Essay Prize
Submission deadline
Sunday, 18 October 2026
Prize money
€1,000, €600 and €400
Organiser
Freie Universität Berlin, Stabsstelle Diversity, in cooperation with Berlin University Alliance
Target group
Students, researchers and academic staff at all career levels
Language
German or English
Further information
The essay prize is awarded as part of the project “Single, but Not Alone” (Alleinerziehend, aber nicht allein) funded by the FU Diversity Fund and the Berlin University Alliance. It is the first nationwide essay prize for single parents in academia, aiming to increase the visibility of single and separated parents in the academic world.
Essays may explore how precarious working conditions, institutional structures, mobility requirements and career expectations shape everyday life, professional decisions and experiences of parenthood in academia.
Contributions highlighting forms of resistance, support, solidarity and alternative ways of organising academic work and family life are equally welcome. Winning essays will be published via the social media channels of Freie Universität Berlin and shared through the network Single Parents in German Academia — under the author’s real name or a pseudonym.
Essays of 7–10 pages may be submitted in German or English, together with a short biographical note and contact details.
Photo: Charles Deluvio