Department of English
207 Lind Hall
207 Church Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Phone: 612-625-3363

College of Liberal Arts Voices from the Gaps
student working

English major award recipient

"It is with a tremendous amount of honor that I accept this memorial scholarship. After graduation, I plan to take what I have learned and feed it back into public education as a high school English teacher. Know that your continuing contributions do not stop when they reach the awarded students but are carried on forever in the love of literature that we bring to others." 

Brittany D.

Awards and Scholarships

The English Department annually awards scholarships to English majors who have at least one year of full time study remaining for the B.A. degree, as well as a thesis prize to summa cum laude degree candidates and a poetry prize. Students with declared English majors (formally declared by scholarship application deadline) must have completed 30, but normally not more than 75, semester credits by September 1 of the scholarship year. To receive your Department of English award, you must register as a declared English major in the College of Liberal Arts as a full-time student (15 credits each semester) during the award year. All scholarships offered by the Department of English are only for students who intend to receive their Bachelor of Arts degrees in English from the UM-Twin Cities College of Liberal Arts; those who plan to complete their undergraduate degrees in a different college (e.g., the Carlson School of Management, the Institute of Technology, etc.) are not eligible for these awards.

Scholarships Open to All English Majors

Read the instructions and complete the application form and checklist, available through CLA to be considered for CLA Continuing Student Scholarships, including these English awards. You will be considered for any scholarships for which you are eligible and for which you provide the necessary information. You are invited to use the application cover sheet to specify those scholarships you think most appropriate. Only complete applications will be considered. Letters of recommendation should be from Department of English faculty.

Applications for the 2008-2009 CLA and English Major Continuing Student Scholarships must be post-dated no later than February 15, 2008. In-person submissions and online applications must be submitted no later than 4 pm on February 15, 2008.

Deliver submissions online or to CLA Office of Undergraduate Programs, 113 Johnston Hall, 101 Pleasant Street SE, MPLS, MN 55455. Note: All supplemental materials pertaining to the Hawkins and Phelan awards must be sent directly to the Department of English, Attention: Beverly Atkinson, 227 Lind Hall, 207 Church Street SE, MPLS, MN 55455, and be received no later than 4 pm, February 15, 2008.

Scholarship awards will be made for the 2008-2009 academic year. Half the amount of the total award will be paid in each semester of the academic year. Scholarship winners may receive funds from only one scholarship awarded by the Department of English during that academic year, though you are permitted to hold an award made by the College of Liberal Arts (excepting the CLA Selmer Birkelo Scholarship). For additional scholarship information, see the CLA Honors website.

The CLA John Turner Award and CLA Selmer Birkelo Scholarship require departmental nomination.

Jessie M. Comstock Scholarship

This scholarship of approximately $2,000 is awarded to a continuing student enrolled full-time as a University of Minnesota English major. Students must be eligible for financial aid according to the standards of the University's Office of Student Financial Aid. Complete and file your FAFSA by approximately February 15, 2008.

Donald V. Hawkins Scholarship

Established in the 1999-2000 academic year, Donald V. Hawkins Scholarships are made possible by an endowment established in honor of Donald V. Hawkins' education and because of his love for the University of Minnesota. The endowment is intended to foster and support student and faculty excellence in undergraduate education in English and Communication Studies. Hawkins Scholars are eligible for this scholarship of approximately $600 during their junior and/or senior years. They will carry a full credit load at the time of application and throughout the course of the scholarship, and will have a 3.3 grade point average in their major field of English or Communication Studies. Junior year recipients may apply for the scholarship in their senior year as well. To be considered, students must send separately to the Department of English an essay written for one of their 3xxx English classes and two letters of recommendation written by English faculty.

Recipients will be offered the opportunity to work on the Department of English's undergraduate journal, do research or an internship with a faculty mentor, or work on a project with one of the department's committees, depending on their interests. Typical Hawkins Scholars emphasize communication and the arts by taking courses in the Departments of English, Communication Studies, Theatre, Art History, Journalism, and Cultural Studies.

Moses Marston Scholarship

Moses Marston Memorial Scholarships provide approximately $1,000 of support for English majors who demonstrate outstanding achievement in literary studies. Moses Marston held the Professorship of English Language and Literature from 1874 (five years after the University began instruction) until his death in 1883 (the Department of English was organized in 1885).

Robert Etheridge Moore Scholarship

Established in the 2006-2007 academic year, Robert E. Moore Scholarships are made possible by a gift established by a former student of Professor Moore, whom he described as one of the four best teachers he had in eleven years of higher education. Professor Moore was expert especially in the literature, opera, and visual arts of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and was a lively and influential teacher. This scholarship is intended for a formally-declared English major who has demonstrated a high potential for graduate studies in literature (not creative writing). It is awarded for an academic year in which the recipient is registered for a minimum of 13 credits per term. We anticipate giving two $1,000 awards each year: one to a junior who will receive the same award for the senior year pending continuing high academic achievement; and a second award to a senior who was a Moore Scholar in her/his junior year.

Captain Dewitt Jennings Payne Memorial Scholarship

Captain DeWitt Jennings Payne Memorial Scholarships provide one year of scholarship support for approximately one or two CLA students majoring in English, registered full time in the scholarship year. Students must intend to pursue a degree from the College of Liberal Arts and may not be enrolled in any other college. Recipients will receive a stipend of approximately $2,000 for the academic year. The scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit, with particular attention paid to depth of study in the major, general breadth of coursework, and interest in advertising and similar pursuits. These scholarships come from a fund established by the late Olivia Payne Stover in memory of her brother, Captain Payne, who was the first American aviator killed in World War I. It is awarded to students "who show special capacity for literary studies."

Anna Augusta Von Helmholtz Phelan Scholarship

This scholarship of approximately $2,000 is awarded annually to a currently enrolled undergraduate student in English. Eligible applicants are juniors who have a financial need as determined by the Office of Student Financial Aid (includes CLA undergraduates working on individualized degree programs with a creative writing emphasis). Complete and file your FAFSA by approximately February 15, 2008. Criteria include quality of writing, academic progress, and financial need. To be considered, students must send separately to the Department of English a creative writing sample of 6-8 pages of poetry or 15-20 pages of literary fiction or nonfiction, Attention: Beverly Atkinson, 227 Lind Hall, 207 Church Street SE, MPLS, MN 55455, and be received no later than 4 pm, February 15, 2008.

Martin B. Ruud Memorial Scholarship

Martin B. Ruud Memorial Scholarships provide one year of scholarship support for approximately three outstanding CLA students majoring in English, registered full time in the scholarship year. Students must intend to pursue a degree from the College of Liberal Arts and may not be enrolled in any other college. Recipients will receive a stipend of approximately $3,500 for the academic year. The scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit, with particular attention paid to depth of study in the major, general breadth of coursework, and clarity of academic purpose. Students are selected for this scholarship based on their outstanding achievement in literary studies and writing. Ruud was a Professor of English in the 1920s, ‘30s, and ‘40s.