[Call for applications] 2026 Master’s Thesis Prize on Technology & Society

The Open Institute for Digital Transformations, supported by the PSIA Tech & Global Affairs Innovation Hub at Sciences Po, is pleased to announce its call for applications for the 2026 Master’s Thesis Prize on Technology & Society.

The prize is launched to award the outstanding work of two students from Sciences Po’s different master’s programs that promote the study of the transformative role of digital technology in society, or use innovative AI and digital methods to investigate the social world. 

The prize is intended to celebrate and highlight the depth and originality of master's students' work on digital transformations, in both their methodological approaches and objects of inquiry.

Award

An initial selection committee of Sciences Po experts will review each submission and rank them to identify five finalists. 

These finalists will be invited to present and discuss their work with Sciences Po academia during a public seminar in November. After a session of questions and answers, the jury will select and announce the two best works at the end of the event.

All finalists will have their work published on the websites of the Open Institute for Digital Transformations and the PSIA Tech & Global Affairs Innovation Hub. The two winners will receive prizes of an equivalent value of 500 EUR each, and have an abstract of their work published on Conférence, Sciences Po’s platform for publications

Eligibility

All students who validated a Master’s thesis as a part of their degree in the 2025-2026 academic year are eligible. All theses submitted to this Prize must have received a grade of at least 16/20. 

Candidates are invited to send their thesis, an abstract (200 words maximum), and CV to carly.hafner@sciencespo.fr by 16 September 2026. Maximum five candidates will be invited to present their work (in person or online) to an academic selection committee during the month of November, and the prize winners will be announced at this event.

Find out more:

• Open Institute for Digital Transformations
• PSIA Tech & Global Affairs Innovation Hub