The English Department offers nine prizes and scholarships. Five of these were established in honour of former faculty members; one honours the Department’s retired faculty; and one was established by a former Chancellor of York University as part of his dedication to Canadian Studies. In addition to these seven prizes and scholarships, the Department also recognizes outstanding essays written in courses offered at the 1000, 2000, 3000 and 4000 levels.
The winning essays are preserved in the English Undergraduate Essay Prizes Collection.
Essay Prizes and Scholarships
The application period for the 2024-2025 award session will open in April 2025.
The Avie Bennett Prize in Canadian Literature
Faculty members nominate students for this award.
Avie Bennett was Chancellor of York University from May 1998 to June 2004. Because of his lifelong interest in Canadian Studies, he has established a prize to be awarded annually to an undergraduate student studying in the Department of English in the Faculty of LA&PS, who has written the best essay in Canadian Literature.
The recipient will also receive a set of the New Canadian Library at the annual English Department awards reception.
The Brian Hepworth Memorial Prize
Faculty members nominate students for this award.
This prize is awarded annually for the best essay on a subject drawn from English literature, 1660-1800, written by an undergraduate student and submitted as part of the requirements for an undergraduate course offered in the current year by the English department. The value of this award and the closing date for nominations vary from year to year. Contact the department office at 416-736-5166 for further details. The Department reserves the right not to award a prize in any given year.
The Department of English Retirees’ Scholarship
Application is not required.
All eligible students are automatically assessed.
Established by Professor Ruth Grogan in 2004, the fund that supports this award is a way of honouring faculty retiring from the English Department. It is intended to provide financial assistance to the top student (ranking based on cumulative grade point average), in the Department of English, Faculty of LA&PS, who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and a resident of Ontario, and who demonstrates financial need. Recipients must be enrolled in a major or minor program within the Department of English and have completed at least 21 credits in English (3.5 full courses) and will be continuing in the English Department with at least 12 credits remaining to graduate, 6 of which must be in English. Eligible students will be invited to complete a bursary application.
The H.K. Girling Literature Prize
Submission-based award.
Faculty members may nominate students for this award.
Established in 2002 by friends and family in memory of Professor Harry K. Girling, a member of the York University English Department from 1962 to 1984. The prize is awarded annually, on the recommendation of the English department, to a student enrolled in a 2000- or 3000-level English course. Its basis is an outstanding essay written for that course by a student showing commitment to literature in both the classroom and in other ways.
Professor Girling always challenged his students to make connections between their studies and contemporary culture. It is hoped that the successful candidate is someone who can rise to that challenge. Students may either nominate themselves or be nominated by their instructors. In either case, a full submission will include both a clean copy of the essay and an accompanying letter detailing the student’s commitment to literature and to connecting her/his studies to contemporary culture.
The Lucille Herbert Memorial Scholarship
Submission-based award.
This scholarship exists to assist any undergraduate student in English or Creative Writing (Faculty of LA&PS) who proposes to travel to Europe, especially France, and who has taken (including current enrolment), at least four courses in English. Travel might be specifically for study, perhaps at a summer school, but not restricted to formal courses.
An articulate letter of application, addressed to the English Department’s Teaching Committee, should provide the following information: present level of study; English courses taken and grades obtained; present academic plans; object of travel. (No letters from referees.) Applicants may need to attend an informal interview. The value of this scholarship is typically one economy airfare. The deadline for application varies from year to year. Contact the department office at 416-736-5166 for specific information. The Department reserves the right not to award a prize in any given year.
The Elizabeth Sabiston Prize
Faculty members nominate students for this award.
Given in honour of Professor Elizabeth Sabiston, a longtime member of the English Department, this prize is awarded annually to a student who writes an outstanding essay in a 3rd or 4th year English course in the field of Women in Literature (British, American, or Canadian, 18th to 20th centuries). Subjects could include characterization of the female by female or male authors, women novelists or poets, comparative studies.
The June McMaster-Harrison Memorial Prize
Faculty members nominate students for this award.
Awarded to the Liberal Arts & Professional Studies student who, while enrolled in an English course, at the 3000- or 4000-level, produces the finest piece of written work in areas of studies with special interest to Professor McMaster-Harrison: literature of the Romantic period; literary theory; cross-disciplinary studies involving literature and other arts or sciences. It is awarded for courses completed in the previous fall/winter and summer session.This prize was established to honour Professor June McMaster-Harrison, former Chair of the Department of English in the former Atkinson Faculty of Liberal & Professional Studies.
The Matthew Ahern Memorial Prize
Application is not required.
All eligible students are automatically assessed.
Awarded annually to the student with the highest academic achievement in one of the following courses: Shakespeare and his Contemporaries; Poetry and Prose of the Romantic Period; American Literature of the 19th Century; Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama. Decisions will be based on courses completed in the previous fall/winter and summer session. Established in honour of Dr. Ahern, who served as Chair of English and Associate Dean of Atkinson. He was a devoted, versatile teacher for over 25 years, with areas of expertise extending from Renaissance to 19th-century and Modern American Literature.
The Stephanie Stavro Scholarship in English
Application is required.
The Stephanie Stavro Scholarship in English is awarded to a Black and/or Indigenous student majoring in an English program offered by the Faculty of LA&PS. Named after the York University Department of English alumna, the new scholarship will support a second-year student.
Departmental Essay Prizes
Faculty members may nominate students for this award.
The Department of English awards prizes for the best essay written in courses at each of the four year levels.
Past Winners
Looking for more?
The Faculty of LA&PS also provides a number of scholarships, awards and bursaries. Fill our your Financial Aid, Awards and Scholarships (FAAS) Application today.