€1,000 award for outstanding work in the field of American Studies
Deadline: April 15, 2026
Rolf Kentner Dissertation Prize | Heidelberg Center for American Studies (HCA)
The Rolf Kentner Dissertation Prize is awarded outstanding work in the field of American studies. It honors one of the HCA’s earliest benefactors († 2019) and is endowed with € 1.000 by the Jacob Gould Schurman Foundation.
Eligible for submission are dissertations completed at a German university in the fields of American literature and culture, geography, history, art history, political science, religious studies, sociology, or constitutional law in English or German which are unpublished at the time of submission. It is possible to submit completed dissertations even though the doctoral examination has not yet taken place (if it will take place in the near future). Dissertations should not be older than two years. A multidisciplinary and international panel will select the winner.
Applications for the Rolf Kentner Dissertation Prize must include the following documents (all to be submitted electronically):
- Dissertation (one copy; in German or English)
- Summary of the dissertation (in English; maximum 2 pages)
- Two reviews/letters of recommendation (in German or English; the reviews provided by the first and second examiners of the dissertation are sufficient)
- Curriculum vitae (tabular format; in English)
Please submit the complete application as a single PDF file to
hca@uni-heidelberg.de.
The application deadline for the Rolf Kentner Dissertation Prize 2027 is 15 April 2026. The award ceremony will take place in spring 2027.
We welcome submissions of PhD dissertations from all universities in Germany.
For further information, please contact Juhee Jeong (jjeong@hca.uni-hdeiberg.de)
Contact:
Juhee Jeong
Heidelberg Center for American Studies
Hauptstr. 120
69117 Heidelberg
E-Mail: jjeong@hca.uni-heideberg.de