Scholarships and Awards

Chancellor's Graduate Student Award in English

Chancellor’s awards for graduate students in English as chosen by the department. Students do not need to submit an application to be considered for this award.

Department of English Award

Graduate students in the Creative Writing program in the Department of English can apply for this prize. Submit a PDF file that uses no capital letters, no spaces, and no punctuation in the file name. (e.g., poemfrommyheart.pdf is an acceptable name. Poem_From_My_Heart.PDF is a file that may experience technical troubles during the upload.)

All entries are judged anonymously. DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR NAME OR OTHER IDENTIFYING INFORMATION ON ANY OF YOUR UPLOADED FILES
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*For students applying to the UWM Creative Writing Faculty Legacy Award-Poetry, please submit up to three pages of unpublished poems in a single file..

Students who have an up-to-date Panther Scholarship Portal General Application and the College of Letters & Science Scholarships and Awards Application will be considered, typically in spring each year between February and April. No additional or separate application is required; students should thoroughly fill out the Panther Scholarship Portal General Application and the College of Letters & Science Scholarships and Awards Application. Awards given in spring are for the following school year so students graduating that same spring or summer are not eligible. E.G. applications reviewed in Spring 2025 are for Fall 2025; students graduating in May or August 2025 are not eligible.

Poetry Judge:
Elisa Gonzalez is a poet, essayist, and fiction writer. Her poetry and prose appears in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and elsewhere. A graduate of Yale University and the New York University MFA program, she has received fellowships from the Norman Mailer Center, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Rolex Foundation, W.S. Merwin Conservancy, Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, Hawthornden Foundation, Civitella Ranieri Foundation and U.S. Fulbright Program. She is the recipient of a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award, an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and a Whiting Award. Her debut poetry collection, Grand Tour, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, was named one of the best books of 2023 by The New Yorker. It also received the 2024 Levis Reading Prize, and was a finalist for the 2025 Kate Tufts Discovery Award. FSG will also bring out her novel, The Awakenings, and a nonfiction book, Strangers on Earth.

Dr. Alice Gillam Scholarship

For a graduate student in English whose work exemplifies the intellectual and humane discipline of rhetoric and composition. The recipient is selected by the faculty in the Department of English; no student application is needed.

Dr. Donna Decker Scholarship for English Department

The Dr. Donna Decker scholarship was established in 2017 by the family and friends of Dr. Donna Decker, a former instructor in the Journalism, Advertising and Media Studies (JAMS) Department who passed away at a young age. Donna was known as a passionate and engaging teacher with a bright spirit. She obtained her PhD in British Literature in the midst of her original cancer diagnosis and went on to teach at both Marquette University and UWM. Dr. Decker’s love of literature and journalism is reflected in this joint scholarship which is given to one English major and one Journalism major each year

Eligible students will be enrolled full-time with junior or senior standing, a major in English, and a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5. Second degree students are not eligible.

Students who have an up-to-date Panther Scholarship Portal General Application and the College of Letters & Science Scholarships and Awards Application will be considered, typically in spring each year. No additional or separate application is required; students should thoroughly fill out the Panther Scholarship Portal General Application and the College of Letters & Science Scholarships and Awards Application. Awards with a spring deadline are for the following school year so students graduating that same spring or summer are not eligible.

Elizabeth Babbitt Memorial Scholarship

The Babbitt Scholarship was established in 1972 by the family of Elizabeth Babbitt, an alumna of the English Department. Eligible students will be intended or declared English majors, enrolled full-time with demonstrated financial need and a record of academic excellence. Preference will be given to first-year and sophomore students.

Awards will not be given again until the 2026-27 school year.

Frederick J. Hoffman Award

The Hoffman award is given to the best essay by a currently enrolled graduate student (master’s or doctoral level) in the Department of English. Students apply by uploading their essay. Be sure to remove your name and any identifying information from your essay as all essays are scored anonymously.

You will need to first complete the UWM general scholarship application completing only the basic required question. All other questions are optional and may be skipped for purposes of applying for the Hoffman Award. This award will be paid in Fall 2025. Students graduating in May or August 2025 are not eligible.

James A. Sappenfield Fellowship

The Sappenfield Fellowship is given to outstanding graduate students in the Department of English. The recipients are selected by the faculty in the Department of English; no student application is needed.

