CSIS Graduate Student Prize in Applied Military History Submission Guidelines

The Society for Military History and the CSIS Project on Military and Diplomatic History are pleased to announce the CSIS Graduate Student Prize in Applied Military History. The prize will be awarded to the author of the best essay of 5,000 to 8,000 words that uses military history to inform current international security problems. Contestants are permitted use any historical period, place, or persons to offer insights into current international security issues. The competition is open to graduate students studying military history, including those pursuing a second degree.  Active-duty or civilian students enrolled in a degree-granting PME institution are also encouraged to submit (subject to the limitations of classification and school regulations), but please observe the word limits.
 
The prize will be awarded at the Society’s awards luncheon. The awardee will receive $1,000, and will be reimbursed for up to $1,000 in travel expenses to attend the Annual Meeting.
 
Essays should be submitted in electronic form to Eliot Cohen at Ecohen@csis.org.  The application deadline is February 9, 2026, and the winner will be announced by early March.