The Research Group on African Studies in France (CNRS, UAR 2999) plans to award, each year, research works focusing on the African continent and its diasporas that stand out for their excellence and particularly innovative content (empirical, methodological, theoretical).
The sum of €2500 will be granted to each laureate; this amount is intended, in priority, for funding the publication of the prize-winning theses.
Works defended in France between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025 are eligible, across all disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and letters (anthropology, geography, history, languages and literature, political science, sociology, archaeology, etc.).
Thesis Selection Criteria
- the quality of the contribution to studies on Africa and its diasporas;
- the originality of the subject, the innovative approach, and its relevance for the entire field (African Studies);
- the quality of writing for publication.
Timeline
– Opening of the Call for the GIS EAF Thesis Prize in 2025: December 5, 2025
– End of application submission: February 16, 2026 at midnight (Paris time)
– Pre-selection jury: mid-March 2026 (selection of 8 theses)
– Final jury in June 2026 ( finalist theses ex aequo)
The application folder, exclusively in PDF format, consists of the following documents:
- Online application form
- Thesis summary (maximum 5,000 characters), titled: NOM_Resume_2026
- Defense reports, titled: NOM_Rapport_2026
- Thesis, titled: NOM_These_2026
- It will be deposited on a permanent public server: https://sdrive.cnrs.fr/s/ifNNrZ9HYm5jWKB
- The thesis must remain accessible and downloadable until July 30, 2026.
Application Conditions
- The timeline is published on the GIS African Studies website and will be relayed through adequate means: https://etudes-africaines.cnrs.fr/type-actualite-gis/prix-de-these/
- The submission of applications will be exclusively on the sDrive file storage and sharing platform: https://sdrive.cnrs.fr/s/ifNNrZ9HYm5jWKB
If you encounter difficulties in submitting the documents, please contact Kadiatou Barry, coordinator for supporting the management of the GIS African Studies Group in France: kadiatou.barry@cnrs.fr
- Once their admissibility is validated, the applications will be examined by a first pre-selection jury of thirty-three members who will establish a reduced list of finalist candidates (8 applicants). This list will be published on the GIS African Studies Group websites. In a second phase, a final jury will designate the finalists.
Thesis authors can apply if they have:
- defended their thesis in the year preceding the award (between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2025)
- defended their thesis in France
- chosen from across all disciplines of the humanities and social sciences
- provided a defense report available for the prize juries
Evaluation Modalities
The evaluation of the theses and the award will be carried out by two successive juries made up of members of the GIS African Studies Group, with the possibility of including external scientific personalities. During the selection process, each thesis will be assessed by 2 evaluators. The members of the defense jury and the follow-up committees are excluded from the evaluation, while researchers or researcher-lecturers who are members of the candidate’s affiliated laboratory can potentially participate in the jury.
Contractual Obligations of the Laureates
- The prize cannot be combined with another distinction of a "thesis prize" type. Therefore, the selected applicants agree to report any reward obtained before the final jury (the date of which will be available on the GIS EAF website). Similarly, a thesis that is in the process of being published through other means cannot participate in the competition.
- The laureate must report, before the second jury meeting in June, any success in higher education and research competitions.
- participate in the award ceremony session under the patronage of the GIS African Studies Group (date to be specified to laureates)