Prizes

February 1 Annual Deadline for all prizes (except Bernath Lecture)

The Bernath Memorial Prizes

The Stuart L. Bernath Book Prize, the Stuart L. Bernath Lecture Prize, the Stuart L. Bernath Scholarly Article Prize, and the Stuart L. Bernath Dissertation Grant were established through the generosity of Dr. Gerald J. and Myrna F. Bernath, in memory of their late son, Stuart L. Bernath, Ph.D.

The purpose of the award is to recognize and encourage distinguished research and writing by scholars of American foreign relations. The prize of $2,500 is awarded annually to an author for his or her first book on any aspect of the history of American foreign relations.

Eligibility: The prize is to be awarded for a first book (including all previously authored or co-authored books but excluding edited volumes). The book must be a history of international relations. Biographies of statesmen and diplomats are eligible. General surveys, autobiographies, editions of essays and documents, and works that represent social science disciplines other than history are not eligible.

Procedures and Recent Winners

The Stuart L. Bernath Lecture Prize recognizes and encourages excellence in teaching and research in the field of foreign relations by younger scholars. The prize of $1,000 is awarded annually.

Eligibility: The prize is open to any person under forty-one years of age or within ten years of the receipt of the PhD (measured at the time the awardee would deliver the lecture) whose scholarly achievements represent excellence in teaching and research. Nominations may be made by any member of SHAFR or of any other established history, political science, or journalism department or organization.

Procedures and Recent Winners

The purpose of the prize is to recognize and encourage distinguished research and writing by junior scholars in the field of diplomatic relations. The prize of $1,000 is awarded annually to the author of a distinguished article appearing in a scholarly journal or edited book, on any topic in United States foreign relations.

Eligibility: The author must be a graduate student or within ten years of receiving the Ph.D. at the time of the article's acceptance for publication. The article must be among the first six publications by the author. Previous winners of the Stuart L. Bernath Book Award or the Myrna F. Bernath Book Award are ineligible.

Procedures and Recent Winners

The purpose of this award is to encourage scholarship by women, non-binary, and/or trans scholars in U.S. foreign relations history. The prize of $2,500 is awarded biannually (even years) to the author of the best book written by a such a scholar and published during the preceding two calendar years.

Eligibility: Nominees should be women, non-binary, and/or trans scholars who have published distinguished books in U.S. foreign relations, transnational history, international history, peace studies, cultural interchange, and defense or strategic studies. Membership in SHAFR is required.

Procedures and Recent Winners

Robert H. Ferrell Book Prize

This prize is designed to reward distinguished scholarship in the history of American foreign relations, broadly defined. The prize of $1,000 is awarded annually. The Ferrell Prize was established to honor Robert H. Ferrell, professor of diplomatic history at Indiana University from 1953 to 1990, by his former students.

Procedures and Recent Winners

The Graebner Award is a lifetime achievement award intended to recognize a senior historian of United States foreign relations who has significantly contributed to the development of the field, through scholarship, teaching, and/or service, over his or her career. The award of $2,000 is awarded biannually. The Graebner Award was established by the former students of Norman A. Graebner, professor of diplomatic history at the University of Illinois and the University of Virginia, to honor Norman and his wife Laura for their years of devotion to teaching and research in the field.

Eligibility: The Graebner prize will be awarded to a distinguished scholar of diplomatic or international affairs. The recipient's career must demonstrate excellence in scholarship, teaching, and/or service to the profession. Although the prize is not restricted to academic historians, the recipient must have distinguished himself or herself through the study of international affairs from a historical perspective.

Procedures and Recent Winners

The Betty M. Unterberger Prize is intended to recognize and encourage distinguished research and writing by graduate students in the field of diplomatic history. The Prize of $1,000 is awarded biannually (in odd years) to the author of a dissertation, completed during the previous two calendar years, on any topic in United States foreign relations history. The Prize is announced at the annual SHAFR conference. The Prize was established in 2004 to honor Betty Miller Unterberger, a founder of SHAFR and long-time professor of diplomatic history at Texas A&M University.

