Student Essay Prize

2022 Student Essay Prize: Health and conflict

We are now accepting submissions for the 2022 Student Essay Prize

The essay topic for this year is 'conflict and health' 

The essay could take the form of an opinion piece, a literature review, or presentation of original research. Personal perspectives are encouraged, and the essay must demonstrate a combination of scholarship, original thought, and analysis.

The essay should be submitted by 5pm GMT Tuesday 28 February 2023 

Submit now

Eligibility and Submission

This student essay competition is for students studying global health as a degree, or any degree with a component of global health or medicine.  It is open to current, full-time, students, based anywhere in the world. 

Evidence of student status must be provided at the point of submission. The prize is awarded annually, with submissions being accepted through an online platform. 

  • Essays should be between 1,500 and 2,000 words, excluding references, footnotes, and tables.
  • A 150–200-word summary should also be submitted together with the essay.
  • All sources must be appropriately acknowledged using references numbered in the order in which they appear in the text with brackets e.g. (2) for reference 2. References do not count as part of the word count. 
  • The essay must be in English.
  • Please try and organise the essay into a logical succession of headed sections, where possible.
  • The essay should be entirely your own original work and should not have been previously published. All essays will be checked for plagiarism and we encourage you to refer to an academic writing handbook such as this one produced by LSHTM for guidance.
  • Please note that if the summary is omitted; the essay will not be considered.
  • Only one essay per person can be submitted.

Assessment

The winner(s) will be selected by a panel of experts, and the decision ratified by an RSTMH Committee. Highly commended essays may also be selected. The decision of the Committee is final.

The panel will be assessing essays using the following criteria:

  • How well your personal perspective links to the local/national/international landscape
  • How well structured the essay is
  • How easy the essay is to understand
  • The evidence basis for your essay, including how you make use of relevant references
  • How much does the essay inspire or engage

Announcement and prize

We may publish on our website or in our newsletter anonymised data relating to submissions to the competition. We will announce the winners name and essay title, plus that of any highly commended submissions on our website and through other communication channels. We may publish submitted essays on the RSTMH website and through our other communications channels. We may publish the winning essay in our scientific journal and on our website. By submitting an essay you agree to these conditions.

The prize for the winning essay is £200, plus a year's free student membership to RSTMH, either new or a renewal.

We will also invite the winner to be presented with a certificate and their prize fund at an RSTMH event in 2023.

The essay should be submitted by 5pm GMT Tuesday 28 February 2023 

History of Student Essay Prize

We launched the Student Essay Prize in late 2018 after discussions with our Training and Education Committee to encourage students of varying disciplines to engage with the fields of tropical medicine and global health.