English Department Scholarships, Prizes, and Awards

Nielson-Donaldson Women’s Scholarship

The Nielson-Donaldson Women’s Scholarship offers financial support for returning or interrupted female students majoring in English or the Liberal Arts at UB.

The Nielson-Donaldson Women’s Scholarship is made possible by the generous support of Dr. Sandra Donaldson to honor the unheralded work of women, as exemplified by her mother, Margaret Nielsen Donaldson, and grandmothers, Tekla Gredsted Nielsen and Mary MacMillan Donaldson. Daughters Sandra Donaldson and Diane Donaldson Fox followed in their footsteps doing paid and unpaid work, from clerical to maternal, and are grateful for the good spirit and worthy work that they modeled and encouraged.

Dr. Donaldson created this scholarship to support a non-traditional woman student at UB who is pursuing her education in the Humanities. Academic success changed Dr. Donaldson’s life and fortunes, and she wishes to pay it forward for a woman student who has financial need and is employed full-time or supporting a family or both.

Awarded for the best critical essay written in a UB undergraduate English class (other than English 101, 102, or 201). Sponsored by the English Department.

Three prizes awarded for the strongest submissions in poetry, fiction, or drama.  The competition is open to all UB undergraduates and UB graduate students in Comparative Literature, Drama, and English. Sponsored by the English Department.

Awarded to the writers of the two strongest poetry submissions. This prize is open to all UB undergraduates. Sponsored by the English Department.

Awarded for excellence and proficiency in the work of the English Department. Criteria include QPA in English, overall QPA, recommendations from faculty, and a piece of written work submitted by the student. Limited to graduating English majors. Sponsored by the English Department.

Awarded to the writer of the best submitted fiction. Open to all UB undergraduates and graduate students. Sponsored by the English Department.

Awarded for the best piece of creative writing (fiction or poetry) by an undergraduate woman. Open to all UB undergraduate women. Sponsored by the English Department.

Awarded for the best poem or group of poems submitted by a UB undergraduate or graduate student. Administered by the UB Libraries in conjunction with the Friends of the University Libraries and the Department of English.

Awarded for the best poem or group of poems. Open to all UB undergraduates. Sponsored by the Friends of the University Libraries, the University Libraries, and the English Department.