Call for Proposals: 2026 ESEH Summer School in Environmental History, Apply by 15 March 2026
The European Society for Environmental History (ESEH) is pleased to announce a call for proposals to organize the 2026 ESEH Summer School in Environmental History.
The ESEH Summer School is a prestigious annual gathering of post-graduate and early-career researchers, led by academics in the field of environmental history.
Proposals for 2026 may focus on any theme in environmental history, including but not limited to energy histories, water histories, forest and land-use histories, environmental knowledge and expertise, climate histories, or multispecies histories. Recent Summer Schools have investigated Anthropocene history, Climate, and (an-)Hydrous environments – more information on these can be found here: https://eseh.org/events/summer-schools/
The selected proposal will receive advisory support of the ESEH Summer Schools committee, consisting of Robert Groß, Monica Vasile, Anna Varga and Katharina Scharf. With reference to the ESEH constitution, the committee will provide the organizers with assistance in raising funds, setting the program and finding appropriate teaching staff. The Summer School will also be supported with a total of 500 EUR, and will be advertised on the ESEH website as well as through the president’s newsletter. The selected committee will also have the right and obligation to use the ESEH logo in announcements, flyers and websites related to the selected summer school. Please attach a plan for external funding to your application.
To apply, please fill in the application form (as detailed below) and return it to the Summer School Committee Chair, Dr. Robert Groß (at robert.gross@univie.ac.at), by 15 March 2026. We expect to notify all applicants of the outcome of their application by the end of April. Applications will be judged based on the guidelines below.
Guidelines for applicants:
1. Applications must be made using the application form.
2. Whilst we welcome applications with interdisciplinary content, Summer Schools must have a focus on environmental history.
3. Applicants are encouraged to consider focusing on a variety of geographical areas, both within and beyond Europe.
4. To achieve the objectives of the ESEH, Summer Schools must be international. They cannot be limited to scholars from one country or language group, and should, in principle, be open to all, including scholars from beyond Europe, with reference to equality and diversity. Instructions should be in English to facilitate this.
5. Summer Schools should be targeted at PhD students, but should also be open to MA students and early career researchers without a permanent or tenure-track position.
6. The duration, size, and scope of the Summer School are at the discretion of local organizers.
7. Summer schools should be free to participants, including both accommodation and subsistence. We encourage proposers to also consider the cost of travel for participants in their applications.
8. Summer Schools are expected to provide a final report that can be published (or linked to) on the ESEH website.
9. We recognize that confirmed ESEH support can be helpful in obtaining funding. For this reason, applications will be eligible even if they are yet to secure planned further funding. However, proposals will only be successful if the funding is highly likely to be secured in the near future.
10. We encourage applications from smaller European countries, and in relevant circumstances, it is the sole direction of the Committee to promote diversity and equality in accordance with the general aims of the ESEH.
The ESEH Summer Schools Committee is keen to offer advice on proposals prior to submission on any issues, including the above. We particularly encourage potential organizers to approach the committee to discuss topics and potential academic staff. Questions and any other issues will be welcomed by the Committee
(eseh_dach@boku.ac.at).
Application form: Application-Form_-2026-ESEH-Summer-School-in-Environmental-History
For more details, refer here
