The TRAHA has been awarded every year since 1987 and is the most prestigious award in American History and American Studies offered to graduate students in The Netherlands. Designed to stimulate the study of United States history and culture, the award also encourages students to consult the unique archival resources available at the RIAS.
Besides eternal fame and the good graces of the Dutch American Studies community, the winner will receive a financial award of €1.250.
Each Dutch university may submit a maximum of two MA theses on any topic related to American history and American studies, as long as the thesis was or will be defended in the 2025 calendar year. Please send the pdf’s to info@roosevelt.nl (by Friday 30 January 2026 at the latest).
The 2026 jury consists of Dr. Jeanine Quené, chair (RIAS), Dr. George Blaustein (University of Amsterdam), Dr. Jennifer Schnepf (University of Groningen), and Maud Rijks ResMA (TRAHA prize winner of 2025).
The award ceremony will be held during the Amerikanistendag which in 2026 will take place at the University of Amsterdam on Friday 17 April. The call for papers and the program for the Amerikanistendag will be published on the NASA website https://www.netherlands-america.nl/ in the early Spring of 2026.
