Inclu-Thesis prize
Ghent University will award a prize for the best and most innovative master’s thesis in which gender, diversity and/or inclusion plays a central role. This UGent initiative is a joint partnership with the City of Ghent. The thesis prize is open to all Ghent University students.
The Prize
The prize consists of a monetary award of €500 for the winner. The other two nominees will receive an honourable mention. The winner and the two nominees will present their theses at the Oostenrijks salon of Ghent City Hall, where the award ceremony will take place.
In addition, the winner and the nominees will be invited to rework the research findings from their theses into an article to be submitted to the editorial board of DiGeSt and/or Samenleving en Politiek.
Who is eligible to participate?
Any student enrolled at Ghent University (UGent) may participate up to and including 19 October of the academic year following the academic year in which the master’s degree was completed.
To be eligible for the prize, participants must therefore graduate during the relevant academic year and have successfully completed all courses and their master’s thesis.
Participants must have obtained a grade of at least 16/20 for their master’s thesis. The thesis may address any topic, provided that it has a clear scientific and/or policy relevance to the core themes of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
Participation and Procedure
Submissions must include a digital copy of the written thesis, in either Dutch or English. Participants are also asked to provide a brief explanation addressing the following three questions:
- Describe your master’s thesis in a maximum of 500 words.
- What are the points of intersection with diversity, equity, inclusion and/or belonging?
- Explain the extent to which the work has the potential to contribute to the societal embedding of diversity, equity, inclusion and/or belonging, and to what extent it is relevant to policymaking in these areas.
The jury is composed annually of five members, including academics and policy professionals. The jury members will first conduct a preselection based on the online application form, the abstract and the accompanying questions. Participants will receive confirmation that their submission has been received.
Submissions will be assessed according to three criteria:
- Scientific quality
- Innovative approach to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging
- Style, readability and gender-inclusive language
The final winner of the Inclu-Thesis Prize will be announced at the award ceremony.
Applications can be submitted until 19 October 2026. If the jury considers that the submissions do not meet the required standard, it reserves the right not to award the prize.