Santa Clara University

Essay Contests

Matt Meier Award 2009 (Deadline April 3, 2009)
The Ethnic Studies Program would like to encourage you to submit a research paper/essay dealing with Race/Ethnicity issues for the Matt Meier Award. A plaque and a monetary prize will be awarded to the student whose work is judged to be the most outstanding.

Guidelines for submission:

1. Paper must not be longer than 25 pages (double-spaced)

2. Paper must focus on the general topic of race/ethnicity in the United States, specifically underrepresented groups

3. Only one entry per student

4. Group papers are allowed (no more than two co-authors)

5. A senior thesis is eligible if it meets length requirement

6. All majors are welcome to submit two copies, particularly Ethnic Studies Minors/Majors through Individual Studies and Liberal Studies students with an Ethnic Studies concentration, to Dr. James S, Lai, Director of Ethnic Studies, St. Joseph Hall, Room 108.

Nina Leibman Essay Competition (Deadline April 10, 2009)
The Women Faculty Group and the Women's and Gender Studies Program are pleased to announce an annual essay competition in honor of the memory of Nina Leibman, author, communication scholar, mother, and friend to many in the Santa Clara University community. Undergraduate students are invited to submit essays and articles (a minimum of 8 double-spaced pages in length and a maximum of 15 double-spaced pages in length) addressing the general topic of Women and Creative Expression. The essay or article might consider contributions made by women (or by an individual woman) to a particular creative field, including literature, fine or performing arts, or mass media. It might explore how women have been represented in a particular time period, genre, or medium, and how those representations could both reflect and shape a culture’s ideas and attitudes about women. The winning essay will examine an issue of significance in a complex and thoughtful manner and will be characterized by clear, engaging, and graceful prose. We invite faculty from all disciplines to encourage students who have written outstanding essays appropriate to the topic to enter the competition.

Guidelines for submission:

1. Either email (wgst@scu.edu) or submit one copy of the paper to the Women’s and Gender Studies Program office, St. Joseph Hall 103, by 12 p.m. on Friday, April 10, 2009

2. The student’s name should not appear on the essay. Attach a separate page with the student's name, address, phone number, title of essay, and the class and instructor for which it was written.

3. Essays must be a minimum of eight pages in length and a maximum of 15 pages in length, and should have been produced for a class during Spring or Fall 2008 or Winter 2009 quarter. Collaborative essays (written by groups of SCU students) are welcome. Students from all departments are invited to enter the competition. One submission per student. Readers from multiple disciplines will evaluate the submissions.

4. The winner will receive a $50 gift certificate for Barnes and Noble Bookstores at the Women's and Gender Studies Honors Reception on Friday, June 12, 2009.

2009 Sir John M. Templeton Fellowships Essay Contest (Deadline May 1, 2009)
Essay contest open to current college students and junior faculty. The essay topic focuses on the question, "Which virtues contribute the most toward acheiving freedom, and how can the institutions of civil society encourage the exercise of those virtues?" $21,000 in cash prizes for Templeton Fellowship Winners.

For more information go to www.independent.org/essay