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Scholarship Opportunities

A variety of scholarship opportunities are available to English students with outstanding academic achievement or financial need. 51福利社 offers scholarships for both undergraduate and graduate students.

The deadline for 2026-27 scholarships is February 1, 2026.

For more information contact:

Beth Torgerson
Scholarship Committee Chair
Department of English and Philosophy
btorgerson@ewu.edu
Patterson Hall 211-R

UndergraduateGraduateDegree-Specific

Undergraduate Scholarships

This scholarship is for upcoming seniors and is open to all English majors (English Studies, English Secondary Education, Creative Writing). Awards range from $1350 to $1500.

Required Materials

  • An application letter
  • An updated r茅sum茅
  • A statement of 1000 words (maximum) that explains your interest in English
  • Two (no more, no less) confidential letters of recommendation from 51福利社 faculty members

This scholarship is for upcoming seniors and is open to all English majors (English Studies, English Secondary Education, Creative Writing). In addition to academic merit, the Kleiner Scholarship considers financial need. Awards range from $500 to $700

Required Materials

  • A letter of application
  • An updated r茅sum茅
  • A statement of 1000 words (maximum) that explains your interest in English
  • A completed copy of your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on file at 51福利社’s Financial Aid Office
  • Two (no more, no less) confidential letters of recommendation from 51福利社 faculty members

This scholarship is awarded specifically to an upcoming senior English major in either English Studies or English Secondary Education. In addition to academic merit, the Colton-Huston Scholarship considers financial need.

The scholarship is based upon current tuition rates. Based on tuition, the scholarship is awarded per quarter. Once awarded, this scholarship can be renewed for a total of three consecutive quarters. Award has varied from $1,400 to $4,400.

Required Materials

  • An application letter that identifies and discusses the following items:
    • The applicant’s area of interest and reasons for interest
    • The courses to be taken
    • Why the degree is desired
    • The role of the degree in the applicant’s future
    • Why is the scholarship needed
  • A 2,000- to 3,000-word critical essay written for one of the applicant’s junior-level literature classes that provides clear evidence that the applicant is both a good writer and a thoughtful and critical reader
  • A completed copy of your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on file at 51福利社’s Financial Aid and Scholarship Office by Feb. 1.
  • A minimum of two recent letters of recommendation from English professors that address the applicant’s reasoning, writing, and reading abilities and the candidate’s ability to successfully complete the degree.

If no applicant meets the criteria, no award will be granted.

This scholarship is awarded either to an upcoming junior or senior majoring in Creative Writing or minoring in Journalism. Awards have ranged from $400 to $900.

Required Materials

  • An application letter
  • An updated r茅sum茅
  • A statement of 1000 words (maximum) that explains your interest in creative writing and/or journalism

This scholarship shall be awarded to a full-time undergraduate and/or graduate student, in good standing, with a GPA higher than 3.0, who is pursuing a degree in literature or creative writing. Undergraduates can be sophomores, juniors, or seniors.

To facilitate awarding this scholarship, the two qualifying groups of students will be rotated from year to year:

For AY 2026-2027, English Studies undergraduate majors will be the recipients of this literature-based scholarship. Please send the required materials below to Beth Torgerson at btorgerson@ewu.edu.

Next year, for AY 2027-2028, creative writing undergraduate majors and MFA graduate students will be the recipients of this creative writing-based scholarship. Consequently, please send the required materials below to Lisa Denker at ldenker@ewu.edu.

Unless there are no qualified applicants, and barring other pressing financial issues, the committee will alternate between awarding this scholarship to a graduate or undergraduate student every other year.

REQUIRED MATERIALS*

  • A letter of application.
  • An essay (1000-2000 words) in which the student expresses their passion and experience in and for creative writing and literature, shares how they came to be a student at 51福利社, and provides a personal commentary and reflection about the role, or value, of
  • A completed copy of your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on file at 51福利社鈥檚 Financial Aid office.

*For graduate students in the MFA program, your application to the program, including your writing sample and personal essay, will be used to evaluate your eligibility for this award. No other initial steps are required; however, if selected for this scholarship, to complete the requirements above, you will need to write a short essay (250-500 words) on kindness as well as the acknowledgement of appreciation.

