Scholarships and Awards

The Department of English and Comparative Literature awards the Morgan scholarship, up to $2,000 per year, to incoming English Majors with the highest GPAs. The scholarship is available to recipients for 4 years as long as they remain in the program and maintain at least a B (3.0) average.

The Department of English and Comparative Literature awards the Vilter scholarships to full-time students who enter the University through a branch campus. The scholarships are provided on the basis on achievement in English (writing) to students who, by time of matriculation in A&S, will have accumulated a minimum of 36 credits and met the English Composition sequence grade requirement with no grade lower than a B (not B-) in any English course.

Pi Epsilon Pi is a a national honor and professional society for undergraduate students pursuing studies in writing. In fulfilling this role, the organization supports activities that stimulate creative and scholarly work in writing studies and that cultivate the appreciation and recognition of the art and craft of writing. Inductees to our Cincinnatus chapter earn a 3.75 or higher GPA in at least one writing track or certificate in English. We welcomed our first class of honorees in 2022.

The Department of English and Comparative Literature provides varying opporunities to win monetary awards, recognition, and even the opportunity to be published in Short Vine. Each year awardees are recognized formally at the Writing Prize Competition and Awards Reception.

Awards Categories include:                                              

• Academy of American Poets Prize: Best single poem.
  
• Browning Prize: Best essay written on the poetry of the Brownings.
  
• English Composition Prize: Outstanding Essays written for an ENGL1000, 1001, 1012 or 2089 class in the current academic year.
  
• Hopton Short Story Prize: Best short story of 12 pages or less.
  
• Jean Chimsky Poetry Prize: Outstanding group of three to five poems.
  
• Playwriting Prize: Best play.
  
• Professional Writing Prize: Excellence in professional writing.
  
• Robinson Essay Prize: Outstanding essay.
  
• Shakespeare Prize: Best essay written on Shakespeare.
  
• Staples Senior Honor Thesis: Best senior honors thesis written during the current academic year.
• Screenplay Prize: Best short screenplay of 10 pages or less.