Annual International Berkeley Prize Competition for Undergraduate and Diploma Architecture Students

The 2019 Essay Prize Competition

Program(s) Offered: Writing contest (Architecture, Allied arts, Social sciences)
Program Level: Undergraduate (BSc, Diploma)
Provider: Department of Architecture, University of California, Berkeley
Country to Write in: USA, Any country

Scholarship Description
The Berkeley Undergraduate Prize for Design Excellence endowment was established in the Department of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley College of Environmental Design to promote the investigation of architecture as a social art.

Each year the PRIZE Committee selects a topic important to the understanding of the interaction of people and the built world that becomes the focus of the Essay Competition. Students enrolled in any accredited undergraduate architecture program or diploma in architecture program throughout the world are invited to submit a 500-word essay proposal. They may team up with undergraduates from allied arts and social sciences programs.

The BERKELEY PRIZE strives to show architects-in-training that the smallest act of building has global implications: that design can and does play a major role in the social, cultural, and psychological life of both the individual and society at large.

Eligibility
1). The competition is open to all current full-time registered students in an undergraduate architecture degree program or undergraduates majoring in architecture in accredited schools of architecture worldwide. Diploma in Architecture students who have not yet completed their Diploma are also eligible.

2). Essays must be submitted in English.

3). Finalists will be required to provide proof of current registration in the form of copies of actual school transcripts. You are still eligible to compete if you were an undergraduate student on September 15, 2018, but graduate before the awards are scheduled to be given.

Team Up:
Two students (maximum) who meet the eligibility requirements above may collaborate as authors. An architecture student may team up with another undergraduate in architecture, landscape architecture, urban studies, arts and humanities, the social sciences, or engineering. If two students collaborate, then both names must appear on their essay and if awarded a prize, the prize is to be equally shared.

Judging Criteria:
Judging for the essay competition is on a numeric system. The members of the BERKELEY PRIZE Committee are asked to evaluate each essay in terms of the following criteria:

• Does the Proposal address the Question?
• How creative, or creatively developed, is the Proposal?
• Would the Proposal be clear to a broad audience?
• How does the Proposal rank in terms of writing style?
• How socially significant is the Proposal?
• What is the potential for developing this Proposal into a strong essay?

Each Proposal is given a score of 1 to 5 (5 being the highest). The top approximately 25 scoring Proposals become Semifinalists.

Eligible groups
Citizens of ALL countries

Number of awards
Not specified

Scholarship benefits (Purse)
There is a total prize of 25,000USD, minimum 7,500USD first prize. The remaining purse is to be allocated at the discretion of the Jury.

Travel Fellowship:
If you become a semifinalist in the Essay competition, you have the opportunity through the TRAVEL FELLOWSHIP to propose visiting a foreign locale for a hands-on research experience tied to the subject of your Essay.

Method of Application
Steps to Enter Stage One:

1. Meet the Eligibility Requirements.
2. Write a 500-word proposal for an essay on this year's Essay Question, as posted.
3. Provide one photograph each of your chosen projects.
4. Submit the essay and photographs online.

To register and submit your essay and photographs online, you will be asked to complete a short registration form which will not be seen by members of the BERKELEY PRIZE Committee or Jury. You may REGISTER HERE.

Please visit official website (link to it is below) for complete information.

DEADLINES:
The 2019 Essay Competition launches on September 15, 2018 and the (Stage One) 500-word essay proposal is due on November 1, 2018. The (Stage Two) Essay Semifinalists' 2,500-word essays are due February 1, 2019. Launch of Travel Fellowship Competition for Essay Semifinalists is on February 8, 2019 while Travel Fellowship Entries are due on March 12, 2019

PLEASE NOTE:
The BERKELEY PRIZE Competition was established in 1998, made possible by a generous gift of JUDITH LEE STRONACH to the Department of Architecture in the College of Environmental Design at the University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A.

Application Deadline: 1 Nov 2018 || 12 Mar 2019
Open to International Applicants: Yes

More Scholarship Information and Application

Related: Scholarships in USA for International Students