Annual Student Awards, Scholarships, and Fellowships
Application for 2024-2025 undergraduate awards for financial need (.pdf)
2024-2025 Award Brochure (.pdf)
UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS
Expository Writing Program Essay Awards are given for essays written in Expository Writing I and II during the award’s academic year. Essays are nominated by expository writing instructors. First place award: $150; second place: $100.
The Touchstone Undergraduate Creative Writing Awards are nominated by the editors of Touchstone for the best short fiction, nonfiction, and group of poems submitted by K-State undergraduates. Any K-State undergraduate may submit up to thirty pages of fiction or nonfiction and/or up to ten pages of poetry. Previous first place winners are ineligible. First place award: $75; second place: $50.
The Clark M. Brink Memorial Essay Awards are two awards given for student essays exhibiting "the highest degree of originality of composition and excellence in handling a topic treating or exemplifying the values of humanistic studies." The essay should be no more than 5000 words in length. Competition for the award is open to all undergraduate students at K-State.
The Kansas State Professional Writing Awards are given for single-authored writing assignments of five pages or more written by an undergraduate student for English 417. Each instructor teaching this course may nominate two submissions for this award. First place award: $100; second place: $50.
The Kansas State Technical and Scientific Writing Awards are given for the best final project, single-authored papers written by an undergraduate student for English 415 or English 516. Each instructor teaching these courses may nominate two papers for this award. First place award: $100; second place: $50.
The Hallam Walker Davis Memorial Scholarship is granted to an undergraduate English major on the basis of the student's academic performance in English. No application is required. The Hallam Walker Davis Memorial Scholarship amount varies from year to year.
The Kenneth and Martha Chappell Scholarship is awarded to a junior, senior, or fifth-year English major who has a minimum of 3.0 GPA and exhibits financial need. This scholarship honors the memory of Kenneth and Martha Chappell. Students should complete the application form by the date specified.
The Lamb Memorial Scholarship recognizes outstanding creative writing students and students who play intercollegiate basketball. The scholarship is granted in alternating years to sophomore, junior, and senior students who are enrolled in creative writing or who play intercollegiate basketball. Previous winners are ineligible. No application is required.
The Brewster Rogerson Scholarship is awarded to two undergraduate English majors who display financial need and academic excellence. Students should complete the application form by the date specified.
Most Promising Student Award recognizes an English major early in the completion of the program. The award is made on the basis of faculty recommendations. No application is required.
Undergraduate Leadership and Service Award recognizes outstanding contributions to the life of the department. The award is made on the basis of faculty and student recommendations. No application is required.
UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE AWARDS
The Cultural Studies Essay Award is given for the best undergraduate and graduate essay on literature or other arts (i.e. film, television, popular culture, or highbrow culture) treated in a way that includes the social, political, or economic concerns from the historical time of the work. Essays may be of any length up to 20 pages.
The Composition/Rhetoric Research Award is awarded for the best undergraduate or graduate scholarly paper in composition and rhetoric, including but not limited to the areas of professional-technical writing, writing center scholarship, writing pedagogy, literacy studies, and composition and rhetorical theory.
The Gordon Parks Essay/Project Award is given for the best undergraduate or graduate submission that addresses the diversity of Kansas, past or present. Submissions must not exceed 20 pages or 15 minutes in length and can be in any format. One submission per student.
The Lukens Scholarship is awarded to a sophomore, junior, or senior English major or graduate student in English and who, preferably, is also from Mitchell County, Kansas. No application is required.
The Writing Center Excellence Award is awarded to an undergraduate or graduate student staff member who displays all-around excellence in Center work. For information about online nominations, see the Writing Center website.
GRADUATE AWARDS
The Earle R. Davis Scholarship recognizes the outstanding graduate student scholar in the M.A. Program in English. Recipients of the scholarship must demonstrate overall academic merit and scholarly performance and potential. No application is required.
