GenDivers-Preis 2026

GenDivers Award 2026
for theses and artistic graduation projects in the fields of gender & queer studies, advanced feminism, and diversity studies

• The applicant's own artistic and/or scholarly practice is understood as research in a defined research context,
• theoretical and conceptual approaches are reflected upon against the backdrop of structural and historical change,
• the issues addressed are shaped by a critique of normativity and/or recognise intersectional connections,
• gender and sexuality are explicitly considered as categories of knowledge (reflection on gender-specific power and dominance relations, gender roles, forms of desire, etc.) and/or
• the construction, deconstruction, and reconstruction of aspects of identification (gender, desire, race, class, religion/worldview, age, disability, etc.) are analysed in visual, scenic, performative, music-related, and/or pedagogical forms/artistic processes.

The GenDivers prizes are open to students of all disciplines and are endowed as follows:

• Bachelor's thesis: €300
• Diploma and master's thesis/project: €500
• Doctoral thesis: €800

Application requirements

• Current (full-time enrolment) or recently completed studies at the Mozarteum University Salzburg.
• The submitted scholarly/artistic thesis/final project must correspond to the above-mentioned understanding of a scholarly/artistic examination in the fields of gender & queer studies, advanced feminism, and diversity studies and must have been submitted/presented at the Mozarteum University Salzburg between 1^st November 2023 and 31^st October 2026 (other educational institutions cannot be considered).
• Scholarly work must comply with good scholarly practice and the current guidelines for writing bachelor's, diploma, and master's theses, as well as the guidelines for gender- and diversity-sensitive language.
• A thesis/final project can only be submitted once.

Application documents

• Fully completed form
  
• EITHER: academic paper
  (written summary (approx. 800 words) illustrating how the paper — in terms of problem definition, research context and state of research, theoretical reference, research question(s), objective(s)/hypothesis(es), result(s), etc.—corresponds to the understanding of an academic/cultural debate in the fields of gender & queer studies, advanced feminism, and diversity studies.)
  
• OR: artistic work
  Lecture recital, CD/DVD, film, theatre productions or similar.
  (Written description (approx. 800 words) illustrating the extent to which the work/project (e.g., in terms of problem definition, research context, theoretical reference, practical implementation, etc.) corresponds to the presented understanding of a scholarly/artistic discussion in the fields of Gender & Queer Studies, Advanced Feminism, and Diversity Studies).
• Digitised version of the academic thesis or the written in the case of artistic theses/projects.
• Audio or video recording of artistic thesis.
• Reasoned recommendation from the supervisor (max. one A4 page).

All application documents must be submitted in German or English and sent by email (iggs@moz.ac.at) by 30^th  November 2026, at the latest. If selected, the winners will be notified in writing and honoured at a public award ceremony.

Information: iris.mangeng@moz.ac.at