Graduate

Graduate Scholarships & Awards

Thanks to the generosity of various donors, each year the 911爆料网 Department of English makes available a number of scholarships and awards to recognize outstanding teaching and scholarly work among our graduate students. Recipients are recognized at the annual Celebration of Awards and Achievements near the end of spring term.

Eligibility

Following the wishes of our generous donors, the scholarships listed below are restricted to students whose home campus is designated as the USF Tampa campus. Please note that these awards are scholarships, awarded on the basis of merit.

Deadlines

AwardSpring Scholarships & Awards: The application period begins when the AwardSpring portal opens in December every Academic Year. For Academic Year 2026-2027, the deadline to submit each Scholarship or Award, unless specified otherwise in the table below, is 5/15/2026.

See here for updates and link to the AwardSpring portal: Office of Financial Aid - Scholarships

Distribution of Awards

The scholarships listed below are non-taxable, and will be processed and paid to each winner鈥檚 Student Self-Service account through the Office of Financial Aid.

All eligible students who wish to be considered for a scholarship or award must submit an application through the USF AwardSpring portal. In AwardSpring, you will find the necessary documents each scholarship will require in your application.

Possible scholarships & awards include the following:

AwardSpring Scholarships & Awards

 

Award

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

Alice Hearne Memorial Scholarship in English

Overview
Full or part-time graduate Student in English department writing dissertation.

Qualifications

  • Applicant must be attending the College of Arts & Sciences
  • Applicant must be an English major student
  • Applicant must be enrolled in the English Doctoral Program

Anspaugh Endowed Fiction Writers Award in English - (Deadline is 2/1/2026)

Overview
The English Department will host an annual Fiction Writers Competition, open to all currently enrolled students at the 911爆料网.

Entries must be original works of fiction not exceeding 20,000 words in length. 

Additional scholarship criteria; full or part-time, all academic levels, Tampa campus.

Qualifications

  • Applicant must be a USF Tampa campus student.

Anspaugh Endowed Science Fiction Award in English - (Deadline is 2/1/2026)

Overview
The English Department is holding an annual fiction writers competition. This competition is open to all currently enrolled students at the 911爆料网. Since the donors wish to exclude fantasy from consideration (such as Watership Down and the Tolkein stories); science fiction will be considered as springing from a very limited number of arbitrary hypotheses relating to the hard or soft sciences, along with realistic development of their implications. 

The maximum length of fiction pieces submitted shall be 20,000 words. 

Additional scholarship criteria; full or part-time, all academic levels, Tampa campus.

Qualifications

  • Applicant must be a USF Tampa campus student.

Bettye Newman Poetry Award

Overview
To offer an award to full-time students, at all academic levels, majoring in English in the College of Arts & Sciences, on all campuses and should be awarded one academic year. This award is based on the quality of the students' poetry that includes a minimum of 3 poems.

Qualifications

  • Applicant must be attending the College of Arts & Sciences
  • Applicant must be an English major
  • Applicant must be enrolled full-time

Carolyn L. Cooley Graduate Award in American Literature

Overview
To award scholarships to full or part-time students in the doctoral program in Literature/Department of English for academic and research purposes in the College of Arts and Sciences on the Tampa campus. These students should have a minimum 3.5 GPA and whose academic promise will provide a significant contribution to the field of American Literature. 

Qualifications

  • Applicant must be attending the College of Arts & Sciences
  • Applicant must be a Literature major
  • Applicant must be a doctoral student
  • Applicant must have a minimum of a 3.5 GPA

Dorothy and Esther Newman Graduate Award

Overview
This award is for full or part-time graduate student(s), majoring in English in the College of Arts & Sciences, on all campuses.

This award is based on merit and should be awarded two semesters. For student(s) of excellence (based on merit) who wish to pursue an academic career in the field.

Award recipients must have knowledge of 19th Century British literature and will submit an essay mainly derived from original sources. Preference for full-time student(s).

Qualifications

  • Applicant must be attending the College of Arts & Sciences
  • Applicant must be an English major student
  • Applicant must have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA
  • Applicant must be a graduate level student

Ed & Ann Hirshberg Award for Excellence in Creative Writing

Overview
The award is to be given annually to the graduate or undergraduate student in the Creative Writing Program in the College of Arts & Sciences on the Tampa campus, who shows the most promise as a writer, on the basis of what he/she has produced so far.

