The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia is pleased to announce that nominations for the 2026 Paul Bourke Awards for Early Career Research in the social sciences are now open. Named in honour of distinguished past-President Paul Francis Bourke, these prestigious awards celebrate outstanding contributions from early career researchers within the social sciences.
Each year, four Paul Bourke Award recipients are selected by members of the Academy’s Panel Committees. These awards recognise social science researchers who have received their doctorate within the past five years, with allowances for career interruptions.
The 2025 Paul Bourke Award recipients were Dr Tianze Sun, Dr Erin O’Donnell, Dr Kathryn Baragwanath and Dr Archie Thomas.
Award recipients will receive support from the Academy to present a lecture on their research delivered at their home universities in the following year, as well as other opportunities to promote and share their research more widely.
Nominations for the 2026 award close on Friday 12 June.
For more details on the nomination process and to access the nomination form, please visit our website.