Awards and Scholarships

A student stands in the middle of a library aisle, holding a book and studying the shelf

The English Department scholarships and awards application process is fully online. All scholarship and award application materials, including completed application forms and your essays, poems, or stories, must be uploaded electronically onto Canvas.

If you are having trouble accessing the Canvas pages for individual awards, check your email inbox to see if you’ve received an invitation to join the Canvas Awards pages. If you haven’t, write for help to either of the Awards co-coordinators, Professor Lee Behlman or Professor Adam Rzepka. They can send you an invitation to join the Canvas group for the Scholarships and Awards.

To apply for an individual scholarship or award, just click on one of the links below. You will be taken to a Canvas page that contains an application form with instructions on how to apply and a place to upload your application materials. View a full list of the scholarships and awards on Canvas.

Please review the FAQ on the scholarships and awards process before completing your application(s).

 

Available Opportunities

Undergraduate Scholarships and Awards

  • The Frank G. and Nicole McGuire Scholarship for a full-time undergraduate English major with at least 3.2 cumulative GPA. Graduating seniors are not eligible. $2,749 towards tuition and fees.
  • The Bessie Saslaw Solomon Memorial Scholarship for an English major who has shown a commitment to making a difference in the lives of people in the community. Possible activities could include, but are not limited to, tutoring those who cannot read or who are learning English as a second language; bringing the beauty of the English language to the community in some way; organizing others to do these or other projects. Particular consideration is given to students interested in teaching. Students must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 overall and 3.5 in the major. (If two students meet these criteria, the scholarship may be divided equally between them.) Graduating seniors are not eligible. $650 towards tuition and fees.
  • The Shari Kandell Scholarship for one employed undergraduate English major with a minimum 3.0 GPA who demonstrates financial need in a personal statement. Preference is given to part-time students employed at least 20 hours per week. Graduating seniors are not eligible. $1,846 towards tuition and fees.
  • The Janet Holt Award for an undergraduate English major with a GPA of 3.2 or above. Graduating seniors are not eligible. $1087 towards tuition and fees.
  • Marie Frazee-Baldassarre Award for Excellence in Writing about Film. $250
  • English Department Teacher Education Award for an outstanding undergraduate English Education student who has met all requirements for acceptance into the English Education Program. $300
  • W. Bernard Fleischmann Memorial Award for an English major who has shown excellence in the study of the humanities. $154
  • The Anthony Lovasco Shakespeare Award for an English major who has shown excellence in Shakespeare studies. $150
  • Elizabeth Dean Eler Memorial Award for an outstanding essay by an undergraduate student focusing on poetry. $300. (This award was created by Barbara Eler in celebration of her mother, Elizabeth Dean Eler, a graduate of Montclair State in 1940, a dedicated high school teacher and poetry enthusiast.) Recipient must have a minimum GPA of 3.2 or above.

Scholarships and Awards for Undergraduates or Graduate Students

  • The Murray Prosky Prize in Irish Literature for an outstanding paper on Irish literature written by an undergraduate or graduate student. $100
  • The Vivien L. Kwiatek Scholarship for an outstanding undergraduate English major or graduate student.  This scholarship is determined based on both a student’s academic achievement and financial need. Graduating seniors are eligible only if they will be completing their fifth year in the BA/MA program next year. Please note: students applying for the Kwiatek must have submitted a FAFSA form for this academic year (2025-2026).  $5788 towards tuition and fees.

Graduate Scholarships and Awards

These awards are granted to students enrolled in the Montclair State University English M.A. program who are in the advanced stages of study but still have at least one semester of full-time enrollment remaining. (Winners may not be G.A.s with a tuition waiver for the same semester in which the award will be applied.)

Graduate students applying for one of these scholarships should submit a paper written for a graduate class in English at Montclair State, typed in MLA format, subject to the conditions described in the question "Which essays are eligible?" of the FAQ, with cover sheet as described in the application form.

  • The Mary Bondon Graduate Scholarship for an outstanding graduate student who intends to pursue a career in teaching English at the high school or college level. Students must have 8 or more credits remaining in the MA program. $3,510 towards tuition and fees.
  • The Lawrence H. Conrad Memorial Scholarship for an outstanding student who is writing a thesis in American Literature. Students must have 5 or more credits remaining in the MA program. $2,056 towards tuition and fees. 

Creative Writing Awards 

Awards Frequently Asked Questions

FAQs for the English Department Awards and Scholarships

Go to the Scholarship/Awards page on the English department website. The same information is available on the Canvas page for the English Department Awards 2025. Use the Canvas page for links to individual awards and to submit materials.

