Awards & Scholarships

AHEA offers the following awards and scholarships recognizing excellence in Hungarian studies.

Péter Basa Award

The Péter Basa Award of the American Hungarian Educators Association

 
Presented: biennially, starting 2010
Award: framed certificate
Lecture: none required
Call for nominations: January 2 of every even year
Nominations due: March 31 the same year
 
Péter Basa Award recipients:
 
 
Award Rules

Purpose
The American Hungarian Educators Association established this Award in 2009 to recognize outstanding contributions to the advancement of the purposes and activities of the AHEA.

The Award
The award will be known as the "Péter Basa  Award of the American Hungarian Educators Association".

Péter Basa was a founding member of the AHEA in 1975 and was active in it until his death in 2000. Beyond that, he supported Hungarian cultural programs and American-Hungarian initiatives (Smithsonian Bicentennial; Hungarian Picnic for students and young professionals in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, etc.). He contributed freely of his time and energy to ensure the continuing development and long-term existence of the AHEA.

He was responsible primarily for recognizing the need to orient the activities of the Association toward the broader aspects of Hungarian culture and, with this in mind, he stimulated the interest and participation of educators active in Hungarian studies. In recognition of his vision, sustained efforts, and contributions to the growth and development of the AHEA, this award carries his name.

The Award is a framed certificate, to be presented at the annual banquet in conjunction with the AHEA conference. Printing and framing of the certificate as well as any banquet dinner costs of the awardee will be paid for by the AHEA.

Scope
The granting of the Péter Basa Award shall be based upon the following qualifications: Active membership in the AHEA for at least ten years; significant contributions and work on behalf of its programs; active participation in other Hungarian American cultural matters. Publications are valued, but these should not be the chief criterion. Organizing conferences, or significant help in them, is a plus.

Selection of the Award Recipient
 
  
 

Steven Béla Várdy and Ágnes Huszár Várdy Legacy Scholarship

Name of Scholarship: Steven Béla Várdy and Ágnes Huszár Várdy Legacy Scholarship

Recipients:

2019   Kristina Poznan, La Salle University, Philadelphia, PA

2020   Mari Réthelyi, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA

2022   Éva Petrás, Senior Research Fellow, Committee of National Remembrance, Budapest

2024   László Ambrus, Eszterházy Károly Catholic University, Eger

2025   Péter Hevő, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest

2026   Ilya Guliaiev, University of Regensburg, Germany

Click here to learn more about Steven Béla Várdy.

Click here to learn more about Ágnes Huszár Várdy.

Description:
The Steven Béla Várdy Legacy and Ágnes Huszár Várdy Scholarship has been established to recognize a scholar in the fields of history or literature, who exemplifies the high standards of original research and historical and literary writing set by Steven Béla Várdy and Ágnes Huszár Várdy,  Eligible candidates must be a member of AHEA whose degree and research focus is in history or literature.

Amount Awarded:  $ 2,500 USD

Application Requirements:

  1. Submit a narrative essay of up to 500 words describing your research and your area of specialization in history or literature.
  2. Submit a current CV (include 2 – 3 references whom we might contact).
  3. Eligible candidates must be current members of AHEA. Join or renew your membership here: Join or renew here
  4. Board Members of AHEA are ineligible to apply.

Expectation:
The awardee is expected to submit an abstract and present a paper on their research topic at a future AHEA conference. Additionally, we invite recipients to acknowledge the support in their publications.  “This research was funded, in part, by generous support from the Steven Béla Várdy and Ágnes Huszár Várdy Legacy Scholarship through the American Hungarian Educators Association.”  

How to Apply: Submit all materials through this form

Criteria: Based on a holistic review by the selection committee.

Selection committee: Katalin Kádár Lynn, Zsuzsanna Varga, Klára Papp

Announcement of Award: The award recipient will be notified within a month of the submission deadline.  Subsequently, the recipient will be publicly announced on the AHEA website and in the AHEA Newsletter.

Deadline for Submissions: May 31, 2027

Award funding and frequency: This scholarship is operated and funded by AHEA through generous sponsors. It is given annually, depending on the availability of funding.

Questions or additional Information: aheausa@gmail.com

2019 Sponsor: Helena History Press

2020 Sponsors: Várdy Family and Jackovics Family Fund

2022 Sponsor: AHEA Scholarship Fund

2024 Sponsors: Attila and Zoltán Várdy

2025 Sponsor: Zoltán Várdy

2026 Sponsor:  Zoltán Várdy 

 

Helena History Press Scholarship

                2020 Recipient — Teodóra Dömötör, Károli Gáspár University, Budapest
                  2022 Recipient — Teodóra Dömötör, Károli Gáspár University, Budapest
                  2023 Recipient — Balázs Venkovits, University of Debrecen
                  2024 Recipient — László Stachó, Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest 
                           Meritorius Recipients — Andrea Parapatics, University of Pannonia, Veszprém
                                                                 Thomas Szigeti, New York University
                 2025  Recipient — Éva Mathey, University of Debrecen
2026  Recipient — Kristián Váradi, University of Pannonia, Veszprém, Hungary                                                                     

Description: The Helena History Press scholarship is an annual award that has been established by Helena History Press to recognize a scholar in any field of the humanities who specializes in scholarship related to or about Central and Eastern Europe. The field of humanities includes ancient and modern languages, literature, philosophy, history, human geography, law, politics, religion, and the arts.  All applicants will be given serious consideration for this award; however, preference will be given to early-career scholars.

