Gibbs Prizes
Prizes on the foundation of Mr Charles D. D. Gibbs are offered in 2025, awarded on results of coursework and public examinations.
Eligibility
Candidates for the prizes shall be members of the University who are reading for a final Honour School.
Candidates are not required to make a special application for Gibbs Prizes awarded on the results of coursework and public examinations, unless instructed to do so in the subject advertisement below.
Examiners may agree not to award a particular prize in any year if it is deemed that no candidate is of sufficient merit.
List of Prizes
A Gibbs Prize of £500 is awarded for the best performance in Finals overall. There is also one proxime accessit award of £200. A further award of £250 is awarded for the highest marked dissertation.
A prize of £500 is awarded on the results of the examination in Trinity Term 2025 for the Honour School of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. Three further prizes, each of £200 will be awarded – one each in the Chinese, Japanese, and Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies Final Honour Schools. The examiners shall have the power to make a proxime accessit award of £150.
The prize in Biochemistry is awarded on the results of the examinations for Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry Parts I and II in the Honour School of Biochemistry in Trinity Term 2025.
The value of the prize is £200 for Part I and £500 for Part II and the examiners have the power to make one proxime accessit award of £300 for meritorious work for Part II, one proxime accessit award of £150 for meritorious work for Part I, and up to three additional book prizes of £150 for Part II.
A Project Prize of £250 is awarded for the highest mark in the Part II Project.
One Gibbs Prize of £500 to be awarded to the top ranked student at the end of the MBiol FHS Part 1B. Two further prizes of £225 each, for meritorious work awarded to the second and third ranked candidates at the end of FHS Part 1B.
One Gibbs Prize of £500 to be awarded to the top ranked student at the end of the MBiol FHS Part 2. Two further prizes of £225 each, for meritorious work awarded to the second and third ranked candidates at the end of FHS Part 2.
The prize in Chemistry is awarded on the results of the examination for Chemistry Part I in the Honour School of Chemistry in Trinity Term 2025.
The value of the prize is £650, and the examiners have the power to make two proxime accessit award of £450 for meritorious work and up to two additional book prizes of £250.
Three prizes of £250 each are awarded for outstanding performance in Inorganic, Organic and Physical Chemistry papers, where the candidates have not already been awarded a prize for overall performance.
A prize of £400 is awarded for the best overall performance in Honour Moderations in Classics.
A prize of £400 is awarded for the best site or museum report in the Honour School of Classical Archaeology & Ancient History. There is also a proxime accessit award of £150 for the second best site or museum report.
A prize of £350 is awarded for the best performance in the Greek literature papers in the Honour Schools of Literae Humaniores, Classics & English, Classics & Modern Languages and Classics & Oriental Studies.
A prize of £500 is awarded for the best overall performance by a Course II student in the Final Honour School of Literae Humaniores.
A prize of £150 for the second best performance in the Ancient History papers in the Honour Schools of Literae Humaniores, Ancient & Modern History and Classical Archaeology & Ancient History.
Any individual Gibbs Prize can be split between two equally meritorious candidates.
A Gibbs Prize of £550 is to be awarded for the best overall performance in Parts A and B across all schools.
Two Gibbs Prizes of £200 each for the Honour School of Computer Science and Philosophy (Parts A and B). One prize to be awarded for performance in in the Computer Science papers and one prize to be awarded for performance in the Philosophy papers. If no such candidate is identified then the Examiners may award the prize to the candidate they judge to be most deserving from the other Honours Schools involving Computer Science.
A Gibbs prize of £250 is to be awarded for best Computer Science project by a Mathematics and Computer Science or Computer Science and Philosophy Candidate in Part C.
A Gibbs prize of £250 is to be awarded for best Computer Science project by a Computer Science Candidate in Part C.
A prize of £500 is awarded on the basis of the quality and distinction of the field mapping report submitted in 2025 in the Final Honour School of Earth Sciences (Geology).
A prize of £250 is awarded on the basis of the quality and distinction of the third year essay.
A prize of £250 is awarded for best performance in Practical Aspects of the Course.
A Gibbs Prize of £500 is awarded for the best overall performance in Economics in Economics and Management Final Honour School Examinations. There is also a proxime accessit award of £350 for meritorious work.