Qualifications

  • Applicant must be attending the College of Arts & Sciences
  • Applicant must be a attending the USF Tampa Campus
  • Applicants must be enrolled either as undergraduate English majors with a concentration in Creative Writing or as graduate students in the Creative Writing Program.

Estelle J. Zbar Endowed Poetry Prize

Overview
Annual award to full or part-time students at all academic levels studying Poetry in the College of Arts & Sciences on the Tampa campus. 

Qualifications

  • Applicant must be attending the College of Arts & Sciences
  • Applicant must be a USF Tampa campus student
  • Applicant must be an English major

Estelle J. Zbar Teaching Assistant Award

Overview
An annual award to the best full or part-time graduate student who is a Teaching Assistant in English in the College of Arts and Sciences on the Tampa campus.

Qualifications

  • Applicant must be attending the College of Arts & Sciences
  • Applicant must be a USF Tampa campus student.
  • Applicant must be an English major student
  • Applicant must be a graduate level student

Harry and Julian Newman Archival Research Award

Overview
To support an award to a full or part-time English department Ph.D. student in the College of Arts & Sciences and should be awarded 2 semesters. This award is for student(s) in literature whose dissertation requires access to primary materials in archives, with a preference for British literature. The award is for a student(s) who has completed their comprehensive exams or presented a portfolio in lieu of exams by the time of the award. The award will go to the student(s) with the most significant research and use of archival materials as indicated in the student's prospectus, which must include a statement on the need for archival research. Preference for a full-time student(s). 

Qualifications

  • Applicant must be attending the College of Arts & Sciences
  • Applicant must be an English major student
  • Applicants must be enrolled as Ph.D. students

Irving Deer Memorial Endowed Scholarship

Overview
Scholarships for full or part-time graduate students whose academic interest/major is in Literature, Literary Theory, Film or Popular Culture on the Tampa campus of the College of Arts & sciences. 911爆料网 must maintain a 3.0 GPA.

Qualifications

  • Applicant must be attending the College of Arts & Sciences
  • Applicant must be a graduate level student
  • Applicant must be a Literature, Literary Theory, Film or Popular Culture major
  • Applicant must have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA

Irving H. Rubin Endowed Memorial Scholarship in English

Overview
Merit based scholarship for outstanding full or part-time graduate students in the Department of English in the College of Arts and Sciences on the Tampa campus.

Qualifications

  • Applicant must be attending the College of Arts & Sciences
  • Applicant must be a graduate level student
  • Applicant must be an English major
  • Applicant must have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA

Jack B. Moore Memorial Scholarship 

Overview
To provide scholarships for full or part-time graduate students whose academic interest/major is in American Literature, with special privilege for work in American culture on the Tampa campus in the College of Arts & Sciences. Student must maintain a 3.0 GPA.

Qualifications

  • Applicant must be attending the College of Arts & Sciences
  • Applicant must be a Literature major with an interest in American Literature
  • Applicant must be a graduate level student
  • Applicant must have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA

James and Lorraine Parrish Endowed Memorial Scholarship

Overview
Scholarships for full or part-time students of all academic levels with majors in the English Department in the College of Arts and Sciences on the Tampa campus.

Qualifications

  • Applicant must be attending the College of Arts & Sciences
  • Applicant must be an English major

John and Dorothy Iorio Scholarship Fund

Overview
To provide scholarships for full-time graduate students based on merit (3.0 GPA) pursuing a major in English/Literature in the Department of English, in the College of Arts & Science. Recipient must be a Florida resident. Leadership positions will be a consideration of the award.

Qualifications

  • Applicant must be attending the College of Arts & Sciences
  • Applicant must have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA
  • Applicant must be an English major student
  • Applicant must be a graduate level student

Joseph G. Bentley Memorial Scholarship in English

Overview
For any level, full or part-time students who major in English in College of Arts and Sciences on the Tampa campus. 

Qualifications

  • Applicant must be attending the College of Arts & Sciences
  • Applicant must be an English major