European Studies from the University of Amsterdam (2007) and a MSc in Political Science (cum laude) from the University of Amsterdam in 2010. She obtained her PhD in political science on 13 October 2016. From November 2016 until November 2018, she worked in Tokyo, Japan, as a JSPS-UNU postdoctoral researcher, on ‘European low carbon technology transfer policies’ at the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS).

Lisanne joined the Brussels School of Governance in April 2012 as a junior researcher. She worked on a PhD project funded by the Flemish Research Foundation FWO, entitled: “Understanding the Changing Effectiveness of the European Union in International Biodiversity and Climate Change Governance”. Lisanne received the UACES Prize for Best PhD Thesis in Contemporary European Studies 2017.

Publications

Hardening and softening of multilateral climate governance towards the paris agreement, epidemic zoonoses and climate change: high time to tackle root causes and build adaptive capacities, parent - participatory platform for sustainable energy management.

Building on experience: Connecting people for a sustainable urban future

The eu’s representation at the un climate negotiations post-lisbon: how secrecy seeps in..

PARENT final conference spurs new sustainability initiatives in Brussels

Associate Lisanne Groen wins UACES Best PhD Thesis Prize

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Funding Your Research

Internal funding, our phd program provides students with a fund, in addition to the ceu doctoral scholarship, that they can use to travel to conferences or do research abroad..

For students enrolled in 2022 and earlier, CEU and the  Academic Cooperation and Research Support Office provide grants, awards and other opportunities during the academic year for enrolled PhD students to fund their research. The following are internal funding sources available to them, scroll down to see internal funding opportunities available to all of our PhD students as well as  external funding opportunities.

The Doctoral Research Support Grant Program (DRSG)

Is designed to help students enrolled in CEU doctoral programs wishing to spend time researching or studying at another recognized university, institute, or research center. Deadline is twice per academic year.

For eligibility, deadlines and application form, click here:  Doctoral Research Support Grant. 

The Winter School Grant

Offered once a year for students who wish to attend a Winter School whose courses are necessary for their research and are not offered at a CEU Department. This is a competitive grant.

To read more about eligibility, deadline and requirements, click here:  Winter School Grant .

The Summer School Grant

Offered once a year to doctoral students who have passed their comprehensive exam. The Summer School should be of demonstrably high academic quality and fit the research topic of the attending student. This is a competitive grant.

To read more about eligibility, deadline and requirements, click here:  Summer School Grant .

The Research and Travel Grants

During the academic year there are several deadlines for grants to cover conference travel expenses, field and archival research, and short term research.

To read more about these grants, review the Student Travel and Research Grant Policy and access the application forms, click here:  Research and Travel Grants .

Write-up Grant

The write-up grant is designed to help doctoral students to complete their thesis when they have exhausted their normal 36 months of scholarship and they intend to complete the thesis during the write-up grant period. The grants are not automatic, and they are awarded on the basis of need and merit. The duration of the grant is maximum six months. The amount of the grant equals the regular PhD stipend.

To read the write-up grant policy, click here:  Guidelines on Write-up Grant Applications | Official Documents (ceu.edu)  (requires CEU login).

Available to all enrolled CEU students

The following are available to all enrolled students in our program, no matter their enrollment date.

The  Erasmus+ Mobility Program

Students may participate in the Erasmus+ Mobility Program for studying or being trained abroad several times, totalling up to 12 months maximum per each cycle of study (master/doctoral).

The Student Awards

Each academic year, there are three awards that doctoral students are eligible for, depending on the stage of their studies: the Academic Achievement Award for First-Year Doctoral Students, the Award for Advanced Doctoral Students, and the Best Dissertation Awards.

For eligibility and deadlines, click here:  Student Awards .

The  Presidential Awards for PhD Students

Established by CEU Rector Michael Ignatieff and his wife Zsuzsanna Zsohar, these awards are intended to recognize the achievements of exceptional doctoral students enrolled in the second year of a PhD program.

For eligibility and deadlines, click here:  Presidential Scholar Awards .

The Global Teaching Fellowship

CEU works with partner universities around the world to provide teaching experience via fellowships.

For more infomation on the fellowship, the list of partner universities, eligibility and deadlines, click here:  The CEU Global Teaching Fellowship Program .

CEU Postdoctoral Fellowships

CEU and the Institute for Human Sciences ( Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen, IWM ) in Vienna supports recent CEU doctoral graduates who have received a doctoral degree from CEU not earlier than three years prior to application, who wish to conduct research as Postdoctoral Fellows at the IWM.

