The Coffman Prize Award Guidelines

The Society for Military History Coffman First Manuscript Award is given annually to the best dissertation in military history. The competition is open to PhD scholars whose work blends military history with social, political, economic, and diplomatic history and to authors of studies centering on campaigns, leaders, technology, and doctrine. The winning author receives a cash award and will also be recognized at the Awards Dinner at the Society for Military History annual meeting.

The Society for Military History First-Manuscript Prize Submission Guidelines Eligibility:
  1. The dissertation must have been defended or the PhD  degree received in the 2025 calendar year (between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2025).
  2. Only English-language manuscripts will be considered. Translations are not eligible for consideration unless the author both translated and annotated the manuscript.
  3. The text of a submitted manuscript must be at least 250 pages in length.
  4. Submitted manuscripts should be the record copies filed with the PhD-granting university. Manuscripts may be under contract for publication in the fall of 2025 or later.

Submission Instructions:
  1. No later than 1 December 2025, the author must submit - a copy of the full manuscript, a 3-5 page précis of the same, and a current curriculum vitae - to Robert "Bob" Wettemann, Jr., chair of the 2026 Coffman First Manuscript Award Committee, at robert.wettemann@afacademy.af.edu.
  2. The précis must include a statement of the work's thesis and conclusions, its place in the relevant historiography, and any new or underutilized primary source materials or innovative methodologies that shape it.
  3. All submissions must be double-spaced and submitted in PDF format.
  4. The Society for Military History will present the Coffman First Manuscript Award at its 2026 Annual Meeting, 26-29 March 2026, in Arlington, VA.

Point of Contact:
Robert “Bob” Wettemann, Jr., Ph.D.
Associate Professor, US Air Force Academy
robert.wettemann@afacademy.af.edu
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