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Award

BERA Undergraduate Award

This award is for recent graduates who have completed their undergraduate degree in a field related to educational research.

This award is for recent graduates who have completed their undergraduate degree in a field related to educational research.

Eligibility Criteria

  • This award is open to individuals who completed an undergraduate degree in education or a related subject during the previous year.

Prizes

  • £250
  • BERA Membership (If you are already a BERA member, you will be given a second year of membership)

Judging

Nominations will be scored by the BERA Early Career Researcher Network judging panel. The panel’s judgement will be framed by the following criteria:

Rationale

  • This criterion relates to how coherently and explicitly the dissertation articulates its rationale and presents a justification for the research. High-quality entries should justify their rationale effectively by drawing upon existing literature.

Methodological rigour

  • This criterion relates to how robustly the research within the dissertation has been conducted taking into account, for example, research design, data collection methods, data analysis and research ethics. High-quality entries should demonstrate a sound and critical understanding of the selected design(s) and method(s).

Conceptual or theoretical underpinning

  • This criterion relates to how well the dissertation draws upon conceptual and/or theoretical frameworks to support the analysis and/or interpretation of the data generated. High-quality entries are expected to demonstrate a sound understanding and justify the selection of said conceptual and/or theoretical frameworks.

Presentation of findings

  • This criterion relates to how clearly the findings of the research – and their significance – are presented, including how effectively these are related to existing literature. High-quality entries are able to showcase the interconnectedness between the reported findings and the research questions.

Potential implications for research and practice

    • The criterion relates to how thoughtfully the utility of the findings is conveyed in respect to potential recommendations arising from the research and/or implications for research and practice moving forwards. High-quality entries will include implications that are specific and make explicit references to the reported findings.

The winner will be invited to the 2024 Awards Ceremony in November to accept their award.

To apply, please click apply now at the top of the page.

You will be asked to upload a 600 word abstract of your dissertation (not including references)

Please ensure your dissertation file is named LAST NAME. FIRST NAME. UNDERGRADUATE

You will also be asked to upload a link to your dissertation hosted on an external website such as dropbox, google drive or onedrive.

The deadline to apply is 10 May, 2024

2024 BERA Undergraduate Award Winner

Profile picture of Emily Quinton
Emily Quinton, Miss

University of Bristol

Emily holds a BSc in Psychology in Education from the University of Bristol. She was awarded the 2024 BERA Undergraduate Award for her thesis, ""How has no-one told me this before?”: Queer Experiences of Sex Education and its Associated...

2023 BERA Undergraduate Award Winner

Profile picture of Maria Pulman
Maria Pulman, Miss

University of Bristol

Maria holds a BSc in Education Studies and a MSc in Education, Policy, and International Development from the University of Bristol. She is the proud winner of the 2023 BERA Undergraduate Award for her thesis ‘Stepping Outside of the System:...

2022 BERA Undergraduate Award Winners

Profile picture of Alice Sleightholme
Alice Sleightholme, Miss

Trainee Teacher at St. Aloysius Primary School

Alice is currently training to be a qualified primary teacher. Her professional development began with a bachelor’s degree in Education and Geography (combined hons.) at the University of Durham. My research interests include educational...

Profile picture of Chang Liu
Chang Liu, Miss

MPhil at University of Cambridge

Chang Liu is a postgraduate student reading MPhil Research in Second Language Education at the University of Cambridge. She is interested in sociolinguistics and ESL/EFL education with a special focus on language investment, identity, informal...

2021 Undergraduate Award Winner

Profile picture of Sze Wa Ho
Sze Wa Ho, Miss

Teacher of Biology at Kimbolton School

Sze Wa Ho is currently a Teacher of Biology at Kimbolton School. Her professional development began with a double bachelor’s degree in Education and Science at the University of Hong Kong, followed by an MPhil in Education (Globalisation and...