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Top 21 English Scholarships in February 2023
Looking for scholarships for English majors? We’ve got you covered. Whether you are hoping to pursue a career in journalism, law, writing, publishing, or technology, an English major can prove invaluable.
This list of vetted scholarships for English majors includes opportunities for those in both undergraduate and graduate programs. Let’s get into it!
Jump ahead to…
- Top scholarships for English majors
- How to win scholarships for English majors
- Resources for English majors
- Frequently asked questions
- Additional scholarship lists to explore
Top 21 English Scholarships in February 2023
The Scholarships360 Research Team reviews all scholarships individually and strives to exclude any scholarship where any of the below applies:
- The scholarship requires a fee to apply
- The scholarship provider’s privacy policy allows for the misuse of student data
- The scholarship requires paid membership in an organization (with certain exceptions for reputable trade organizations and others)
- Student are required to sign up for a site or service to apply*
- The scholarship seems primarily used for lead generation** or idea harvesting purposes***
- The scholarship website has many grammatical errors and/or advertisements
- The scholarship or scholarship providing organization seem untrustworthy
- There is no evidence the scholarship was previously awarded
- The scholarship has not been awarded in the past 12 months
- There is no available contact information
If you believe a scholarship has been published in error, please reach out to [email protected] and we’ll take a look!
* There are certain exceptions to this, for example if the sponsoring organization is a major corporation or nonprofit with its own scholarship application system.
** Lead generation scholarships will require students to sign up for an app or website and require minimal (if any) application requirements.
***Idea harvesting scholarships will require students to submit blog posts or other materials that companies may use for marketing purposes.
$10,000 “No Essay” Scholarship
Scholarships360 Exclusive
Easy scholarship open to all US-based high school, college, community college and graduate students.
$2,000 Nitro College Scholarship – No Essay
Sponsored
Easy scholarship open to all high school, college, community and graduate students.
$25,000 No Essay Scholarship
Sponsored
Open to high school and college students, as well as anyone looking to attend college or graduate school in the next year.
Achievement Awards in Writing
Offered by National Council of Teachers of English
High school sophomores and juniors who submit a piece of creative/argumentative writing and are nominated by their school's English department.
The NYWICI Scholarships
Offered by New York Women In Communications
Permanent residents of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania pursuing a degree in a communications-related field in the U.S.
Antonia Scholarship
Offered by Willa Cather Center
Open to high school graduates from U.S. high schools who plan to study English or History at university.
Sigma Tau Delta Junior Scholarship
Offered by Sigma Tau Delta
Open to college juniors who are passionate about community service, the discipline of English, and its literature.
Ayn Rand Institute Novel Essay Contest (Fountainhead)
Offered by Ayn Rand Institute
Open to high school juniors and seniors who write an essay on Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead.
Ayn Rand Institute Novel Essay Contest (Anthem)
Offered by Ayn Rand Institute
Open to students grades 8-12 who submit an essay on a prompt regarding Ayn Rand's Anthem.
Ayn Rand Institute Novel Essay Contest (Atlas Shrugged)
Offered by Ayn Rand Institute
Open to high school seniors and university students who write an essay on Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged."
$25k “Be Bold” No-Essay Scholarship
Sponsored
Easy scholarship open to high school students, college students, community college students, and graduate students.
“Follow Your Own Path” Essay Scholarship
Scholarships360 Exclusive
Open to all postsecondary students, regardless of the type of training/education they are pursuing.
This scholarship might not currently be accepting applications. Most scholarship programs only accept applications a few months ahead of their annual deadline. We’ve estimated this deadline based on last year’s deadline in order to help you plan out your scholarship applications.
Jan 31, 2024“Outstanding Undergraduate” Essay Scholarship
Scholarships360 Exclusive
Open to current undergraduates at four-year universities in the U.S.
This scholarship might not currently be accepting applications. Most scholarship programs only accept applications a few months ahead of their annual deadline. We’ve estimated this deadline based on last year’s deadline in order to help you plan out your scholarship applications.
