Call for entries for the 2025 Azizeh Sheibani Essay Prize

The Middle East Centre is pleased to invite submissions for the 2025 Azizeh Sheibani Essay Prize in Iranian and Persian-speaking World Studies. More details about how to enter this year’s prize can be found on the MEC’s Studentships and Prizes page here. The winner(s) will be invited to dine with the judges at High Table in St Antony’s College, and will receive an award of £400 (or, should two winners be chosen, £200 each). The results will be announced at the end of Trinity Term.

History of the Prize

The Azizeh Sheibani Essay Prize in Iranian studies was established in 2010 through the generosity of Dr Soraya Tremayne and named in her mother’s honour. The prize is awarded to the best essay(s) in Iranian studies, in any discipline of the humanities or social sciences. The essays are assessed on the basis of the originality of research and argumentation. Where appropriate, the judges try to assist authors with the publication of the winning essay in a suitable journal.