Scholarships and Awards
How to Apply
Scholarships:
All students who wish to be considered for an English Department Scholarship (Bundy, Jerard, Rawlins, Seehafer, or Slonim) must complete the WSU General Scholarship Application by January 31. Students who wish to apply for the Rawlins and Slonim Scholarships must upload supplemental materials by March 1 to complete their applications. See the “Submit your application materials” links under each of these scholarship headings below.
Creative Writing Awards:
The deadline for applying for creative writing awards – the Sarah Weems Award in Creative Nonfiction, the Campus Civic Poet Award, and the Rawlins Family Poetry Award – is midnight on the Monday after Spring Break (March 23). See application details under each award below and use the “Submit your application materials” link.
Murray W. Bundy Scholarship:
Two or more Scholarships can be given annually to outstanding, full-time, junior or senior English majors committed to a career in secondary teaching; recipients receive a $1500 award toward tuition ($750 each semester). Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 and enrollment in English Teaching option is required to apply.
April Seehafer Scholarship Fund
This scholarship is awarded to undergraduates majoring in the English options of Rhetoric and Professional Writing or Literary Studies. Candidates must have at least a 3.0 GPA, be of sophomore standing or above, and a demonstrated need for additional resources to afford educational expenses. Recipients receive a $1,000 award toward tuition ($500 each semester).
Basil and Ella Alexander Jerard Scholarship
These scholarships are given to outstanding, full-time English majors on the basis of merit (or a combination of merit and financial need). Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 is required to apply. Recipients (eight to ten students annually) receive a $1,000 award toward tuition ($500 each semester).
Emmett and Mary Avery Writing Awards
English majors and other undergraduates in lower- and upper-division writing and literature classes are eligible for these annual awards on a nomination basis only. Papers are submitted to the competition by decision of individual English instructors; recipients receive a $100 award credited to their university account and a recognition gift.
Rawlins Family Poetry Award
The strongest group of three poems is awarded $1000. Poems can be thematically unrelated.
Campus Civic Poet Award (joint award with the MLK Program)
The Campus Civic Poet Award recognizes a student’s commitment to poetry and civic engagement and supports them in developing their voice and cultivating community. In addition to an honorarium (up to $1000), the annual winner receives mentorship from faculty and staff as well as invitations to participate in campus-oriented, civic-related events. The awardee is also granted the WSU-Centrum Campus Civic Poet Fellowship to attend the Centrum Writers Conference.
Any undergraduate or graduate student enrolled on the WSU-Pullman campus who intends to be enrolled for the upcoming academic year (Fall and Spring Semesters) may apply.
Submit 3–5 poems of original work and a 200-word statement on your commitment to civic engagement that answers the questions: What would winning this award mean to you? How would it support your current and future civic endeavors or help you serve community on the WSU-Pullman Campus through poetry?
Sarah Weems Award for Creative Nonfiction
Outstanding work receives an award of up to $1000. Submit a creative nonfiction prose sample of 3000 words maximum, comprised of one piece, excerpts from a longer piece, or two or more shorter pieces.
Ruth B. Slonim Poetry Scholarship
Recipients of the Slonim scholarship should intend to major or minor in English; should preferably be incoming freshmen; and should demonstrate exceptional literary aptitude. Submit either a selection of poetry (3-5 poems), a work of fiction (1000-1500 words), or literary essay or analysis (1000-1500 words).
Jennie Brown Rawlins Scholarship in Creative Writing
Submit a sample in 2 genres: poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction (3000 words total) and a personal statement that exhibits evidence of your creative ability, future promise, and skills in at least two creative writing genres (250 words maximum). Recipients receive a $2,000 award toward tuition ($1,000 each semester).