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Chalkdust dissertation prize 2025

Calling all final-year students! This is your opportunity to get your work published as a Chalkdust article.

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18 June 2025

Have you just finished writing your dissertation about something cool in maths? Have a burning passion to share this cool maths with the world? Ever dreamed of taking that next step towards becoming a published author?

Dream no more—we can make that happen. We are now admitting submissions for the Chalkdust dissertation prize 2025!

If you think the world deserves to know about the research you did, this is your chance to get YOUR work published as a Chalkdust article.

dissertation 2025

To enter, just write up a summary of the maths you did, why you think it’s interesting, and why others might think it’s interesting too. Here’s what we’re looking for:

  • Your summary should be about three pages, when it’s typed as a standard LaTeX document.
  • It should explain some maths from your dissertation that you think is interesting, and that other people will enjoy learning about.
  • The maths should be at about the right level to stretch a keen sixth-former or first-year student; remember you’re an expert in your topic, but the rest of us aren’t!
  • Make sure it tells a story. The best Chalkdust articles have a hook at the start to get readers interested, and build towards a punchline at the end.
  • Jokes, pictures, and funny title suggestions are all great, but they’re not necessary at this stage and we will help you to add them in. Especially for pictures, if you have ideas but can’t quite make them happen a description is just as good for now!

The winner will receive a prize of £100 funded by the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA). On top of this, the winner will be featured on the website and have their article published in our next issue of the magazine.

Oh yeah, and there will be bragging rights. Forever.

This competition is open to final-year students from UK universities. If that’s not you, or you want to write an article about some maths that’s not in your dissertation, we’ve got you covered—the wider call for articles is also out now.

Send in your summary to contact@chalkdustmagazine.com by 15 July 2025 to be in with a chance of winning! Any questions about the competition (or writing articles/fun things in general), you can email the same address, or DM us at @chalkdustmag.

Sam is a maths student at Durham University where he hosts
Chalkboard Ultra podcast and spends too much time thinking about the Standard Model and Mexican hats. If he’s not pestering Adam then he can definitely be found playing the keytar in a funk band completely unrelated to quantum field theory.
sam-kay.com    All articles by Sam

Clare (like gare) is a Chalkdust editor. In her spare time, she’s an assistant professor at Durham University. She likes Skittles, probability, and making the magazine look more like Cosmo.
All articles by Clare

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