Scholarships & Awards

Undergraduate Scholarships

Each academic year, the ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Department of English holds scholarship contests for undergraduates in the areas of technical writing and literature.

These scholarships are presented to winners at the department's End of Term Celebrations.

Eligibility

It is recommended to apply for these scholarships before your final year.

To be eligible to apply, you must be a full or part-time USF student. Each scholarship has different requirements, so please review all descriptions thoroughly.

Deadlines

The application period begins when the AwardSpring portal opens in December every Academic Year and the deadline to submit will be listed in AwardSpring for each scholarship.

Distribution

To browse and apply, please check for all updates.

AwardSpring Scholarships & Awards

Awards Eligibility and Selection Criteria

Anspaugh Endowed Fiction Writers Award in English

Qualifications

  • You must be a full or part-time student attending the Tampa campus
  • There is no college restriction
  • For submission, include the following:
    1. A fiction piece not exceeding 20,000 words in length

Deadline
February 1, 2026

Anspaugh Endowed Science Fiction Award in English

Qualifications

  • You must be a full or part-time student attending the Tampa campus
  • There is no college restriction
  • For submission, include the following:
    1. A fiction piece not exceeding 20,000 words in length

Deadline
February 1, 2026

Bettye Newman Poetry Award

Qualifications

  • You must be a full-time student attending any campus and College of Arts and Sciences
  • You must be enrolled as an English major with a concentration in Creative Writing
  • For submission, include the following:
    1. A minimum of three poems, compiled into a single file

Deadline
May 16, 2026

Ed & Ann Hirshberg Award for Excellence in Creative Writing

Qualifications

  • You must be a full or part-time student attending the Tampa campus and College of Arts and Sciences
  • You must be enrolled as an English major with a concentration in Creative Writing
  • For submission, include the following:
    1. Up to 15 pages maximum of original, creative material. Your submission may consist of comics, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or any combination of these genres

Deadline
May 16, 2026

James and Lorraine Parrish Endowed Memorial Scholarship

Qualifications

  • You must be a full or part-time student attneding the Tampa campus and College of Arts and Sciences
  • You must be enrolled as an English major
  • For submission, include the following:
    1. An essay discussing your academic and professional goals. Include a brief discussion of the major factors that have shaped and influenced your pursuit of these goals
    2. CV or Resume

Deadline
May 16, 2026

Joseph G. Bentley Memorial Scholarship in English

Qualifications

  • You must be a full or part-time student attending the Tampa campus and College of Arts and Sciences
  • You must be enrolled as an English Major
  • For submission, include the following:
    1. An essay discussing your academic and professional goals. Include a brief discussion of the major factors that have shaped and influenced your pursuit of these goals.  No more than 500 words
    2. CV or Resume

Deadline
May 16, 2026
STC Technical/Professional Scholarship in English

Qualifications

  • You must be a full or part-time student attending the Tampa campus and College of Arts and Sciences
  • You must be enrolled as a Technical and Professional Writing major
  • For submission, include the following:
    1. An essay discussing your academic and professional goals. Include a brief discussion of the major factors that have shaped and influenced your pursuit of these goals
    2. CV or Resume

Deadline
May 16, 2026
Thomas Sanders Scholarship in Creative Writing

Qualifications

  • You must be a full or part-time student attending the Tampa campus and College of Arts and Sciences
  • You must be enrolled as an English major with a concentration in Creative Writing
  • For submission, inlude the following:
    1. A sample of your creative writing, up to 10 pages in length

Deadline
May 16, 2026

HOW TO APPLY

Scholarships (which are not taxable) will be disbursed as part of the winners’ financial aid packages by the Office of Student Financial Aid. 

All eligible students who wish to be considered for a scholarship must submit an application through the USF AwardSpring portal found here.