Graduate Year-End Awards

The Department of English acknowledges graduate students' excellence in writing and teaching through several different year-end awards. While the deadline for most nominations is usually March 1, specific application procedures are distributed to graduate students each year.

  1. Anne Hopewell Selby Award:  Relatives, colleagues, and other friends of the late Anne Hopewell Selby, Assistant Professor of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago, have established a fund in her memory for awards for distinction in Graduate Studies in English. Annually the department of English designates one graduate student enrolled in the department who has demonstrated outstanding scholarship in English to receive an award, which is paid from the income derived from the memorial fund. The student so designated is selected by a committee appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies on the basis of a substantial critical essay (an essay written for a course during the academic year, an MA Thesis/Project, an approved Dissertation Prospectus, or a PhD Dissertation chapter) submitted to the committee. Students in all specializations are eligible for the award, presented at the department's annual spring celebration.

  1. Kogan Bonus Award:  The Scholarship Association of the University of Illinois at Chicago has established the Kogan Bonus Award for doctoral students in English. This $1,000 award is non-renewable. The recipient of the Kogan Award is chosen by a committee appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies. The award is designed to enhance a student’s professional development, and selection of the winner is based upon the strength of a student’s work, with particular emphasis on the quality of the PhD dissertation.

  1. Department of English Distinguished Teaching Award:  This award is presented annually to an advanced doctoral student whose performance as a Teaching Assistant, as judged by department faculty, ranks at the highest level of professional competence. The award consists of a cash prize of $500 for the recipient. Students construct a dossier of teaching materials submitted to a committee appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies. The dossier consists of a statement of teaching philosophy (no more than three pages), course syllabi, course evaluations from no more than two classes, and sample student papers from one of the courses.

  1. Betty Stuart Smith Award:  Given annually to recruit an entering PhD graduate student in creative writing, this award acknowledges and encourages significant accomplishment in either poetry or prose. The incoming student is awarded $2500 a year for two years (a total of $5000); selection is based upon the application for graduate admission, and is made by a committee appointed by the Director of Graduate Studies.

  1. Charles Goodnow Endowed Award:  Given annually for an outstanding work of prose or poetry written by a student in the Program for Writers. Past practice has been to divide the award evenly between the two. Students should contact the Director of the Program for Writers in order to obtain specific directions on how to apply for the award.

  2. Gloria Fromm Award: This award honors the memory of Gloria Fromm, Professor of English and scholar of British modernism.  The award is for excellence in work in British studies by a graduate student over the past academic year. Students submit a writing sample of no more than 25 pages of work, including notes, to be considered for the award.  The Director of Graduate Studies appoints a committee of three faculty members in British Studies to review the essays/samples and choose a winner.

  3. Outstanding Thesis Award: This annual award is given by the Graduate College for the most outstanding dissertation to the student whose degree was awarded by UIC in Spring, Summer or Fall semesters of the previous calendar year. Each graduate program can nominate only one student, therefore the English Department's awards committee will choose one thesis among the nominees. For a list of required materials for this award, click here.

  4. Provost's & Deiss Awards for Graduate Research: The Graduate College provides two programs of support for research by graduate students at UIC: the Provost's Award for Graduate Research and the W.C. and May Preble Deiss Fund for Biomedical Research. The Provost's Award is open to all graduate students currently enrolled at UIC and the Deiss Fund is for graduate students engaged in research in clinical or basic medical sciences. Students may apply on a competitive basis for awards of $1000 to $3000 to support their research. Awards will be made in two competitions annually, once in Spring semester and once in Fall semester. For more information about this award, click here.