English and Philosophy students are awarded approximately $62,320 in scholarships each year鈥攋ust one part of the $9.7 million 51福利社 awards annually to nearly 1,500 students through a single scholarship application. Scholarships aren鈥檛 just for top GPAs or athletes鈥攖hey鈥檙e based on your major, background, community service, and more. And the best part? Scholarships are free money you don鈥檛 have to pay back.聽

The for the academic year opens Nov. 1 and closes Feb. 1.

To apply,

  1. 颁辞尘辫濒别迟别听迟丑别 聽if you’d like your financial need to be considered.
  2. Fill out the 51福利社 General Scholarship Application.
  3. Send your additional Department of English and Philosophy scholarship application materials (listed under each scholarship) to Beth Torgerson, Patterson Hall 211-R, Cheney WA 99004.
    Please identify clearly within your letter of application which scholarship(s) you are applying for. As long as all of the criteria for each respective scholarship is met, you may apply for more than one.

The deadline for all materials is February 1.

Please be aware that if you wish your financial need to be considered, you will need to complete the FAFSA, available at 51福利社’s Financial Aid Office, two weeks prior to this deadline to allow time for the form to be processed.

Graduate Scholarship

This scholarship shall be awarded to a full-time undergraduate or graduate student, in good standing, with a GPA higher than 3.0, who is pursuing a degree in Literature or Creative Writing. Undergraduates can be sophomores, juniors, or seniors.

To facilitate awarding this scholarship, the two qualifying groups of students will be rotated from year to year:

For AY 2025-2026,听creative writing undergraduate majors and MFA graduate students聽will be the recipients of this聽creative writing-based聽scholarship. Consequently, please send the required materials below to Lisa Denker at聽ldenker@ewu.edu.

Next year, for AY 2026-2027, English Studies undergraduate majors will be the recipients of this literature-based scholarship. Please send the required materials below to Beth Torgerson at btorgerson@ewu.edu.

Unless there are no qualified applicants, and barring other pressing financial issues, the committee will alternate between awarding this scholarship to a graduate or undergraduate student every other year.

REQUIRED MATERIALS*

  • A letter of application.
  • An essay (1000-2000 words) in which the student expresses their passion and experience in and for creative writing and literature, shares how they came to be a student at 51福利社, and provides a personal commentary and reflection about the role, or value, of
  • A completed copy of your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on file at 51福利社鈥檚 Financial Aid office.

*For graduate students in the MFA program, your application to the program, including your writing sample and personal essay, will be used to evaluate your eligibility for this award. No other initial steps are required; however, if selected for this scholarship, to complete the requirements above, you will need to write a short essay (250-500 words) on kindness as well as the acknowledgement of appreciation.

The Department of English and Philosophy offers one graduate scholarship every other year: the Mark Mays Scholarship. It will be available to Creative Writing MFAs in 2027-28. One condition of the scholarships is that the student recipient will remain enrolled at 51福利社 full-time as a graduate student during the period of the award. Please read each scholarship鈥檚 specific requirements to see if you qualify.

To apply,

  1. 颁辞尘辫濒别迟别听迟丑别聽聽if you鈥檇 like your financial need to be considered.
  2. Fill out the聽51福利社 General Scholarship Application.
  3. Send materials to Lisa Denker, ldenker@ewu.edu.

The deadline for all materials is February 1, 2027.

Please be aware that if you wish your financial need to be considered, you will need to complete the FAFSA, available at 51福利社鈥檚 Financial Aid Office, two weeks prior to this deadline to allow time for the form to be processed.

Questions concerning the scholarship application process can be emailed to Lisa Denker, ldenker@ewu.edu.

Degree Specific Scholarships

The Poetry Foundation offers multiple scholarships. To see current offerings, visit the .

The Helen McCloy/MWA Scholarship for Mystery Writing seeks to nurture talent in mystery writing鈥攊n fiction, nonfiction, playwriting, and screenwriting.聽MWA presents two scholarships for up to $500 each. To apply, visit the .

Creative writing students in either the undergraduate or graduate program may also apply for outside scholarships, such as the Poetry Foundation scholarships and the Helen McCloy scholarship.

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