2021 was the first year when this joint fellowship was offered. For eligibility, application information and next call's deadline, please review ACRO's website:  CEU-IWM Postdoctoral Fellowship | Academic Cooperation and Research Support Office .

Open Access Publishing Agreements

The CEU Library supports open access through journal license agreements with publishers that include both reading access and waivers of article processing charges (APCs). 

To see which agreements are available and the process to publish open access, click here:  Open Access Publishing for CEU Authors .

External funding

Grants, fellowships and awards are available for phd students from a number of outside agencies, including state and non-state sources. below are some that may be relevant for dsps students., apsa awards and travel grants for the american political science association annual meeting.

The American Political Science Association is the leading professional organization for the study of political science and serves more than 13,000 members in more than 80 countries. With a range of programs and services for individuals, departments, and institutions, APSA brings together political scientists from all fields of inquiry, regions, and occupational endeavors within and outside academe to deepen our understanding of politics, democracy, and citizenship throughout the world.

APSA awards recognize the work of scholars who make outstanding contributions to political science research -  APSA Awards Travel grants are designed to provide funding for attendance at the Annual Meeting -  APSA Travel Grants .

See eligibility and deadlines on their website.

Austrian Political Science Association

The Austrian Political Science Association (ÖGPW) supports funding requests from its members for travel costs, publishing subsidies. Every year they give the ÖGPW Young Talent Award to an outstanding dissertation in political science.

CRDF Global  

CRDF Global funds projects with the goal of advancing civilian-oriented science and entrepreneurship around the globe.

DAAD Scholarship Database

Here you can find information on various kinds of DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) funding for foreign students, graduates and postdocs, for research or study in Germany.

ECPR Funding Opportunities

The European Consortium for Political Research provides a range of funding streams to scholars to support both their individual careers and the wider development of the discipline. Each year they provide grants to help PhD Students and early career scholars from full ECPR member institutions participate in their events.

EURAXESS offers you a wealth of information on and links to funding opportunities at European and national level.

European Data Laboratory for Comparative Social Research (EUROLAB) at GESIS - Research Grants  

Individual researchers from outside Germany who want to work on  data available at GESIS  may apply for support to access EUROLAB for a period of one month. The call for applications for a EUROLAB Grant is published once per year (in September).

Georg Eckert Institute Fellowships at the Leibniz Institute for Educational Media

These fellowships support research motivated by the desire to promote understanding among nations through education, international education and didactics research on the methods, content and objectives of teaching, and international textbook research. The call is published in June and applications need to be submitted by September 15.

German Historical Institute Fellowships

The institute awards a number of fellowships each year to serve several different purposes and provide opportunities for different types of scholars to pursue research projects that draw upon primary sources principally located in North America.

Harry Frank Guggenheim Emerging Scholar Awards

Recognize promising graduate-student researchers in their final year of writing a doctoral dissertation examining a salient aspect of violence. 

Application opens in November, but consult the official website for updated information.

Herder Fellowship   at the The Herder Institute for Historical Research on East Central Europe 

This fellowship is addressed to PhD students and postdocs. It allows a short-term, intensive research stay in the collections. The fellows will have the opportunity to present their projects within the framework of the meetings of the Herder Institute Research Academy. 

Historical Archives of the European Union  

The International Visegrad Fund (IVF) and the European University Institute (EUI) are jointly launching a new grant programme for scholars from Central and Eastern Europe interested in European integration to conduct research at the Historical Archives of the European Union (EUI). They have two deadlines per year.

Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy

Small grants to support emerging scholars, from any country and any university in the world. ​Designed to promote scholarship with a social policy application; and to encourage projects that address contemporary issues in the social sciences. Awarded once a year, with deadline in December.

International Studies Association

The ISA travel grants program has been created to provide junior scholars, senior graduate students and scholars from low-income countries some assistance to enable them to attend conferences that would otherwise be out of reach for all but the better paid, senior faculty. Only ISA members may qualify for an ISA Annual Convention travel grant. See the website for deadlines.

John Templeton Foundation Grants

The Foundation offers grants in support of research and public engagement in our major Funding Areas. We invest in bold ideas from contrarian thinkers — ideas that cross disciplinary boundaries and challenge conventional assumptions. And we fund innovative programs that engage the public with these ideas, in an effort to open minds, deepen understanding, and inspire curiosity.

