Virtus Thesis Award
For the third time, the Society for Nobility Studies will present the Virtus Thesis Award for Nobility Studies for the best (Research) Master’s thesis devoted to (an aspect of) the study of the nobility. To be eligible for submission, the thesis must have been produced in completion of an academic Master’s or Research Master’s programme in history or another relevant discipline at a Dutch or Belgian university. The thesis must be written in Dutch, English, French or German and officially completed between 1 September 2018 and 1 September 2020.
In addition to the award, the winning student will receive €500,- and will be given the opportunity to submit an article based on the thesis to be published in Virtus. Journal of Nobility Studies, provided the article is approved by the editorial board and two external referees.
To compete for the Virtus Thesis Award for Nobility Studies 2020, one can submit the following documents by email to
- An information form including your name, email address, study, university or research institute, graduation date, and thesis supervisor;
- The Master’s or Research Master’s Thesis with page numbers;
- An abstract of approximately 100 words;
- Curriculum vitae
The thesis has to be received no later than 1 October 2020. You will receive a notification confirming the receipt of the thesis. All submitted theses will be reviewed by a jury appointed by the Society for Nobility Studies. This year, the jury is composed of prof. dr. Koen Ottenheym (chair), dr. Conrad Gietman, dr. Elyze Storms-Smeets, and dr. Claartje Wesselink. All correspondence goes through the email address mentioned above. If none of the submitted theses meet the jury's requirements, the jury reserves the right not to present the award.
The Virtus Thesis Award for Nobility Studies 2020 is supported by a donation of the Stichting Professor van Winter Fonds.
Winners
2018
The Virtus Thesis Award for Nobility Studies 2018 is awarded to Joris van Son for his thesis Studying Music at Home: Eighteenth-Century Dutch Domestic Music-Making (Research Master Musicology, Utrecht University), supervised by dr. Rebekah Ahrendt. The jury was formed by prof. dr. Maarten Prak (chair), prof. dr. Hans Cools, dr. Conrad Gietman and dr. Elyze Storms-Smeets.
2016
The Virtus Thesis Award for Nobility Studies 2016 was presented to Gerrit van Oosterom for his Dutch thesis Gronden van vermaak. Een reconstructie van de ontwikkeling van de buitenplaatscultuur en het buitenplaatslandschap langs de Oude Rijn tussen Leiden en Utrecht (1600-1900) (University of Groningen), supervised by prof. dr. Yme Kuiper. The jury was formed by prof. dr. Willem Frijhoff (chair), dr. Conrad Gietman, dr. Sophie Reinders and dr. Elyze Storms-Smeets.