Eligibility and Qualifications

To qualify, students must be declared English or English Teaching majors (minors are not eligible) with a minimum 3.000 University of Utah cumulative GPA and a minimum 3.000 GPA in all English coursework.

Applicants must also have completed at least 3 credit hours of English coursework at the University of Utah (WRTG courses DO NOT count). As these scholarships will be issued for the 2024-2025 academic year, students graduating in or before August 2024 are also not eligible.

Application Instructions

Prior to completing the online application process, applicants should gather all information and materials required.  These include:

• The names and e-mail addresses of two faculty members or instructors who have agreed to submit reference forms on the applicant’s behalf.  Ideally, these should be instructors from English courses that the applicant has taken at the University of Utah.  Recommenders will be notified to submit their recommendations after the application is submitted.    
• Your overall cumulative g.p.a. as well as your g.p.a in all English (ENGL) courses.  For assistance in calculating your English g.p.a., see: advising.utah.edu/academic-standards/gpa-calculator-new
• A written statement that describes the applicant’s academic interests and achievements, career plans, and financial needs in completing his/her course of studies (no more than 7,000 characters including spaces—roughly 2 pages).
• A critical writing sample of no more than 20,000 characters including spaces—roughly 5 pages.  Most applicants use a polished essay that they have already written for one of their English courses.
• Optional: A creative writing sample (prose or poetry), also no longer than 20,000 characters including spaces, may be included in addition to the critical writing sample.

Once all materials have been gathered, students may apply via the University of Utah’s Scholarship Management Site. For instructions on how to use the application site, click here.

Note: Once the “General Application” is completed, searching for “Department of English Undergraduate Scholarships” will lead you to the English-specific application questions.

Applicants will be notified of results in April.

Contact Information

Any questions regarding the application process can be submitted to Matt Potolsky, Associate Chair for the Department of English, at m.potolsky@utah.edu.