Doctoral dissertation prize

Eligibility

To be considered for a prize, students must have been awarded a doctoral degree by dissertation within the relevant academic year and must be nominated by their examiners.

Students who were registered for a doctoral degree by published work are not eligible for this prize.

Examiners nominate a student for a doctoral dissertation prize if they agree that the student's dissertation:

1. demonstrates exceptional achievement in substance and presentation
2. shows a high level of originality and makes a significant contribution to the field, and 
3. excels in the use of research methods and/or techniques.

Examiners nominate suitable dissertations on their joint final report and the nominations are discussed by the RDEB.

Some faculties also award prizes for Master of Science by Research (MScR) dissertations but that is not covered in this guidance.

Judging process

The Faculty Academic Director (PGR) reviews all doctoral prize nominations and proposes three winners for their faculty.

RDEB confirms the winners from each faculty at its first meeting of the next academic year. 

The RDEB Chair decides on a Vice-Chancellor's prize for best doctoral dissertation from the faculty winners.

Announcing the results

Formal communications will be sent to the winners following the RDEB decision. 

Doctoral dissertation prize winners 2025/26 

Arts, Law and Social Sciences

Dr Maggie Fannon, Law School
Decent Sex Work: The Possibilities and Limits of the Law
Supervisors: Professor Joanne Conaghan and Dr Katie Cruz

Dr Simon Hill, Business School
Housing our Humanity: a journey through philosophy and policy to illuminate the possibilities of housing ethics
Supervisors: Professor Martin Parker and Dr Harry Pitts

Dr Rebecca Tyson, School of Humanities
Sailing to Conquest: Maritime activity and identity in eleventh-century Normandy
Supervisors: Professor Benjamin Pohl and Dr Marianna Dudley

Health and Life Sciences

Dr Bushra Farooq, Medical School
The association between adverse childhood experiences and mental health
Supervisors: Dr Becky Mars, Professor Laura Howe and Dr Abby Russell

Dr Katy Fleming, School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Investigations of neutrophil development in health and disease
Supervisors: Dr Borko Amulic and Dr Emma Vincent

Dr Benjamin Woolf, School of Psychological Science
Using Mendelian randomization to assess the causal effects of familial environmental tobacco smoke exposure
Supervisors: Dr Hannah Sallis, Professor Marcus Munafò and Dr Stephen Burgess

Science and Engineering

Dr Fergus Baker, School of Physics
General relativistic effects in black hole X-ray coronal models - winner of the Vice-Chancellor's prize for best doctoral dissertation
Supervisors: Dr Andrew Young and Dr Sotiria Fotopoulou

Dr Ellie Prosser, School of Computer Science
Interactive Agents for Online Child Safety
Supervisors: Dr Matthew Edwards and Dr Claudia Peersman

Dr Yuming Liu, School of Earth Sciences
The evolution of insect wing shapes: from the morphological and functional perspective
Supervisors: Professor Philip Donoghue and Professor Emily Rayfield