Scholarships

Generous donors have established several scholarships for undergraduate English BA or BS Secondary English Education majors and graduate students in the English Department’s graduate degree programs (MA, MA-TESL, MFA, PHD).

• The Patricia Mapes Andersen English Scholarship
• The Gary Kenneth Buettner Memorial Scholarship
• The Sybil Hall Shott Scholarship
• The Mary A. Hill English Scholarship
• The Charles E. Bull Award for the best short story and best poem
• The William James Verville Scholarship, for students who have struggled with unusually challenging communication difficulties
• The Sarah Guidas Award for Literary Scholars of the Future

The following scholarships are for undergraduates only:

• The A. Elaine Bychinsky Award for Writers of Promise, for sophomore or junior students showing an interest in writing through coursework, field of study, or extracurricular activities
• The William M. Burke Scholarship

The Alex Weirich Memorial Scholarship is for graduate students enrolled in the Rhetoric, Writing, and Digital Media Studies (RWDMS) program.

Eligibility

To be eligible for these scholarships, you must

• have at least a minimum 3.0 GPA, except for the A. Elaine Bychinsky Award for Writers of Promise, the Gary Kenneth Buettner Memorial Scholarship, and the Sarah Guidas Scholarship (requires 2.5 or higher);
• have at least sophomore status with a minimum of 6 completed hours of NAU English courses beyond composition (for undergraduates) or have completed a minimum of 9 completed hours at NAU (for graduate students) by the deadline;
• be enrolled in courses for the academic year following when scholarship awards will be disbursed;

For the Mary A. Hill English Scholarship only, you must also show evidence of financial need as determined by a FAFSA application through the NAU Office of Financial Aid analysis.

For the William James Verville Scholarship only, you must also have completed at least 15 hours of English courses at NAU by the application deadline.

How to Apply

To apply for the Charles E. Bull Scholarship, submit a story or poem with this cover sheet. To allow for a “blind” reading, do not put your name on your submitted story or poem. Prose submissions must be double-spaced. We do not return originals.

To apply for the William James Verville Scholarship, submit an application form and an essay of at least 500 words describing your successful struggle with unusually challenging communication difficulties. For more details, please see the Verville scholarship page.

To apply for the Alex Weirich Memorial Scholarship, please see the Weirich Memorial Scholarship page.

To apply for the Sarah Guidas Award for Literary Scholars of the Future, submit an application form, one letter of recommendation, and a 500-word essay. For more details, please see the Sarah Guidas Award page.

To apply for all other scholarships, you must submit:

1. an application form;
2. a printout of your current NAU undergraduate or graduate transcript as of the deadline (your unofficial LOUIE transcript is fine, but it should include transfer credit information);
3. an up-to-date résumé or curriculum vitae specifying your school record, awards or recognitions, extracurricular and service activities, and work experience;
4. a clear, inventive, professional-quality statement of approximately 500 words that describes your academic work and your progress toward your degree, explains information on your résumé that is particularly relevant to your application, and shows us your commitment to English study. The focus and coherence of this submission matter. Develop and explain the details or anecdotes that you include. And style counts, so carefully edit and proofread. Where necessary, solicit timely help in revising and polishing your statement;
5. two recommendations, including at least one from a member of the NAU English faculty. You can find a recommendation form here. We also accept letters of recommendation in other formats, as described on the recommendation form.

Submit your complete application by the scholarship deadline to the English Department office in the Liberal Arts Building, Room 140, or mail it to

Scholarship Committee
Northern Arizona University
Department of English
P.O. Box 6032
Flagstaff, AZ  86011-6032

The deadline for AY 19-20 scholarship applications is February 21, 2020.