The Cultural Evolution Society gives this award to a researcher who has shown outstanding contribution and potential in the field within 5 years of gaining their PhD.

This award is intended to highlight and recognise the emerging researchers who have already made an impact on our field through their scholarship, or by integrating their research activities with superlative mentorship or training or academic service that has contributed to enhancing the scientific impact of the field.

Competitions will be held every two years in conjunction with the bi-annual conference.

Eligibility: Applicants must have completed (had conferred) their PhD within the last five calendar years. Time spent outside of the academy, in non-employed or non-salaried status, or on leave, including for medical or parental leave, can be subtracted from the 5 year period. Applicants must be current members of CES. Previous applicants and finalists can re-apply as long as they meet the eligibility criteria.

Award: The winner of the award will be given the opportunity to present a plenary talk highlighting their work at the bi-annual Cultural Evolution Society conference held the same year. The cost of travel, accommodation and registration fee to attend the conference will be covered by CES. We do not want to dissuade applicants who might not be able to travel to the 2026 conference. As such, we aim to be flexible in terms of giving the recipient the opportunity to give their plenary talk virtually, or defer their plenary talk to the next conference if virtual attendance this year is not possible.

Application Materials: Applicants should submit
– A current CV
– A 2 page document describing the applicant’s contributions to the field of
cultural evolution.
– Up to 3 pieces of supporting documentation for major contributions.

Deadline: All application materials must be submitted by March 25, 2026.

Application site: https://forms.gle/GycUhdFj7q6UmuqH6

Review: The CES awards committee, currently chaired by executive committee member Dr. Minhua Yan, will review applications. Outside reviewers will be sought as needed if the committee members feel they do not have sufficient expertise regarding a particular topic.

Award announcement will be made by April 15, 2026. The awards committee will follow best practises in the review process, to minimise the impact of implicit or explicit biases that disadvantage underrepresented groups in the academy

For queries about the award, please contact Minhua Yan CES Awards committee chair ([email protected]).

Past winners:

2024: Helena Miton, Stanford Graduate School of Business

2022: Nicole Wen, Brunel University London

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• Focus: Empowering researchers to adopt tested cultural evolution course material in diverse educational settings.
• Eligibility: Researchers seeking to incorporate cultural evolution content into their teaching. Applicants should possess a PhD or equivalent qualification that enables undergraduate-level instruction in their respective country. Emphasis will be placed on early-career researchers and those from majority-world countries, though academics from all career-stages are welcome to apply. Preference will also be given to those who can dedicate a full semester or a significant series of classes to the subject. Proposals for online course development could also be considered, though not encouraged.
• Additional considerations: We are ideally looking for researchers who are invested in fostering the growth of cultural evolution as an academic field. We will prioritise applications with greater teaching impact (i.e. students, terms). We understand that for early career researchers this may be a constraint.
• Application process: Applicants must submit a letter of approval from their department director (specific details negotiable), a statement explaining your interest in cultural evolution, and a comprehensive CV. To finalize the award and disburse any associated funds, awardees are required to submit a post-teaching report demonstrating the impact of their course. Apply here:

• https://vuw.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_50v5Kia9wT57578

• Resource: Applicants will use the course materials developed in Phase 1, accessible through the program’s repository.
• Award: Ten (10) awards of $2,000 each will be granted to support the integration of cultural evolution content into existing or new courses.
• Outcome: Expansion of cultural evolution education through the dissemination of established materials, fostering innovative teaching practices and empowering the next generation of educators. Awardees will be given the opportunity to interact with winners of Phase 1.

• Rough Timeline:

• Applications open August 7, 2025
• Sept – May 2025: winners teach with materials
• Summer 2026: teaching impact reports due and winners announced

Thanks to the generosity of the John Templeton Foundation (Grant #61913), the Cultural Evolution Society is running a major funding scheme to address big questions in the field of Cultural Evolution. After all, how our cultures evolve (including how information is transmitted, how people make decisions, and the interaction with our biology) is a pressing issue in a world in which our cultural activities are causing rapid, and drastic, social and physical changes.

Sorry, this grant scheme has now ended.

Find out more about this grant scheme on the CES Transformation Fund website.