As a stimulus to the pursuit of excellence into the study and treatment of tropical diseases, the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annually offers a prize of £500 each in the following categories:

• the best report of an elective project* undertaken in a tropical country by a medical student
• the best account of original research by an MSc student or intercalating BSc student†

In awarding the prizes, emphasis will be placed on the originality of the work undertaken and on its contribution to knowledge or understanding of the subject. Particular weight will be given to projects that have been developed and carried out by the student themselves.

*Descriptive elective reports are no longer encouraged.  A project should be a stand alone piece of work with defined aims and undertaken in a tropical country during the student’s elective period.

† In recognition of the increasing interest in global health amongst today’s medical students, the Society now provides an opportunity for medical student to submit reports for projects undertaken as part of an intercalated degree in global health.

RULES

1. Students of any nationality from any university or institution are eligible to enter for the prizes. The application should be supported by a letter of not more than 500 words from their head of department, supervisor or institute director.
2. Where human subjects have been involved in research, evidence of approval from a local ethics committee must accompany the application.
3. Reports should be submitted by e.mail as a PDF. Powerpoint presentations or CDs are not acceptable.
4. The project or report should have been completed in the preceding 24 months. There is no stipulation as to the length of reports.
5. The closing date for receipt of submissions is 31 December annually.
6. A committee of three shall choose the winners. The winners will be notified in March and the prizes presented at the Annual General Meeting of the Society in September.
7. Abstracts or edited summaries of the winning reports may be published at the Editor’s discretion in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
8. Medical students are invited to submit their elective project report for the prize on their return.
   The Society cannot provide funds to cover any students' travel or other expenses.
9. MSc project reports as submitted for the MSc degree should be forwarded to the Society as a PDF. The work may be laboratory- or clinically-based and not necessarily carried out in a tropical or developing country. The account must be of original research and may be on any tropical subject. Reviews of the literature on the subject are unacceptable.
10. You can download the application form from this website. Completed forms, project reports and supervisor’s statements should be returned by 31 December.

See list of previous winners.