Applications Now Open!
The CEW Bean Prize for Military History fosters the study of Army military history and heritage at the tertiary level. The prize, named after prominent Australian military historian Charles Edwin Woodrow Bean (1879-1968), was established in 2004 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Australian Army History Unit. The prize is aligned with the biennial Chief of Army History Conference.
The prize is rigorously assessed by a panel of experts appointed by the Army. Winners are notified at the conclusion of the assessment and all applicants receive feedback from the assessors.
The prize consists of:
- $500 in cash
- Inscribed medallion
- Return airfares for the winner to attend the 2025 Chief of Army History Conference
- Presentation of the Award at the Chief of Army History Conference dinner.
To be eligible for the prize you must have:
- Submitted your thesis in the past three years (2023, 2024 and 2025) to an Australian university
- Focused your thesis on Australia military history
- Not submitted your thesis to the prize previously.
Honours, Masters and PhD theses will be examined separately. The prize will be judged by two external examiners appointed by the Australia Army History Unit.
How to apply
The Australian Army History Unit invites applications from Honours, Masters and PhD students who have completed and submitted their thesis for examination to an Australian university in the previous three calendar years. For example, the 2025 prize will be open to all theses submitted in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
All applicants will be notified of the outcome at the conclusion of assessment.
Please email your application and thesis along with the following information to aahu.conference@defence.gov.au:
- Name
- Thesis title
- Email address
- Postal address
- Thesis supervisor name and email
- An electronic copy of your thesis and examiners’ reports.
Applications close 2 May 2025
CEW Bean prize recipients
- 2023 – Nick Anderson (Postgraduate Division): ‘Getting the House in Order: Tactical Intelligence in the South-West Pacific Area’
- 2022 – Prize not awarded
- 2021 – Prize not awarded