Grants and Awards

The Prehistoric Society offers a range of grant and award schemes to members (and in the case of the Conference Fund, to non-members) to support further study into areas of prehistoric research.

Grants are made on an annual basis and application forms can be found on the website. Awards are competitive and based on merit and are assessed by a Grants committee comprising members of the Executive Committee, utilising a numerical score. Awards are then made in order of score, until all the available funds have been allocated. Where equal merit is achieved, consideration is given to distribute grants between early career and experienced researchers. Applications must detail the full nature of the costs and recipients of those costs. Awards must be reported on; these are checked and where work is not completed to a satisfactory standard grants will be reclaimed.

For more details on each scheme, and to access applications forms, see the list below.

If you wish to submit an application for any of our grants or awards, please ensure you have read our Submitting an application guidance first.

Collections Study Award

Deadline: 31st January annually

The application criteria for this reward are under review (will be completed December 2024). An award of up to £3000 for the study of a specified area of a museum’s archaeological collections and/or archives relating specifically to human prehistory. The Society’s Awards Committee will award grants to one or more projects each year (the combined amount not exceeding a total of £3000) according to its judgement on best overall value for money.

The Prehistoric Society-SUERC Radiocarbon Award

Deadline: 31st January annually

Through the generosity of Scottish Universities Environment Research Centre (SUERC), The Prehistoric Society is able to offer an annual award of up to three radiocarbon dates relevant to any field of Prehistory.

R.M. Baguley Award

The R.M. Baguley Award is presented each year for the best contribution (in Council's opinion) to the Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society.

Undergraduate Dissertation Prize

Deadline: 5th August 2023

Prehistoric Society Undergraduate Dissertation Prize celebrates the dissertation that has made the greatest contribution to the study of prehistory in any part of the world. This prestigious prize represents an excellent opportunity for outstanding young scholars to have their work publicly recognised.

The John and Bryony Coles Bursary

Deadline: 31st January annually

The application criteria for this reward are under review (will be completed December 2024). This bursary was established in 1998, by John and Bryony Coles, to enable student members of the Prehistoric Society to travel away from their home country or region to study and work at prehistoric archaeology. Two awards of between £200 and £300 each are usually given each year.

Conference Fund

Deadline: 31st January annually

The aim of the Conference Fund is to further the development of prehistory as an international discipline. At present, two scholarships per annum are available and are usually in the range of £200-£300 each.

Research Fund

Deadline: 31st January annually

Grants to assist research into prehistory in any part of the world. Preference is likely to be given to small-scale projects less likely to attract significant funding from other major sources. Several awards within the range of £100-£1500 are usually made annually.

Events Fund

Deadline: None - available year-round

The Prehistoric Society currently funds and supports a variety of events, lectures and conference in collaboration with other societies and partners. Grants from this fund are to support the running and coordination of such events relating to prehistory.