Scholarships and fellowships in literacy education
Doctoral students in the literacy program are eligible for appropriate scholarships and fellowships from the Graduate School and the college, as well as specific fellowships and scholarships in literacy. MA students are eligible for some awards listed below. One award is available for teachers seeking a reading license and undergraduate literacy students.
Sidney and Marguerite Henry Fund
Amount: One three-year graduate assistantship; 50% for the
first year, and 25% for two additional years (supplemental 25%
teaching assistantships available); includes
tuition benefits.
Deadline: Applications due on the fall deadline for
application for admission to the program.
Award date: Awarded every three years
Contact: Professor Lee Galda, Department of Curriculum and
Instruction, 612-625-3310.
galda001@umn.edu
Criteria: Awarded to an incoming Ph.D. student whose focus is children’s literature. The award is made on the basis of academic record, experience, and statement of purpose for doctoral study. The assistantship entails work in the Children’s Literature Research Collections, Andersen Library, as well as in the department.
Application: Please complete the CEHD Scholarship Application. Provide two letters of recommendation from current faculty members. Submit a copy of your most recent transcript. In a personal statement, explain why you are applying and what makes you a worthy recipient of this scholarship. All application materials should be submitted to Lee Galda.
Norine Odland Endowment for Children’s Literature
Amount: One annual award of $2,000
Deadline: Applications are due to the Children’s Literature
faculty by December 15
Award date: Spring semester
Contact: Professor Lee Galda, Department of Curriculum and
Instruction, 612-625-3310.
galda001@umn.edu
Criteria: For an M.A. or Ph.D. student whose major is children's literature. The student must have had teaching or library experience, have finished coursework, and be ready to work on either their thesis or dissertation. Along with the award to the student, the Odland Endowment will provide $4,000 for the student to purchase books for children and young people in the Fairview University Hospital
Application: Please complete the CEHD Scholarship Application. Provide two letters of recommendation from current faculty members. Submit a copy of your most recent transcript. In a personal statement, explain why you are applying and what makes you a worthy recipient of this scholarship. All application materials should be submitted to Lee Galda.
Dora V. Smith Scholarship Fund
Amount: One-year 50% graduate assistantship award; includes tuition benefits.
Deadline: Applications are due on the fall deadline for
application for admission to the program.
Award date: Awarded every three years
Contact: Professor
Deborah R.
Dillon, Department of Curriculum
and Instruction, 338 Peik Hall, (dillon@umn.edu)
Criteria: For incoming Ph.D. student in literacy education who shows unusual promise as demonstrated by academic aptitude and character.
Application: Please complete the CEHD Scholarship Application. Provide two letters of recommendation from current faculty members. Submit a copy of your most recent transcript. In a personal statement, explain why you are applying and what makes you a worthy recipient of this scholarship. All application materials should be submitted to Deborah Dillon, 338 Peik Hall.
Dr. Frances O. Triggs Memorial Fund
Amount: One 50% graduate assistantship award;
includes tuition benefits.
Deadline: Applications are due on the fall deadline for
application for admission to the program. Eligible program applicants
are considered for this award, in years when funds are available.
Award date: Awarded every three years
Contact: Professor
Deborah R.
Dillon, Department
of Curriculum and Instruction, 338 Peik Hall (Dillon@umn.edu)
Criteria: Open to Ph.D. students entering the literacy program with a focus on reading education.
Application: Please complete the CEHD Scholarship Application. Provide two letters of recommendation from current faculty members. Submit a copy of your most recent transcript. In a personal statement, explain why you are applying and what makes you a worthy recipient of this scholarship. All application materials should be submitted to Deborah Dillon.
Distinguished Reading and Language Arts Assistantship
Amount: One 50% graduate assistantship award; includes tuition benefits.
Deadline: Applications due on the fall deadline for
application for admission to the program. Eligible program
applicants are considered for this award, in years when funds are
available.
Award date: Awarded every three years
Contact: Professor Deborah R.
Dillon, Department of Curriculum
and Instruction, 338 Peik Hall, (Dillon@umn.edu)
Criteria: Awarded to an incoming Ph.D. student who demonstrates academic aptitude and a commitment to literacy education. The assistantship seeks to promote diversity within the literacy program through the recruitment and support of academically excellent students from diverse backgrounds. Special consideration will be given to candidates whose teaching and work experiences have been grounded in urban or rural educational settings, and whose research interests focus on issues of diversity, or on communities traditionally underserved by our schools and educational research.
Application: Please complete the CEHD Scholarship Application. Provide two letters of recommendation from current faculty members. Submit a copy of your most recent transcript. In a personal statement, explain why you are applying and what makes you a worthy recipient of this scholarship. All application materials should be submitted to Deborah Dillon, 338 Peik Hall.
Robert Schreiner Memorial Endowment
Amount: One non-renewable annual award of $2,500
Deadline: Applications are due to the Literacy program area
coordinator by December 15
Award date: Spring semester
Contact: Professor Deborah R.
Dillon, Department of Curriculum
and Instruction, 338 Peik Hall, (Dillon@umn.edu)
Criteria: Intended to support dissertation research in reading education, this award supports a doctoral student in literacy education who has completed oral and written comprehensive examinations and had a dissertation prospectus approved.
Application: Please complete the CEHD Scholarship Application. Provide two letters of recommendation from current faculty members. Submit a copy of your most recent transcript. In a personal statement, explain why you are applying and what makes you a worthy recipient of this scholarship. All application materials should be submitted to Deborah Dillon, 338 Peik Hall.