The Robert W. Conover Memorial Award is given to an outstanding first year GTA. The winner is determined by academic performance. No application is required.
The Jerome Johanning Memorial Scholarship recipient will be an outstanding GTA in the Department of English. Selection criteria: academic performance and a packet of supporting material that includes teaching evaluations, a one-page self-evaluation of the applicant's teaching, a syllabus for each course taught, and examples of materials used in class. To be eligible for consideration for the Jerome Johanning Memorial Scholarship, an applicant must first be returning to K-State to continue work on his or her degree the fall following the award of the scholarship, and second, must be nominated by the English Department. A list of eligible graduate teaching assistants will be distributed to all teaching members of the department who will be asked to nominate up to five individuals. Supporting materials will then be solicited from the five finalists.
The Graduate Student Critical Essay Award is given for the outstanding critical or scholarly essay by an English Department graduate student on a topic in literary studies. Since the word "essay" derives from the French "essayer," meaning to try, to attempt, and to test, entries should exhibit a high standard of research and analysis; any theoretical or methodological approach is welcome. Submissions can be in any form including, but not limited to, scholarly essay, photo essay, video essay, podcast, or other visual art or creative work. Submission should not exceed 20 pages or 15 minutes in length.
The Anne P. Grindell Memorial Scholarship recognizes academic excellence as achieved by any student enrolled in the English Department’s M.A. program who also holds a valid State of Kansas Teaching Certificate. Previous winners are ineligible. No application required.
The Children’s Literature Graduate Essay Award is given for the outstanding critical or scholarly essay written by an English Department graduate student on a topic in children’s and/or adolescent literature and culture. The essay should exhibit a high standard of research and analysis; any theoretical or methodological approach is welcome. Submissions should not exceed 20 pages in length.
The Seaton Fellowships for Graduate Students in Creative Writing are awarded to incoming graduate students for their first year of study in the K-State English Department’s creative writing program. This award perpetuates the memory of Mary Holten and Richard M. Seaton. The Seaton awards are based on the merit of the student’s creative writing sample; at least one award is given to a Kansas resident or Kansas native. No application required.
The Graduate Creative Writing Awards are given for outstanding fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction written by M.A. students as part of their program of study at K-State. Award recipients are determined from manuscript submissions of up to twenty pages of fiction, non-fiction, and/or five pages of poetry. Students may enter in all genres. Previous first prize winners are ineligible in the same genre. First place award in each genre: $100; second place: $50. Winners in each genre are selected by an independent off-campus judge of national reputation.
The Esther Glenn Scholarship is awarded by the Director of Graduate Studies, with the advice and recommendation of the Graduate Advisory Committee, to an incoming, first-year M.A. student on the basis of academic excellence demonstrated by grade point average in undergraduate coursework, GRE scores, letters of recommendation, and critical writing sample. No application required.
The Expository Writing Exemplarly Teaching Award is awarded for outstanding teaching in the expository writing program. Two GTAs are selected each year by the Expository Writing Committee. Winners receive a prize of $200 each. No application required.
The Expository Writing Most Promising GTA Scholarship is awarded by the Director of Graduate Studies, with the advice and recommendation of the Graduate Advisory Committee, to outstanding incoming, first-year M.A. students appointed as GTAs on the basis of general academic excellence and anticipated success as a GTA. No application required.
The Popkins Scholarships are awarded to those graduate students in English judged most meritorious among each academic year’s incoming M.A. students. Selections are made considering undergraduate performance, GRE scores, letters of recommendation, and appropriate writing samples. No application required.
The Peggy and Gary Edwards Scholarship is awarded by the Director of Graduate Studies, with the advice and recommendation of the Graduate Advisory Committee, to outstanding incoming, first-year M.A. students on the basis of general academic excellence. Students in all tracks are eligible for consideration. No application required.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact the English Department Office, 108 English/Counseling Services Bldg.; english@ksu.edu, 532-6716