A Gibbs Prize of £500 is awarded on the best overall performance in Management in Economics and Management Final Honour School Examinations. There is also a proxime accessit award of £350 for meritorious work.
A prize of £600 is to be awarded for the best overall performance in Part C.
A prize of £300 for the best individual Engineering Science Project in 2022 for Part C of the Final Honour School of Engineering Science.
A prize of £600 is divided equally between each of the members of the team submitting the best Design Project in 2022 for Part B of the Final Honour School of Engineering Science.
A prize of £600 is awarded to the best performance in the Final Honour School of Engineering Science (Parts A and B combined). There are also two proxime accessit awards of £250 for meritorious work.
The prizes in English Language and Literature are awarded as follows.
Prizes of £750 each are awarded for the following:
- the best overall performance in Course I of the Honour School; and
- the best overall performance in Course II of the Honour School.
A prize of £500 is awarded for the best dissertation, Paper 7.
Seven prizes of £250 each, for the next best overall performances.
Any individual Gibbs Prize can be split between two equally meritorious candidates.
The Gibbs Prize in Fine Art, to the value of £750, is awarded by the examiners for the best overall result achieved across all aspects of the Final Honour School in Fine Art (BFA) – Exhibition, portfolio, exam paper on History and Theory of Visual Culture and an extended essay. The examiners have the power to make one proxime accessit award of £250.
The prize in Geography is awarded on the average of the written examination papers for the Honour School of Geography in Trinity Term 2025.
The value of the prize is £720 and the examiners have the power to make one proxime accessit award of £400 for meritorious work and up to three additional book prizes of £160.
A Gibbs Prize of £750 is awarded for the highest average mark over seven papers in the Final Honour School of History. The examiners have the power to also make one proxime accessit award of £400 for the next highest mark.
A Gibbs Prize of £650 is awarded for the highest average mark over the History papers of a candidate in all joint schools with History. The examiners have the power to also make one proxime accessit award of £400 for the next highest mark in all joint schools with History.
A Gibbs Prize of £500 is awarded for the highest average mark over all papers in the Final Honour School of History of Art.
A Gibbs Prize of £400 is awarded to the highest average mark by a candidate admitted under the provisions of the Access/Widening Participation/Opportunity Oxford initiatives begun in 2017 in the Final Honour School of History and all joint schools with History.
Examiners have the power to award up to ten additional book prizes of £175 to the next highest average marks in the Final Honour School of History and/or history papers of candidates in the joint schools with History.
A Gibbs Prize of £550 is awarded for the best performance in the Final Honour School in Human Sciences. The Board of Examiners will also have the power to award up to three proxime accessit prizes of £150 for meritorious work. The Gibbs Prize can be split between two equally meritorious candidates.
The prize in Law is awarded on the best overall performance in examinations in Contract, Tort, Land and Trusts in the Final Honour School of Law in Trinity Term 2025.
The value of the prize is £883 and the examiners have the power to make one proxime accessit award of £633 for meritorious work, and up to three additional book prizes of £408 each.
Further runner up prizes are available, provided that there be candidates of sufficient merit, up to a combined total value of £558.
A prize of £800 will be awarded for the best performance in Part I of Materials Science or Part I of Materials, Economics and Management in Trinity Term 2025.
The Board of Examiners will also have the power to award a proxime accessit prize of £250 for meritorious work.
Two prizes of £150, each to be awarded for performance in Mathematics Part A. These prizes can be awarded to candidates in the Honour School of Mathematics or the Honour School of Mathematics and Statistics.
Two prizes, one of £500 and one of £200, each to be awarded for performance in Mathematics Part B. These prizes can be awarded to candidates in the Honour School of Mathematics or the Honour School of Mathematics and Statistics.
Two prizes, one of £500 and one of £200, each to be awarded for performance in Mathematics Part C.
A prize of £150 to be awarded for performance in the mathematics papers in the Honour Schools of Mathematics and Philosophy Part A.
A prize of £175 to be awarded for performance in the mathematics papers in the Honour Schools of Mathematics and Philosophy Part B.
A prize of £125 to be awarded for performance in the mathematics papers in the Honour Schools of Mathematics and Philosophy Part C.
