Graduate Scholarship Opportunities

Departmental Prizes
All graduate students in English are invited to compete for annual department prizes of $500 for the best essay written for an English department course in three separate areas. They are:

1. The LeeAnne Smith White Prize, awarded for the best essay on a topic that falls within the broad area of American cultural and literary studies.

2. The Charles Peters Prize, awarded for the best essay on a subject involving Shakespeare or his contemporaries (inclusive dates: 1558-1642).

3. The John Hicks Prize, awarded for the best essay on a literary subject exclusive of Shakespeare.

4. The Walker Gibson Prize, awarded for the best essay on a subject in writing, composition theory, or the teaching of writing.

University Graduate Fellowships
In addition to regular scholarship opportunities, several university graduate fellowships are made available each year to graduate students. They include:

1. Every year during admissions, the Graduate Studies Committee nominates at least two incoming students for University Graduate Fellowships which can carry anywhere from a $4,000 to $10,000 stipend and a full tuition and fee waiver for one year. Students are then put into a University-wide competition and the English department is awarded usually one, and sometimes two, fellowships per year.

2. Every year faculty members nominate graduate students with completed and signed prospectuses for University Graduate Fellowships which carry the same cash award as above. The Graduate Studies Committee selects two or three of these students and puts them forward into a University-wide competition. English Department graduate students usually win one or two of these fellowships a year as well.

University Diversity, Initiative, and Opportunity Fellowships
Both the University of Massachusetts and the Department of English and American Literature are committed to sustaining and building its culturally diverse graduate student community. Every year during admissions, the Graduate Studies Committee nominates incoming students with distinguished records and recommendations for Diversity, Initiative and Opportunity Fellowships which can carry anywhere from a $4,000 to $10,000 stipend and a full tuition and fee waiver for one year, possibly renewable for a second. Students are then put into a University-wide competition. The English Department has a consistently high success rate in helping to secure fellowships for students we admit.