Judy King Potts Endowed Fellowship in Literacy Education
Amount: One 50% graduate assistantship award;
includes tuition benefits
Deadline: Monies awarded to outstanding applicants in
the Literacy: Reading Education Program Area in the C&I Department.
Applications due on the fall deadline for application for admission to the
program. Eligible program applicants are considered for this award, in years
when funds are available.
Award date: Spring semester
Contact: Professor Deborah R. Dillon, Department of
Curriculum and Instruction, 338 Peik Hall (Dillon@umn.edu)
Criteria: To provide funding for fellowships for students who are doing graduate work in some aspect of literacy: reading education. Preference will be given to individuals whose work focuses on pre-kindergarten or early elementary reading, but the award is not limited to this grade level focus. The fellowship also entails leadership work within the reading education program. The award is made on the basis of academic record, experiences, and personal statement.
Application: Please complete the CEHD Scholarship Application. Reading faculty will review the applications submitted for the reading MA or PhD programs to determine an awardee. All application materials should be submitted to Deborah Dillon, 338 Peik Hall.
Judy King Potts Endowment for Teaching Leadership in Literacy Education
Amount: A one-time award of $ 500.00
Deadline: Monies awarded to 2-4 outstanding
applicants to the Literacy: Reading Education Program Area in the C&I
Department, particularly students enrolled in the Reading Licensure Program
each spring (if funds are available). The 1-2 page personal statement
should be submitted by April 1st.
Award date: Spring semester. Students must be
enrolled in coursework to receive the funds.
Contact: Professor Deborah R. Dillon, Department of
Curriculum and Instruction, 338 Peik Hall (Dillon@umn.edu)
Criteria: To provide scholarships for in-service teachers who want or need additional training in reading and literacy, particularly those enrolled in the University of Minnesota’s Reading Licensure Program. Preference will be given to teachers in the seven- county metro area who are teaching in pre-kindergarten to second grade settings, but the award is not limited to this grade level focus. The scholarship also entails leadership work within the reading/literacy program area.; The award is made on the basis of academic record, experiences, and personal statement.
Application: An applicant should submit a 1-2 page personal statement, explaining why he/she is applying for the award, leadership goals in the area of reading/literacy, and why he/she is a worthy recipient of a scholarship. Email submission is required. In addition, materials submitted by individuals when they applied to the reading licensure program will be reviewed. All application materials should be submitted to Professor Deborah R. Dillon.
Mary L. Topp Fellowship Fund for Reading and Language Arts
Amount: A one-time award of $ 3,000.00
Deadline: Monies are awarded to an outstanding PhD or
MA applicant to the Literacy Program Area in the C&I Department.
Applications due on the fall deadline for application for admission to the
program. Eligible program applicants are considered for this award, in years
when funds are available.
Award date: Spring semester
Contact: Professor Deborah R. Dillon, Department of
Curriculum and Instruction, 338 Peik Hall
Criteria: Mary L. Topp was an elementary reading teacher who established this fellowship to honor College of Education and Human Development reading researchers John Manning, P. David Pearson, Robert Dykstra, Robert Schreiner, Barbara Taylor and Jay Samuels; and children’s literature experts Noreen Odland and Naomi Chase. The Mary L. Topp Fund will support graduate fellowships in the department of C&I for full-time graduate students (enrolled in the graduate school) who designate their research in the area of reading education. An award of approximately $3,000 will be given to honorees to support their graduate coursework and research efforts. The award is made on the basis of a match between the applicant’s career goals and the funder’s purpose for the award, along with the applicant’s academic record, experiences, and personal statement.
Application: Applicants will be selected using materials submitted for admission into the C&I Department’s graduate program in reading and language arts (or MA and PhD program). For more information, contact Professor Deborah R. Dillon, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, 338 Peik Hall (Dillon@umn.edu).
Scholarships and fellowships in literacy
for undergraduates in
CI 5413/CI 4413 literacy courses
The Margaret Virum “Learning from an Inspirational Teacher” Awards
Grants for Early Childhood Education and Elementary Education
undergraduate students enrolled in CI 5413 Foundations of Reading at the
University of Minnesota
Amount: A one-time grant award of $250.00; typically 10-12
awards are made yearly (funds permitting). The grants are designated
for the purchase of books and electronic texts created for ECE and
elementary age-level students, and will allow future teachers to create the
beginning of a strong classroom library, a critical feature for effective
learning environments and a key to motivating young people to read.
Deadlines: mid November (for the fall competition) and mid March (for
the spring competition)
Award Dates: Each semester; approximately 3 weeks after the materials
are due
Contact: Professor Deborah R. Dillon, Department of Curriculum and
Instruction, 338 Peik Hall.
Criteria: Margaret Virum was an outstanding teacher who dedicated her
life to motivating her Minneapolis
students to read and write, supporting them in this process through
outstanding instruction and partnerships with community members who spanned
the generations. She left a lasting legacy of her passion for teaching
in the form of student work and materials from lessons, scrapbooks that
document life in her classroom each year she taught, and her own reflections
in the form of personal journals. The materials have been catalogued
and are housed in a special collection in the Curriculum and Instruction
Library, Peik Hall. This award offers future ECE and elementary preservice
teachers, enrolled in CI 5413 Foundations of Reading, the opportunity to
review the Virum collection, write a brief paper about what they learned,
and link the ideas to CI 5413 course concepts and a CI 5413 assignment.
Application: In the first few months of CI 5413, an announcement will be made about the opportunity to apply for the Margaret Virum “Learning from an Inspirational Teacher” grants. Requirements related to applying for the grant and all deadlines for the process will be provided to applicants by CI 5413 instructors.
Revised November 2011