A prize of £150 to be awarded for the best mathematics dissertation (including other mathematical dissertations) submitted in the Honour School of Mathematics, Mathematics & Computer Science or Mathematics & Philosophy.
A Gibbs Prize of £410 is awarded based on the results of Part I of the First Examination for the Degree of Bachelor of Medicine in Trinity Term 2025. Examiners shall have the power to make one proxime accessit award of £260 for meritorious work.
A Gibbs Prize of £410 is awarded based on the results of Part II of the First Examination for the Degree of Bachelor of Medicine in Trinity Term 2025. Examiners shall have the power to make one proxime accessit award of £260 for meritorious work.
A Gibbs Prize of £410 is awarded based on the results of the Year 2 Examination in Graduate-entry Medicine in Trinity Term 2025. Examiners shall have the power to make one proxime accessit award of £260 for meritorious work.
A Gibbs Prize of £595 is awarded based on the results of the examination in the Honour School of Medical Sciences. No candidate shall receive both the main Martin Wronker prize in Medicine and the Gibbs Prize.
A Gibbs Prize of £410 is awarded based on the results of the Year 3 Examination in the Honour School of Neuroscience and Cell and Systems Biology.
A Gibbs Prize of £595 is awarded based on the results of the Year 4 Examination in the Honour School of Neuroscience and Cell and Systems Biology.
A prize of £500 is awarded on the results of the examination for the Honour School of Modern Languages in Trinity Term 2025. There are also two proxime accessit awards of £300 for overall performance in the Honour School of Modern Languages.
A prize of £500 is awarded for the best overall performance in one of the joint Honour Schools involving Modern Languages with another subject (i.e. Classics, English, Modern History, Linguistics, Philosophy and European and Middle Eastern Languages) in Trinity Term 2025. There are also two proxime accessit awards of £300 for overall performance in one of the Joint Honour Schools.
Two prizes of £200 are awarded for the best piece of submitted work in the Final Honour School; one for the special subject (Paper XII, methods B & C or the bridge essay) and one for the best dissertation essay (Paper XIV). There are also two proxime accessit awards of £150 each for meritorious work in these two categories.
A prize of £150 is awarded for outstanding performance in the Linguistics papers amongst Modern Languages candidates offering a Language and Linguistics paper at Final Honour School.
A prize of £150 is awarded for the best performance in in a Medieval Paper in the Honour School, across the languages:
- Czech IX
- French VI, IX
- German VI, IX
- Italian VI, IX
- Modern Greek VII, IX
- Portuguese VII, IX
- Russian VII, IX
- Spanish VI, IX
Prizes are awarded, provided that there be candidates of sufficient merit, on the results of the examination for the Honour School of Music in Trinity Term 2025. The Music Faculty Board agreed, when making its recommendation about the Gibbs Prizes that the examiners should be able to recommend the number and level of prizes to be awarded in any one year. This was to allow flexibility for variation in comparative performance to be taken into account in different years.
Gibbs Prizes in Philosophy are awarded for outstanding performance in the Philosophy papers in each of the joint Honour Schools involving Philosophy (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics; Psychology, Philosophy and Linguistics; Mathematics and Philosophy; Physics and Philosophy; Philosophy and Modern Languages; Classics; and Philosophy and Theology). The award of these Prizes will be determined by the Philosophy Examiners alone.
The examiners shall have the power to make proxime accesserunt awards for meritorious work.
No candidate shall be awarded both a Henry Wilde Prize and a Gibbs Prize in the same examination.
Unless otherwise stated, a candidate can receive both a Gibbs Prize in Philosophy and a Gibbs prize in another subject which they offer in the examination.
Any individual Gibbs Prize can be split between two equally meritorious candidates.
The Gibbs Prizes in Philosophy are awarded as follows:
- Classics, a prize of £250;
- Philosophy and Modern Languages, a prize of £150;
- Philosophy, Politics and Economics, a prize of £250;
- Psychology, Philosophy and Linguistics, a prize of £150;
- Philosophy and Theology, a prize of £335
A prize of £150 to be awarded for performance in the mathematics papers in the Honour Schools of Mathematics and Philosophy Part A. A prize of £175 to be awarded for performance in the mathematics papers and philosophy papers, respectively, in the Honour Schools of Mathematics and Philosophy Part B. A prize of £200 to be awarded for performance in the mathematics papers and philosophy papers, respectively, in the Honour Schools of Mathematics and Philosophy Part C.A candidate in part C can be awarded the Gibbs Prize in Philosophy for part C if they have already been awarded a Gibbs Prize in Philosophy in part B.
