2011 Palmer-Brandon Prize in Humanities Competition

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce the competition for the 2011Palmer-Brandon Prize, the College’s largest award to undergraduate students majoring in the humanities. This year the selection committee will make up to two awards of $20,000 each to current third year juniors to continue their academic, scholarly or creative pursuits. The prize is based on merit, without regard to financial need. Those selected to receive this prestigious prize are expected to be in the top one percent of undergraduates in their fields in terms of academic achievement and potential.

Attached to this message you will find a flyer and application materials. Please note that the application procedures for this award have changed slightly this year. Departmental nominations are no longer allowed, however, students are still required to submit three letters of recommendation from IU faculty members in the humanities.

This prize remains restricted to certain departments/disciplines. We must not violate the requirements of the initial gift agreement and therefore we cannot open this competition to all departments. Eligible are students majoring in: Classical Studies, Comparative Literature, East Asian Languages and Cultures, English, Fine Arts (Art History or Studio Art), Folklore and Ethnomusicology, French and Italian, Germanic Studies, India Studies, Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Slavic Languages and Literatures, Spanish and Portuguese, Theatre and Drama.  Additionally, students majoring in African-American and African Diaspora Studies, Anthropology, American Studies, Communication and Culture, Gender Studies, Individualized Major Program, International Studies, and Jewish Studies can be considered eligible, if the humanities form the focus of the student’s coursework, research, career plans, application materials, recommendations, etc. 

Due to the restrictions of the gift agreement, we must treat this as a humanities prize;  if students apply but are ineligible, they cannot be considered but will have spent large amounts of time and effort in vain (as will the faculty recommending them).     

In addition to an extensive application, finalists will be required to meet with the Selection Committee for a personal interview on Thursday, March 24.  The deadline for receipt of all application materials (including faculty letters of recommendation) is 4:00 p.m. on Friday, March 4, 2011.

At this time we ask that you post the attached flyer in your department and circulate the application to those undergraduate majors who meet the following criteria and who, in your estimation, are among the top 1% of students you have taught here. To be eligible for this award, applicants must: 

• be current third-year students with junior standing, planning to graduate in May or Aug 2012
•  be enrolled full-time at IUB both semesters of 2011-2012
•  have high academic merit, including a minimum College GPA of 3.750 (Note: In the past; recipients of this prize have had cumulative College of Arts and Sciences GPAs of 3.9 and higher.)

The application form and additional information is available on the College’s website at:

http://college.indiana.edu/undergrad/scholarships/cri_palmerBrandon.shtml. 

If you have questions about the Palmer-Brandon Prize in the Humanities, please contact Lynn Keller, lykeller@indiana.edu or 856-0827. We look forward to receiving the applications of your students.

Best,   

Stephen Watt

Professor of English and

    Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education