ESIST Outstanding PhD Thesis Award

ESIST is committed to supporting excellence in research and to supporting early career scholars. With this goal in mind, ESIST will award a biennial prize for the most outstanding PhD Thesis in the field of Audiovisual Translation and Media Accessibility. The winner of the first Award will be announced at Media for All 11 in 2025 and will receive a 500 EUR prize.

Who can apply

Applications must be submitted by the author of the PhD thesis. Supervisors and other ESIST members are invited to draw the attention of potential applicants to the Award.

Eligibility

Applicants must be ESIST members at the time of application. For information on how to become an ESIST member, click on BECOME A MEMBER.
Applicants must have been awarded the certificate of graduation for the PhD/received approval from the relevant doctoral committee during the five-year period preceding the deadline for submission of applications; i.e., between 30 September 2019 and 30 September 2024 inclusive.
The abstract and CV must be in English. In principle, the Award is open to PhD theses in any language. The Committee will endeavour to find suitable evaluators, but cannot guarantee the availability of evaluators.
Applicants can only make one application. Resubmissions of a thesis already assessed in an earlier round will not be considered.

How to apply

Applications must be submitted via email to the ESIST PhD Award Committee at email hidden; JavaScript is required. Applications must be submitted between 1 and 30 September 2024 inclusive.

Applications must include:

The PhD thesis (as a pdf or link to it in an academic repository).
A detailed abstract of 1500 words that includes and clearly sets out each of the following: main aims, context, methodology, key findings and implications of the research. The abstract should reflect the quality of the research and articulate the significant and novel contribution it makes to the field. Please note that the abstract should be written specifically for the purpose of applying for the Award, and should not be a standard PhD abstract.
A CV (maximum 3 pages) outlining key information on the candidate’s career, publications, funding/awards, conference presentations, and contributions to the academic community. It should include the title of the PhD, date of the viva and names of supervisor(s).
A statement from the PhD supervisor that states the title of the PhD, the date of the viva, and the grade obtained; or a scan of the official PhD graduation certificate.

Evaluation of applications

First round

Abstracts will be evaluated by all members of the ESIST PhD Award Committee based on the three criteria: outstanding quality of the research, methodology and original contribution to the field. Abstracts must follow the instructions set out above to make it to the second round.

Second round

Only PhDs short-listed based on the evaluation of abstracts will be assessed in the second round. Selected PhDs will be assessed by two evaluators with expertise in the research area, methodology and/or language, and who are members of the ESIST PhD Award Committee or suitably qualified academics appointed by the Committee. If necessary, a third evaluator will be appointed to adjudicate. The evaluation will be carried out based on the following criteria:

Outstanding quality of the research (40%): conceptual clarity; presents a coherent argument; deep knowledge of and critical assessment of existing work in the field; well-designed methodology; implementation; intellectual level.
Original contribution to the field of audiovisual translation and media accessibility (40%): innovation in terms of topic, methodology, impact, and/or theory. Forms a distinct and significant contribution to knowledge of the subject.
Presentation and form (20%): clarity, language correctness, terminological precision, referencing, typos, layout, tables etc.

The final decision will be proposed by the ESIST PhD Award Committee and ratified by the ESIST Board. The winner and any shortlisted candidate(s) will be announced at Media for All 11 in May 2025 and will be listed on the ESIST website.