Thomas J. Bontly Fiction Award

When funds are available, the Thomas J. Bontly Fiction Award is given to a graduate student in the Department of English who has produced an exceptional work of fiction. Applications are typically accepted in mid-spring each year.

Tinsley Helton Dissertation Fellowship

The Tinsley Helton Dissertation Fellowship is given to a student in the Department of English studying Literary Studies, Creative Writing, or Composition who is in the dissertation phase of their degree. Eligible students must have completed all of their PhD coursework and met the PhD residency requirements. Eligible students will have passed their preliminary exams and their dissertation topic will have been approved. Faculty advisors will be consulted and the selected student will have received a strong recommendation amongst the faculty. There is no application required.

Virginia Burke Award

The Virginia Burke Award is given to students who demonstrate excellence in English 102 – College Writing and Research. Only degree-seeking bachelor’s level students at the Milwaukee main campus are eligible for this award. Associate degree students who take CGS ENG 102 are not eligible, and flex students are also not eligible. Applications are typically accepted late in Spring semester for students who took Eng 102 during the previous year. The monetary award is paid for the fall semester; in order to receive the award the chosen awardee must enroll at UWM for the following fall semester.

Wladyslaw Cieszynski English Fellowship for Prose

Wladyslaw Cieszynski Memorial Award-Prose: Eligible students will be in their last year of study in the 2025-26 academic year (e.g., graduating by August 2026) and have a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA and in their last or second-to-last semester of study. This contest is for previously published work: one story of no more than 6000 words, or one creative nonfiction piece of no more than 6000 words. Online and print publications are both acceptable. Submit (as a PDF) a copy of the journal cover or web site’s front page, table of contents when one exists, and the published piece itself with the author’s name blacked out wherever it appears.

For each entry, submit a PDF file that uses no capital letters, no spaces, and no punctuation in the file name. (e.g., poemfrommyheart.pdf is an acceptable name. Poem_From_My_Heart.PDF is a file that may experience technical troubles during the upload.)

All entries are judged anonymously. DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR NAME OR OTHER IDENTIFYING INFORMATION ON ANY OF YOUR UPLOADED FILES

Judge’s Bio:
Hilary Plum’s recent books include the novel State Champ (forthcoming in May 2025), the chapbook Important Groups, and the essay collection Hole Studies. With Zach Savich she edits the Open Prose Series at Rescue Press. With Zach Peckham she co-hosts the podcast Index for Continuance. She teaches at Cleveland State University and serves as associate director of the CSU Poetry Center.

Wladyslaw Cieszynski English Fellowship for Verse

Wladyslaw Cieszynski Memorial Award-Verse: Eligible students will be entering their last year of study in the 2025-26 academic year (e.g. graduating by August 2026) and have a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA. This contest is for previously published work: one poem of no more than two pages. Online and print publications are both acceptable. Submit a PDF copy of the journal cover or website’s front page, table of contents when one exists, and the published piece itself with the author’s name blacked out wherever it appears.

Submit a PDF file that uses no capital letters, no spaces, and no punctuation in the file name. (e.g., poemfrommyheart.pdf is an acceptable name. Poem_From_My_Heart.PDF is a file that may experience technical troubles during the upload.)
All entries are judged anonymously. DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR NAME OR OTHER IDENTIFYING INFORMATION ON ANY OF YOUR UPLOADED FILES.

Judge’s Bio:
Elisa Gonzalez is a poet, essayist, and fiction writer. Her poetry and prose appears in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and elsewhere. A graduate of Yale University and the New York University MFA program, she has received fellowships from the Norman Mailer Center, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Rolex Foundation, W.S. Merwin Conservancy, Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, Hawthornden Foundation, Civitella Ranieri Foundation and U.S. Fulbright Program. She is the recipient of a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award, an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and a Whiting Award. Her debut poetry collection, Grand Tour, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, was named one of the best books of 2023 by The New Yorker. It also received the 2024 Levis Reading Prize, and was a finalist for the 2025 Kate Tufts Discovery Award. FSG will also bring out her novel, The Awakenings, and a nonfiction book, Strangers on Earth.

Gerald J. Alred Professional Writing Challenge Award - Fall Semester

This award competition is by invitation only. Students who are enrolled in English 205, 206, and 207 as part of the UWM Milwaukee campus bachelor’s degree program are nominated by their instructor based on their demonstrated professional writing skills. Associate degree students and Flex program students are not eligible for this competition.

