EFNIL (the European Federation of National Institutions for Language) calls on students to participate in a competition to find the best master’s theses in Europe within the area of language use, language policy and multilingualism.
Current announcement: here
Call: here
Webseite EFNIL: here
Submission deadline: 15/01/2026
The award 2026
EFNIL (the European Federation of National Institutions for Language) calls on students to participate in a competition to find the best master’s theses in Europe within the area of language use, language policy and multilingualism.
The students that submit the best three theses will each be awarded:
- the EFNIL Master’s Thesis Award (1500 Euro)
- an invitation to present their thesis at the annual international EFNIL conference (all expenses paid)
- the opportunity to publish an article based on their thesis in EFNIL’s annual conference proceedings
- the opportunity to publish the full thesis on EFNIL’s website www.efnil.org.
About EFNIL
EFNIL is an independent organisation that brings together representatives from the major language organisations and other national language bodies of the member states of the European Union and associated countries. The Federation seeks to promote European linguistic diversity, with particular reference to the national languages of the European Union.
The Federation’s objectives include:
- To promote European linguistic diversity as a means of preserving and extending the richness of European culture and developing a sense of shared European identity
- To support the European national languages as the best guarantors of linguistic opportunity within their respective member states
- To support the European language organisations in their roles as centres of excellence for linguistic analysis and description and as advisory bodies on language policy to relevant political institutions
- To facilitate the exchange of information and the development and promotion of joint European linguistic research projects between language institutions
- To encourage, within each member state:
- the teaching of the national language or languages at all educational levels in schools, in order to promote the written and oral competence that is necessary to enable people to play a full role in society
- the teaching of foreign languages within the educational system (in accordance with common European performance standards) from the earliest possible age
- opportunities for non-native speakers (both children and adults) to learn the national language of the state in which they reside, and also to maintain competence in their native tongue
- exchange opportunities for students and teachers within the European Union.
Relevant topics
We are interested in studies that relate to the fields mentioned above, such as
- Language use in a multilingual setting
- Language technology and multilingualism
- Aims and effects of language policies
- Comparative studies of language policies
- Bilingual language learning
- Language teaching strategies
- Translation and interpretation.
The language(s) studied in the thesis may be any of the European languages.
The thesis should be written in one of the official languages of EFNIL member countries.
Preference will be given to theses that analyse and discuss political actions or policies.
Selection of the winners
The theses will be assessed by a jury on the basis of:
- the academic content
- the assessment by the university
- a summary 3-5 pages
- a recommendation by the supervisor of the thesis.
The jury will consist of members selected by EFNIL’s executive committee.
Conditions for participation
Participants must provide the following documents in electronic form:
- a reasoned application for the award (one page in English)
- a copy of the thesis (in any European national language)
- a summary of the thesis (3-5 pages in English)
- a copy of the assessment of the thesis conducted by the European university to which it is submitted (in any European national language)
- a recommendation to EFNIL by the supervisor of the thesis (in English).
All documents must be submitted in electronic form as either PDF, ODF or WORD files and sent in an e-mail to efnil@nytud.hu.
Notification
The winners will be notified no later than five months after the submission deadline, and their names will be published on the EFNIL website. They will receive an invitation to present a paper based on their results at the annual EFNIL conference, which takes place in a European country in September/October, and subsequently to publish an article in the conference proceedings. Furthermore, the winners receive an offer to publish the full thesis on EFNIL’s website.
Submission deadlines
The deadline for submission is 15 January 2026 for the awards in 2026.
Theses assessed by a European university in 2025, and until 15 January 2026, are accepted.
Contact information
For further information, please contact the EFNIL Secretariat at efnil@nytud.hu.
You can download the call from here.
