Limited Submission Opportunity 

2026 Gerda Henkel Prize 

Number of SLU slots: 1 

Internal Deadline: December 5, 2025 

Nomination Deadline: January 30, 2026 

The Award & Eligibility Criteria 

Every two years, the Gerda Henkel Foundation calls for nominations for the Gerda Henkel Prize for outstanding scholarly achievements in the historical humanities. Support is provided particularly for research projects in the following fields: Archaeology, History, Historical Islamic Studies, Art History, History of Law, Prehistory and Early History, and History of Science.  

Research projects that explore current issues in a larger historical context or focus on topics of relevance to the present or the future may also receive support from programmes of a limited duration in the following disciplines: Heritage Studies, Historical Building Research, Cultural Studies, Political Science, Law, Restoration and Conservation, and the Social Sciences.. 

Individuals as well as teams of several researchers can be nominated. The prize is 100,000 EUR.   

Guidance for the Nomination Process 

An internal competition will be held to assign the single slot. Interested faculty should submit a 1-2 page summary of their research project and CV, through SLU’s OpenWater portal by 5pm on December 5, 2025: https://slu.secure-platform.com/a/solicitations/232/home.  

A SLU faculty selection committee will review and select the most suitable applicant and notify all applicants of the outcome by December 15, 2025, barring any unforeseen circumstances.  The Foundation’s application deadline is January 30, 2026. 

For further information on the call for nominations, including nomination requirements and the decision-making process, please visit the Foundation’s website here. 

To see details of past recipients of the prize, please click here.  

Please contact the Research Development Services at rdg@slu.edu with any questions.