Numerous scholarships are available that recognize and reward outstanding achievements by English majors, including English, Creative Writing, and Teaching of English. Several of our scholarships are specifically for future teachers of English.
The scholarship competition happens each spring semester, with applications always due in early February. Please pay attention to email notifications from the advising office for this year's timeline for applications, including notifications about any informational meetings that may be offered.
Scholarship awards vary in value and are generally applied to a student's tuition and fees.
Note: If an award takes you over the total amount that the university’s Financial Aid Office calculates as your “cost of attendance,” this could affect and reduce other loans or scholarships.
Eligibility
In order to be eligible for these scholarships, an applicant must:
- be an English department major planning to be enrolled for at least one semester of the coming academic year
- at the time of application have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5/4.0 overall
- at the time of application have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.75/4.0 in English and/or creative writing courses taken at Illinois
- by the end of the spring semester in which you are applying, have completed at Illinois a minimum of four English, creative writing, and/or rhetoric courses beyond Composition I
- remain in good standing with the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences throughout the application process
Applying
Students interested in applying for these scholarships should complete the Stage One application, once it is uploaded, and return it in electronic form to Nancy Rahn (nrahn@illinois.edu) by the due date on the form. (200 English Building; advising office).
Questions about the application process may be directed to the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor Andrea Stevens (arstev@illinois.edu).
Students will initially submit a Stage One form (see Instructions below and on the form on website, once uploaded, which also has the deadline). Those deemed to meet the basic criteria of eligibility will be notified and asked to import the information from the Stage One application into the Stage Two application and include in that application an short application essay and writing sample.
Judging
Students who pass the Stage One process will be notified a week to 10 days after the application deadline and asked to fill out the Stage Two application form and submit a 1–2-page application essay and a writing sample of 8–10 pages by the date on that form. The English Undergraduate Scholarship Committee will then review the Stage One form, the Stage Two form, and the two LORs to determine scholarship awards.
Decisions on award distribution will be made by the committee, and applicants will be notified sometime during the summer. This notification process can sometimes take a while since the department must verify that each award is given in accordance with donor restrictions and then verify the amount of the award according to university financials. We will make every effort to notify applicants as soon as we can.
Instructions
For Stage One, students will submit the cover sheet, the transcripts, and indicate transfer credits, and list the names of two faculty referees who have agreed to write letters of recommendation. These can be any professor, lecturer, or instructor in English, but not an academic advisor.
Stage One
- Cover sheet of this application form. Make sure to verify with the advising office your class status as of Fall 2025, especially if you have transfer credits, and accurately report your GPA at the time of application. Read the list of scholarships carefully, taking note of any restrictions, especially to awards reserved for teaching of education majors only.
- An unofficial transcript. Go to UI Integrate, Student and Faculty Self Service Login; Registration and Records; View Academic History; select transcript level and type and then click submit. You can cut and paste this information and include it with your application. Please note that final decisions also take into account grades from the spring semester.
- (If applicable) Transfer credits from other institutions, submit the names of those institutions and the courses transferred.
Stage Two
- Application Essay. Write an essay describing your specific intellectual interests and development (two pages, double-spaced, in 12-point font).
As all English majors like to read, you should focus on texts and questions that illuminate your recent, individual life as a reader, writer, and scholar. Give examples of interests you’ve developed in your coursework, in English and beyond, and other activities. Try to link these into an intellectual narrative or profile of your emerging literary and scholarly interests. If you wish, explain how these interests point to a possible future career or graduate study. - Writing Sample. Please include an 8–10-page writing sample of work from a past course or courses that best exemplifies your strengths in writing and research. If you do not have one 8–10-page paper, you can use two shorter ones, provided that the two combined are within the page limits.
For Creative Writing majors, this sample can be a selection of your best creative work within the page limits.