In Physics and Philosophy a prize of £150 can be awarded for an outstanding performance in the philosophy papers in part B of the examination. A prize of £150 can be awarded for an outstanding performance in the Philosophy papers in part C of the examination, to a candidate offering at least two Philosophy papers (which can include a thesis in Philosophy). A candidate in part C can be awarded the Gibbs Prize in Philosophy for part C if they have already been awarded a Gibbs Prize in Philosophy in part B.
In a year where the examiners do not award a prize for performance in Philosophy in one part of the examination, the unawarded prize money for that part cannot be added to the prize money awarded in the other part.
The Prizes available in 2025 are as follows:
The Gibbs Prize for Performance in the MPhys examination (£500).
The Gibbs Prize for the best MPhys Research project (£500).
The Gibbs Prize for performance in the Physics Part A examination (£225).
The Gibbs Prize for the best experimental MPhys project (£150).
The Gibbs Prize for performance in the Physics Department Speaking Competition (£150).
Two Gibbs Prizes for practical work in Part B (£150).
Up to six Gibbs Prize awards will be made for the BA Group Project Presentations (£62.50 each).
Two Gibbs Prizes for practical work in Part A (£150).
The Gibbs Prize for practical work in Part A of the Honour School of Physics and Philosophy (£150).
The Gibbs Prize for best performance in the Physics papers in Part B of the Honour School of Physics and Philosophy (£150).
The Gibbs Prize for best performance in the Physics papers in Part C of the Honour School of Physics and Philosophy (£150).
No candidate shall be awarded both the Scott Prize and the main Gibbs Prize for performance in the Physics Final MPhys in the same examination.
Gibbs Prizes in Politics (£500 and £450) are awarded for the best Politics written papers and (£300 each) are awarded for the best performance in 3 core papers – International Relations, Comparative Government and Theory of Politics only in the examinations for the Honour Schools of Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and History and Politics. In addition, the Gibbs Thesis Prize in Politics (£500) is awarded for the best Politics thesis or supervised dissertation submitted in the same examinations.
The examiners have the power to make one proxime accessit award for thesis (£350) and two proxime accessit awards for written paper (£300 each) for meritorious work.
No candidate shall be awarded more than one Gibbs Prize in Politics.
A prize of £500 is awarded on the results of the examination in Trinity Term 2025 in the Honour School of Experimental Psychology. The examiners shall have the power to make a proxime accessit award of £150.
A prize of £500 is awarded on the results of the examination in Trinity Term 2025 for the Honour School of Psychology, Philosophy and Linguistics. The examiners shall have the power to make a proxime accessit award of £150.
A prize of £150 is awarded for outstanding performance in the Linguistics papers in the joint Honour School of Psychology, Philosophy and Linguistics. The award of this Prize will be determined by the Linguistics Examiners alone.
No candidate shall receive both the main Martin Wronker Prize in Medicine and a Gibbs Prize in the same examination. It shall be open to the examiners to award to the same candidate both a Gibbs Prize and the George Humphrey Prize.
One Gibbs Prize of £500 is awarded for the best overall performance in the Honour School of Mathematics and Statistics Part C.
One Gibbs Prize of £350 is awarded for the best overall performance in the Honour School of Mathematics and Statistics Part B.
One Gibbs Prize of £150 is awarded for the best performance in the dissertation for the Honour Schools of Mathematics and Statistics Part C.
A prize of £670 may be awarded on the results of the examination for the Final Honour School of Theology and Religion in Trinity Term 2025. No candidate may be awarded both the Denyer and Johnson Prize and a Gibbs Prize in the same examination.
A prize of £335 may be awarded for the best performance in Theology in the Final Honour School of Philosophy and Theology in Trinity Term 2025.
A prize of £210 may be awarded for the outstanding thesis submitted for the examination for the Final Honour School of Theology and Religion or Joint Schools in Trinity Term 2025.