Announcing the Department of Religious Studies 2025 Best Paper Prizes
Deadline Friday, May 22, 5:00 pm.
Late Submissions will not be considered.
The department will award prizes in three categories
- Best Short Essay Prize (approximately 5-10 double-spaced pages; or approximately 2000-4000 words)
- Best Research paper (approximately 10-30 double-spaced pages; or approximately 4000-9000 words)
- Best Senior thesis
Each winning entry will receive a gift certificate to the UCD Bookstore ($100 for essay, $150 for research and $250 for thesis) and be featured on the RST website. The awards will be presented at our RST spring graduation party in June 2025.
Eligibility:
For the short essay and research essay prizes, the paper must have been written for an RST course at UC Davis during the Fall Quarter 2024 through the Winter Quarter 2025. Papers submitted anytime during Spring 2025 (i.e., the current quarter) are not eligible for the RST Paper prize this year.
- For the Senior Thesis prize, students completing their thesis in Spring 2025 may submit their work for consideration.
- Open to undergraduate students in any major or minor. One need not be a Religious Studies major to submit an entry.
- One submission per student.
- Prior winners of the prize in any category may submit essays for consideration this year.
Submissions will be evaluated by Religious Studies faculty members.
How to submit your entry:
Self-submission:
1. Papers should be typed, double-spaced, and no more than 20 pages.
2. Please include page numbers. Put your name, student ID number, title of paper, and email address on a cover sheet.
3. Make your document a single .pdf
4. E-mail your attachment to Amy Lowrey, undergraduate program coordinator, at allowrey@udavis.edu . In the subject line of your e-mail, write: ‘RST Undergraduate Writing Prize submission.’ Include the category of prize for which you are applying in the subject line.
Nominations: Professors teaching an RST class may also nominate student papers for the writing prize