Jan 31, 2024Norma Ross Walter Scholarship
Offered by Willa Cather Center
Open to female high school seniors from Nebraska who plan on enrolling in accredited universities as English majors after graduation.
This scholarship might not currently be accepting applications. Most scholarship programs only accept applications a few months ahead of their annual deadline. We’ve estimated this deadline based on last year’s deadline in order to help you plan out your scholarship applications.
Jan 31, 2024Edwyna Wheadon Postgraduate Training Scholarship
Offered by National Council of Teachers of English
Open to NCTE members who are ELA teachers at public institutions and are pursuing postgraduate training to enhance their teaching skills.
This scholarship might not currently be accepting applications. Most scholarship programs only accept applications a few months ahead of their annual deadline. We’ve estimated this deadline based on last year’s deadline in order to help you plan out your scholarship applications.
Jan 31, 2024Jim Borden Memorial Scholarship
Offered by Trib Total Media
Incoming and current college students from Western Pennsylvania planning to pursue a major in Journalism, English Writing or Communication.
This scholarship might not currently be accepting applications. Most scholarship programs only accept applications a few months ahead of their annual deadline. We’ve estimated this deadline based on last year’s deadline in order to help you plan out your scholarship applications.
Jan 9, 2024Stephanie G. Hoffman Scholarship
Offered by Jewish Community Federation & Endowment Fund
Open to current and incoming Jewish postsecondary students from select California counties who want to work with underserved children.
This scholarship might not currently be accepting applications. Most scholarship programs only accept applications a few months ahead of their annual deadline. We’ve estimated this deadline based on last year’s deadline in order to help you plan out your scholarship applications.
Mar 31, 2023$10,000 CollegeXpress Scholarship
Sponsored
Annual $10k scholarship from CollegeXpress open to all high school students.
Niche $2,000 “No Essay” College Scholarship
Sponsored
Easy scholarship from Niche open to all high school, college, and graduate students.
How to win scholarships for English majors
As an English major, you know that different occasions call for different writing styles. Academic papers, works of fiction, and newspaper articles all use different tones and dictions to achieve their goals. This is also true of scholarship essays! We can help you tailor your writing to stand out among other scholarship essays with a few guides we’ve put together.
These guides include how to start a scholarship essay, how to write a winning scholarship essay, and how to respond to a “Why do you deserve this scholarship?” prompt. We can also help you through writing a 250 word and a 500 word essay. Finally, don’t miss our guide on how to write an essay about yourself.
Don’t forget self-reflection!
Remember before even sitting down to write your essay, your first step should be to do some self-reflection. Without concerning yourself with formatting, elegance, or succinctness, write down some general ideas about what the study of English means to you. Jot down some past experiences, what they demonstrate about your potential and character, and some goals for the future. Fit your studies into this trajectory and conceptualize your education as a means toward an end.
Once you’ve done this, you’re already halfway there! Now, your ideas are solidified, and all that remains is to package them into a powerful, succinct essay. You can focus on that task rather than trying to perfect your writing at the same time as you come up with your ideas.
Resources for English majors
English majors enjoy the privilege of a wide variety of career options upon graduation. One of the best ways to find out which field is for you is by investigating different professional organizations. We’ve compiled a list of a few professional organizations here for jobs commonly held by English majors:
- National Council of Teachers of English
- American Society of Journalists and Authors
- Investigative Reporters and Editors
- Public Relations Society of America
- American Association of Advertising Agencies
- Rhetoric Society of America
- Linguistic Society of America
Frequently asked questions about scholarships for English majors
Are English majors in demand?
Yes! This is because English majors are known to be critical thinkers and excellent communicators, which are desirable qualities in every career. For example, some studies rank English majors ahead of business majors.
Are English majors worth it?
The answer depends on the cost of your degree. If you are mindful of attending a college or university a school within your means (maybe even starting out at community college) and taking out minimal loans, yes. English majors usually start out with lower salaries than STEM majors, but eventually catch up. Applying for scholarships is one way to offset the cost of your degree, so you are in the right place!
Since you are either planning to or already majoring in English, we assume you enjoy writing. Our list of scholarships for writers should come in handy.