Nominees are selected to compete for a $500 prize! Winners will be selected by a panel of judges including UWM faculty and instructors and professional writers in the community representing various industries and media outlets. All entries will be reviewed anonymously and the judges will not know your name until the final selection is made. The first-place winner will receive $500 for the semester following their enrollment in English 205, 206, or 207 and therefore must be enrolled for at least one more semester in order to receive the scholarship. A second and third place winner will also be named but there is no monetary scholarship.

All participants will receive a certificate of participation and will be invited to an annual ceremony held in February.

This competition is held twice a year on the Fall UWM Study Day and the Spring UWM Study Day. Selected students who are enrolled in English 205, 206, and 207 during summer or fall 2023 will compete on December 15, 2023. Selected students who are enrolled in English 205, 206, and 207 during spring 2024 will compete on May 10, 2024. Your entry will need to address a specific business case that will be posted here at 10:00 am on the day of the competition. Please refresh your browser to see that case at that time along with the button to submit your entry. You will have two hours to upload your entry.

Gerald J. Alred Professional Writing Challenge Award - Spring Semester

For the Spring 2025 semester, the Professional Writing Challenge will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Friday, May 9 in the Lubar N234A computer lab. If you are enrolled in an online version of English 205, 206, or 207, you are welcome to join the students who are enrolled in one of the classroom versions of these courses in the computer lab if you would like.

You will learn whether you won one of the awards in late June or early July. A first-place, second-place, and third-place winner will be selected. The first-place winner will receive a $500 prize deposited into their PAWS account in Fall 2025. Students must be enrolled at UWM during the Fall semester to receive the monetary award. All participants will receive a printed Certificate of Participation. An annual awards ceremony will be held in late February 2026 for all participants of the Spring 2025 and Fall 2025 Professional Writing Challenge competitions.
Make sure to include the fact that you participated in this contest on your résumé. Thank you for agreeing to participate.

Gerald J. Alred Professional Writing Challenge
Spring 2025: Case

Background
You are Taylor Thompson, a full-time university student and part-time Digital Communications Assistant for the Medical Communications Department at MEDI-MOBILE, a non-profit organization that was established five years ago. MEDI-MOBILE provides routine preventative and diagnostic medical care for residents in rural areas in Wisconsin and the upper Midwest in a large van equipped with a variety of medical devices used by traveling healthcare professionals. You grew up in a small, rural town that required driving two hours to the nearest medical facility, and you know how important this service is for underserved populations. You want to help communities in need when you have time on weekends, breaks during the academic year, and during the summer.

According to the article, Medicare Pay Cuts: What They Mean for Rural America, by Tanya Albert Henry, which was published on March 13, 2025 in the American Medical Association’s website, “Medicare cuts threaten to exacerbate the already existing health inequities for economically and socially marginalized patients in the nation’s rural areas. Notably, this patient population already has a higher risk of dying from heart disease, cancer, unintentional injury, chronic lower respiratory disease and stroke compared with urban and suburban patients” (https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/medicare-medicaid/medicare-pay-cuts-what-they-mean-rural-america).

Recently, you learned that MEDI-MOBILE may soon lose federal funding for their critical mission. The organization is currently evaluating how it can restore operational funds with other sources of revenue if it loses its primary source of funding. In the meantime, to reduce costs, the MEDI-MOBILE team will decrease the number of areas scheduled to visit next month. An announcement was mailed to residents in the areas that are served explaining where MEDI-MOBILE may pause upcoming services.

You received a letter from Wally Wickstrom, who has relied on MEDI-MOBILE for the past two years and whose small community would be affected by the change. Mr. Wickstrom, a disabled veteran who lives with an elderly mother, expressed fear about the consequences of not being served, as they have health issues and are not physically able to travel to the nearest town where MEDI-MOBILE will be. He has requested MEDI-MOBILE to reconsider the change and to continue to serve their area.

Your Task
Write a correctly formatted one-page letter (in the full-block letter style with letterhead) to Mr. Wickstrom. Use the Indirect Pattern of Organization to show sensitivity. Create a mailing address, telephone number, and website address for MEDI-MOBILE. Use the following mailing address for Mr. Wickstrom:

15500W South Swan Song Road
Port Wing, WI 54865

*Please place your anonymous number on the top right corner of your entry. Please do not include your real name anywhere on your entry. *

Good Luck!