You must upload them electronically to Canvas, on the specific page for that award.

If you are having trouble accessing the Canvas pages for individual awards, check your email inbox to see if you’ve received an invitation to join the Canvas Awards pages.  If you haven’t, write from your Montclair State email address to Awards co-coordinators, Professors Lee Behlman or Adam Rzepka.  Contact Professor David Galef for any creative writing queries.  They can send you an invitation to join the Canvas group for the Awards.

Use your last name, the award’s name, and a number for the file name of each application document that you upload to Canvas: e.g., if your last name is Morales and you are applying for the Eler Award, your documents should be titled “Morales Eler 1,” “Morales Eler 2,” etc.

No.

You may apply for up to six awards, so long as you are eligible for all of them. Read the descriptions on the web page carefully to determine if you fit the criteria: Awards and Scholarships page.

An individual student may win up to three awards in any single year.

No. You may not apply for scholarships or awards that you have won in the past.

No. You may submit only one paper for each award.

Yes, you may submit the same paper for different awards, but make sure that the paper is well suited to the guidelines for each award that you are using it to apply for.

Any essay you have written for an English class – NOT a Writing Studies (WRIT) course! – at Montclair State University since January 2025 (so for any courses taken Spring 2025, Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2024/25, or Spring 2026) is eligible for most undergraduate and graduate scholarships and awards, with the exception of the Creative Writing Awards, as explained in the FAQ for Creative Writing Awards below.

No. Your paper must be one written for an English class (including Film courses taken through the English Department) at Montclair State University, with the exception of submissions to the Creative Writing Awards. All papers submitted must have a cover sheet listing 1) the student’s name; 2) the name and number of the class for which the paper was written; 3) the date the paper was turned in; 4) the name of the professor who taught the course.

No. You should turn in a clean copy with any minor revisions you wish.

If the paper has not previously won an award or scholarship and meets the criteria for timing (i.e., it was written since January 2025), then you may submit a paper you have submitted before.

The answer to this question differs according to the award or scholarship in question. Consult each individual award for details.

Graduate students are eligible for the Murray Prosky Prize, the Vivian L. Kwiatek Scholarship, the Mary Bondon Scholarship, and the Lawrence H. Conrad Memorial Scholarship, as well as the creative writing awards.

There is a separate committee for each award. Each committee is composed of faculty members familiar with the criteria for that particular award.

No.

The deadline for submissions changes every year, and students are urged to consult the Scholarships and Awards web page of the English Department website after the call for submissions goes out. The 2026 deadline is 11:59 PM on Monday, April 6. Late submissions will not be accepted unless there has been a weather-related campus closure or a documentable power outage. In such a case, the new deadline will be two business days after the original one.

All students who applied for scholarships and awards will receive an email message notifying them when the list of the winners has been posted on the English Department bulletin board. The list is usually posted about three to four weeks after the application deadline. Students who have been selected for scholarships and awards will also be notified by phone and/or email.

You and two guests will then be invited to the Awards Night ceremony, which will be on the evening of Wednesday, May 6th, from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m in 140 School of Business. More information about the ceremony will be given to you when you are notified of your receipt of the scholarship or award. In most cases, the university cashier will subtract the dollar amount of the award from the money you owe the university. If you are a graduating senior and do not owe any money to the university, you will receive a check for the appropriate amount. (This applies unless the award criteria excludes graduating seniors or graduating graduate students. See Question 15 above.)

Yes. Currently enrolled credits count towards the number of credits taken at Montclair State.

Write to either of the Awards co-coordinators, Professors Lee Behlman or Adam Rzepka. Contact Professor David Galef for creative writing inquiries.

Creative Writing Awards FAQs

Yes.

No. We have limited prize money and would like to reward as many different writers as we can.

No, not for creative writing awards.

The awards are open to any undergraduate student at Montclair State.

General Award FAQs

Fiction: One story or excerpt from a longer piece (must be labeled as such), limited to 20 pages total, double-spaced.

Flash Fiction: a single piece of fiction under 1,000 words, not including the title. It must be self-contained, not part of a larger work.

Nonfiction: One piece of nonfiction writing, limited to 20 pages total, double-spaced.

Poetry: Submit a maximum of three poems. If you are submitting more than one poem, the limit is 60 lines per poem. If one long poem, the limit is 150 lines.

Prof. David Galef, Creative Writing Program Director, at galefd@montclair.edu