Amount Awarded: $ 2,500 USD

Application Requirements:

  1. Submit a narrative essay of up to 500 words on your research in any of the above fields including how funds from the award will be used to further your research.
  2. Submit a current CV [include 2 references whom we might contact].
  3. Eligible candidates must be current members of AHEA. Join or renew your membership here: Join or renew here

Expectation:
Awardees are expected to submit an abstract and present a paper on the topic of their research at a future AHEA conference.  Additionally, we request that awardees include an acknowledgment of AHEA’s support in research publications.  Something to the effect of:  “This research was funded, in part, by generous support from the Helena History Press through the American Hungarian Educators Association.” 

Apply here

 

Criteria: Based on a holistic review by an interdisciplinary review committee.

Evaluation committee: Katalin Kádár Lynn, Zsuzsanna Varga, Klára Papp

Deadline for Submissions:  May 31, 2027

Announcement of Award:

The award recipient will be notified within one month after the submission deadline. Subsequently, the recipients will be publicly announced on the AHEA website and in the AHEA Newsletter.

Award funding and frequency: This scholarship is awarded annually by AHEA through a generous donation from Helena History Press LLC.

Information:  aheausa@gmail.com

AHEA – 501 (c)3 non-profit educational foundation.

AHEA Research Presentation Awards

Sponsored by the AHEA, and other supporters.

AHEA is accepting applications for the annual AHEA Research Presentation Awards. These awards support scholars by contributing to expenses related to attendance at AHEA’s annual in-person conference. To be eligible for this award, a person should:

  1. Have an abstract accepted for presentation at the upcoming AHEA Conference.
  2. Work at an institution of higher education.
  3. Be or become a member of AHEA. Join or renew here
  4. (AHEA Board members are ineligible to apply.)

Amount Awarded: $ 500. USD, the number of awards each year is dependent upon the availability of funding.

Application requirements:

  1. Submit a personal statement (max 200 words) how funds from the award will be used.
  2. Submit a current CV.
  3. Submit the abstract that was accepted for presentation at the AHEA conference. 

How to apply: submit all materials through this form

Criteria: Based on a holistic review by an interdisciplinary review committee

Evaluation committee: Andrew Behrendt, Judith Kesserű Némethy, [another TBN]

Deadline for Submissions: February 15, 2027

Announcement of Award: The award recipient(s) will be notified by March 1.

Information: aheausa@gmail.com

 

AHEA Research Presentation Award Recipients

2026

Jackie Bodily Biggs (Brigham Young University)
Zina Bozzay (independent scholar)
Zsolt Csutak (NUPS-Ludovika)
Mónika Fodor (University of Pécs)
Marie-Therese Grunwald (ELTE)
Bálint Kovács (University of Szeged)
Zsolt Máté (University of Pécs)
Brigitta Molnár (Apor Vilmos Catholic College)
Anita Pfeifer (Munkácsy Mihály Magyar Ház)
Dávid Szolláth (ELTE)
Beatrix Visy (Hungarian Academy of Sciences)

2025

Alexa Dorottya Stier, Yale University
Rita Szuly, Office of the Committee of National Remembrance

2024

Kinga Constantinovits (Cultural Studies), Pázmány Péter Egyetem
Mónika Dánél (Language and Literature), ELTE
Péter Hevő (History/Political Science), ELTE
Éva Lovra (Science/Economics), University of Debrecen
Sarah Lucas (Music/Folklore), Texas A&M University – Kingsville
Eszter Rakita (History/Political Science) Eszterházy Károly Catholic University, Eger, Hungary
Thomas Szigeti (History/Political Science), New York University

2023

Bonnie Horgos (Cultural Studies), University of Minnesota
Bálint Kovács (History-Political Science), University of Debrecen
Patrick Leech (History/Political Science), Baylor University
Zsanett Lengyel (Cultural Studies), University of Debrecen
Zsolt Máté (History) University of Pécs

2020

Katalin Beck, Clemson University
Anna Székely, University of Szeged
Attila Virágh, University of California, Berkeley

2019

Gabriella Hermann, Rutgers University
Márton Hoványi, Yale University
Mátyás Mervay, New York University
 

2018

Mrea Csorba, University of Pittsburgh
Taylor Gombos, New York University

 

 

 


 

Best Student Presentation Award

 

2026 Recipient — Jackie Bodily Biggs (Brigham Young University)

2025 Recipient — Alexa Dorottya Stier (Yale University, School of Music)

 

All students whose abstracts are accepted to the AHEA Conference are eligible for the AHEA Best Student Presentation Award. 

A panel of judges, drawn from the AHEA Board and general membership, with specializations in various disciplines, will attend the presentations during the conference and judge them based on criteria including research quality and significance, presentation skills and delivery, and clarity of visual aids.

The awardee will receive $200 USD at the conference banquet.

Please contact Sarah Lucas <sarah.lucas@tamuk.edu> with questions regarding the award.