Applicants are encouraged to review carefully the criteria for both the Betty M. Unterberger and Oxford University Press dissertation prizes, as they are offered in nonconsecutive years and have different requirements. Individuals who submit their dissertation for one award and do not receive it may submit it for the other if their work meets the criteria.

Procedures and Recent Winners

The Oxford University Press USA Dissertation Prize in International History recognizes the best dissertation writing by a rising historian who has completed a research project defined as international history. The Prize of $1,000 is awarded biannually (in even years) to the author of a dissertation, completed during the previous two calendar years. For a dissertation to qualify, the research must be multinational in framing and scope, and there will be a preference for works that have a multilingual source base. In endowing this prize, Oxford University Press hopes to recognize the stellar work of junior scholars and to highlight works that have not been the focus of area studies and other regional and national approaches. Winners will be invited to submit the resulting manuscript to Oxford University Press USA for a formal reading for possible publication. The authors must be members of SHAFR at the time of submission. The Prize is announced at the annual SHAFR conference (even years).

Applicants are encouraged to review carefully the criteria for both the Betty M. Unterberger and Oxford University Press dissertation prizes, as they are offered in nonconsecutive years and have different requirements. Individuals who submit their dissertation for one award and do not receive it may submit it for the other if their work meets the criteria.

Procedures and Recent Winners

The Robert A. and Barbara Divine Graduate Student Travel Fund was established in 2006 to honor Professor and Mrs. Robert A. Divine. A long-time professor at the University of Texas, Bob Divine made a deep impact on the field of U.S. foreign relations history through his numerous, influential books and articles and his careful attention to the education of graduate students. The Divine Fund supports the travel of graduate students who are presenting papers at the annual meetings of SHAFR.

When submitting a paper proposal to a SHAFR annual meeting Program Committee, graduate students in need of travel assistance should indicate their interest in financial support from the Divine Fund. The Program Committee will evaluate those applications and allocate the available funds. The total amount of funding available each year varies, as do the specific awards given. (The Program Committee makes decisions about paper proposals strictly on their merits, and without regard to financial needs indicated.)

The Peter L. Hahn Distinguished Service Award is intended to recognize a senior historian who has provided significant contributions to the growth and development of our organization over the course of their career.  The award was established by Council in 2017—marking the organization’s fiftieth anniversary—to recognize those who have contributed to the growth of the organization and the development of its members.  

Procedures and Recent Winners

The purpose of the award is to recognize historians whose scholarship produces fresh perspectives on international or global history.  The prize of $1,500 is awarded annually to an author of any nationality for their first book on any aspect of international or global history since the mid-19^th century that makes substantial use of historical records in more than one language.

Eligibility: The prize is to be awarded for a first book (including all previously authored or co-authored books but excluding edited volumes).  The book must be an international or global history that contributes to scholarship in the field based on substantial use of historical records in more than one language.  General surveys, autobiographies, editions of essays and documents, and works that represent social science disciplines other than history are not eligible.

Procedures and Recent Winners

The Anna K. Nelson Award for Archival Excellence honors an archivist who has demonstrated both exemplary expertise as well as outstanding and dedicated service over time to the community of scholars of the history of U.S. foreign relations and international history. 

This prize is awarded biannually (odd-numbered years) at the SHAFR conference. The Nelson Prize was established in 2020 to honor Anna Kasten Nelson, an outstanding scholar of U.S. foreign relations who also served as a tireless advocate for making governmental records available to the public and to the scholarly community. 

Eligibility: The Nelson Award will be awarded to an archivist whose career, over time, has demonstrated both exemplary expertise as well as outstanding and dedicated service to the community of scholars of the history of U.S. foreign relations and international history.

Procedures and Recent Winners

The LaFeber-Wood Prize for Distinguished Teaching recognizes and encourages excellence in teaching in the field of foreign relations. The prize of $1,000 is awarded annually at the summer conference.

Procedures and Recent Winners