The Center for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies (CSEEES) at The Ohio State University is currently accepting submissions for the 2026 Midwest Slavic Association Student Essay Prize Competition. Please see below for more information on the competition and what needs to be included in submissions. We encourage faculty to share this opportunity with any students who might be interested.

2026 Midwest Slavic Association Student Essay Prize Competition

In addition to its support of the Midwest Slavic Conference, the Midwest Slavic Association also runs an essay prize competition each spring for undergraduate and graduate students with support from ASEEES. Undergraduate and graduate students can submit a paper on any topic related to Slavic, East European, and Eurasian studies to the Midwest Slavic Association for consideration. Students should have participated in the Midwest Slavic Conference OR be from an institution in the Midwest (defined as any college or university in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin). The best undergraduate paper received will win a one-year membership to ASEEES, and the graduate winner will receive a one-year membership to ASEEES, as well as being considered then for ASEEES’ Beth Holmgren Graduate Student Essay Prize at the national level. The graduate winner of this national competition receives $300, free roundtrip domestic airfare to and accommodations at the ASEEES Annual Convention and an honorary ASEEES membership for the following year. The prize is presented during the awards presentation at the Annual Convention. 

Undergraduate Essay Submissions 

Can be in a variety of formats, including: conference paper, thesis, course paper, or article. They should be no longer than 20 double-spaced pages including notes and bibliography. Submissions must be submitted electronically and written in English. With your submission, please also include a short bio of the author, an abstract of the essay, and indicate the format of the essay. 

Graduate Essay Submissions 

Can be of several formats: expanded versions of conference papers, graduate level seminar papers, Master's thesis chapters, or dissertation chapters. The student should indicate what type of paper they are submitting and provide an abstract. Essays should have a minimum word count of 7,500 and a maximum word count of 14,000 (25 to 50 pages approximately) inclusive of footnotes and bibliography. Submissions must be written in English, double-spaced, and include footnotes or endnotes. With your submission, please also include a short bio of the author, an abstract of the essay, and indicate the format of the essay. Please visit ASEEES' website for full information on the national level competition. 

All submissions are due on Friday, May 1, 2026, and should be emailed to cseees@osu.edu.