"Junior Fellowship" Program of the Momentum Institute

The Momentum Institute Scholarship is primarily aimed at students of economics and related social science disciplines in their master's or doctoral studies.

Knowledge Management Fund

An annual fund that awards grants for 9-month projects for events, research ideas and other initiatives that contribute to improving the quality of knowledge generated by the Security & Rule of Law field, and its subsequent uptake. 

Laura Bassi Scholarship

This scholarship from Editing Press offers editorial assistance to postgraduates and junior academics whose research focuses on neglected topics of study, broadly construed, within their disciplines. The scholarships are open to every discipline and are awarded three times per year: December, April, and August. 

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions are the European Union’s reference programme for doctoral education and postdoctoral training. They contribute to excellent research, boosting jobs, growth and investment by equipping researchers with new knowledge and skills, and foster research cooperation across borders, sectors and disciplines.

Mladena and Dianko Sotirov Visiting Fellowship - LSE IDEAS

Sotirov Fellows study Bulgaria and the Balkan region, working to understand its recent history, international affairs, the challenges it faces today and the prospects of tomorrow. Call closes in April, the fellowship covers a one to two-month research stay in London any time between June and September.  

Open Society Foundations - Civil Society Scholar Award

Supports doctoral students and university faculty to undertake academic projects that will enrich socially-engaged research and critical scholarship in their home country or region. It is awarded once a year.

*Candidates must be citizens of the following countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia, Haiti, Kosovo, Laos, Libya, North Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Myanmar/Burma, Nepal, Palestine, Rwanda, Serbia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Yemen. 

Russell Sage Foundation, Small Grants

RSF offers small grants to doctoral students at the dissertation stage and recent Ph.D. recipients to support innovative, high-quality research and to encourage young investigators to enter these developing interdisciplinary fields.

Projects must contribute to RSF's mission to improve social and living conditions in the United States. Appropriate projects must demonstrate use of relevant theory, data, methods and measures in the research design. In all cases, proposed projects must address research issues that are relevant to the Foundation’s other core programs in Social, Political, and Economic Inequality; Future of Work; or Race, Ethnicity and Immigration.

Social Science Research Council - Data Dissertation Fellowship

Is open to PhD students who are actively enrolled in a PhD program, who may apply for awards in support of dissertation research. Applicants to the program should have completed all PhD coursework by the beginning of the fellowship term. In particular, we are interested in supporting research that makes creative use of available social data to investigate how social media interact with democracy and elections. Calls open in April.

The Charles Koch Foundation

Believes that society’s challenges are best addressed by social entrepreneurs — faculty, students, administrators, and nonprofit leaders — who have first-hand knowledge of a problem, a vision for solving it, and a passion for working with others to drive lasting change. View their website to see the topics of proposals they are looking for (education, foreign policy, health care) and deadlines.

The Institute for Humane Studies

The IHS offers funding opportunities forPhD students at any university. The Humane Studies Fellowship call opens three times a year, and the Hayek Fund for Scholars accepts applications on a rolling basis.

UACES Scholarships

The University Association for Contemporary European Studies awards scholarships for postgraduate students to undertake research in another country.

Woodrow Wilson Center - Fellowships  

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars welcomes outstanding and award winning scholars, practitioners, journalists and public intellectuals to take part in its non-partisan dialogue. Each year, the Center hosts around 160 scholars who conduct independent research on national and/or international issues addressing key public policy challenges. Through its scholars, the Center enriches crucial policy debates and provides a platform for scholars in the tradition of President Wilson to bring the worlds of policy and ideas together. In addition to its flagship international Fellowship program, the Center also hosts scholars selected through its individual programs.

Antonio Gramsci Dissertation Prize

With the Antonio Gramsci Dissertation Prize for Critical Research in the Migration Society, the Vienna Chamber of Labour, in cooperation with Bielefeld University, honors dissertations that examine migration society conditions with reference to the sectors of employment, social inequality, education and/or subjectivity as relations of domination and make a significant contribution to the further development of the thinking of critique directly or indirectly following Gramsci.  Submissions are possible in both German and English. Awarded once a year, deadline in June.

ÖIF Research Award

The Österreichische Integrationsfonds Research Award honors bachelor's and master's theses, and PhD dissertations in the field of integration of migrants or refugees.  Submissions are possible in both German and English. Awarded once a year, deadline in November.

UACES Best PhD Thesis Prize

The University Association for Contemporary European Studies awards a prize annually for the PhD thesis that has made an original and promising contribution to research in the area of contemporary European Studies in the previous year.