Prizes and Studentships

Various prizes are available for students and graduate students. 

Chancellor’s English Essay Prize 2012 

The Chancellors English Essay Prize, the value of which is £250, providing there is an entry of sufficient merit, is open to members of the University who on the closing date for receipt of essays have not exceeded four years from the date of their matriculation. The subject of the prize is: ‘Transience’.

Essays should be submitted, under a sealed cover marked ‘Chancellors English Essay Prize’, to the English Faculty Office, St Cross Building, Manor Road, Oxford OX1 3UL, not later than Monday 4 March 2013. Authors should conceal their names and identify their essays by a motto. The name, college, and date of matriculation should be submitted at the same time in a separate envelope with the same motto inscribed upon it. Essays should not exceed 12,500 words in length.

The prize will not be awarded twice to the same person.

Matthew Arnold Memorial Prize 2012

The Matthew Arnold Memorial Prize, the value of which is £750, providing there is an entry of sufficient merit, is open to members of the University, who, on the closing date for receipt of essays, have qualified by examination for the Degree of BA and have not exceeded seven years from matriculation or have qualified by examination for any other degree of the University and have not exceeded four years from matriculation or, not being graduates of the University, are pursuing a course of study leading to a postgraduate degree of the University and have not exceeded three years from their matriculation. An additional prize, of £350, may be awarded. The subject of the prize is: ‘Perhaps we shall one day learn to make this proposition general, and to say: Poetry is the reality, philosophy the illusion’.

Essays should be submitted, under a sealed cover marked ‘The Matthew Arnold Prize’, to the English Faculty Office, St Cross Building, Manor Road, Oxford OX1 3UL, not later than Friday 1 March 2013. Authors should conceal their names and identify their essays by a motto. The name, college, and date of matriculation should be submitted at the same time in a separate envelope with the same motto inscribed upon it. Essays are not expected to exceed 5,000 words, though no maximum length has been prescribed.

The prize will not be awarded twice to the same person.

Lord Alfred Douglas Memorial Prize 2012 

A prize of £500 will be awarded, providing there is an entry of sufficient merit, for the best sonnet or other poem written in English and in strict rhyming metre. Any member of the University, who is registered for a degree of the University, whether as an undergraduate or a graduate student, may enter for the prize. The prize shall not be awarded more than once to the same person. A copy of the winning entry shall be deposited in the Bodleian Library.

Poems (one copy) are to be sent under a sealed cover marked ‘The Lord Alfred Douglas Memorial Prize’ to the English Faculty Office, St Cross Building, Manor Road, Oxford OX1 3UL, no later than Monday 22 April 2013. Each author is required to conceal his or her name and to distinguish his or her composition by a motto, sending at the same time his or her name, college, address, and matriculation date in a separate envelope with the same motto inscribed upon it. No author may submit more than three entries.

Shelley Mills Prize 2012

This prize, the purpose of which is to promote the study of the works of William Shakespeare, providing there is an entry of sufficient merit, is open to members of the University who on the date of this supplement have not exceeded three years from matriculation; and who have not been a member of any other university for more than a year.

The prize, value about £80, will be awarded for the best essay on the following subject: Shakespeare's Books

The essays (which should consist of about 5,000 words) are to be sent under sealed cover marked ‘Shelley Mills Prize’ to the English Faculty Office, St Cross Building, Manor Road, Oxford OX1 3UL, no later than Monday 4 March 2013. Candidates are required to conceal their names and distinguish their essays by a motto. The name and college of the candidate should be sent at the same time in a separate sealed envelope with the same motto inscribed upon it. Candidates must also submit a statement by the Head or Senior Tutor of their College that they have not been a member of any university other than Oxford for more than one year. Candidates should also include their matriculation date.

Sir Roger Newdigate Prize 2012

The prize will be awarded, provided there is an entry of sufficient merit, for best composition in English verse not exceeding 300 lines in length on the subject of ‘The Higgs Boson’. Candidates should submit at least two, but no more than six, poems, each of 36 lines, using the meter and rhyme scheme of Donne's ‘The Litanie’.

The prize is open to an undergraduate who has not exceeded four years from matriculation. The value of the prize is approximately £490 (exact value to be determined by the Fund balance).

Poems (one copy) should be submitted, under a sealed cover marked ‘Sir Roger Newdigate Prize’, to the English Faculty Office, St Cross Building, Manor Road, Oxford OX1 3UL, not later than Monday 4 March 2013. Authors should conceal their names and identify their entries by a motto. The name, college, and date of matriculation should be submitted at the same time in a separate envelope with the same motto inscribed upon it.

English Poem on a Sacred Subject Prize 2013

The subject for the prize will be: ‘And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of the Lord did lighten it’ (Revelations Chapter 21, verse 23).

The poem must consist of not less than sixty or more than 300 lines. It may be blank verse or in any form of verse rhymed in couplets or stanzas. There is a tradition which discourages dramatic form of composition for this prize.

Candidates for the prize (value of about £2,000) shall be members of the University who, not later than the closing date for entries for the competition, shall have qualified by examination for a degree of the University; or shall hold the Degree of Master of Arts by incorporation or by decree or by resolution; or shall hold the status of Master of Arts; or shall have qualified by examination for a degree of any other university. The judges may, at their discretion, also make an award to the proxime accessit. Should no such award be made the value of the main award will be increased.

Poems (four copies) are to be sent under a sealed cover marked ‘Sacred Subject Prize’ to the English Faculty Office, St Cross Building, Manor Road, Oxford OX1 3UL, no later than the Monday of eighth week of Trinity Term 2013. Each author is required to conceal his or her name and to distinguish his or her composition by a motto, sending at the same time his or her name, college, address and details of degree awarded (title, university and date, which the Faculty will require proof of, before award of the prize) in a separate envelope with the same motto inscribed upon it.

The prize may not be awarded more than twice to the same person.
 

Charles Oldham Shakespeare Prize

Two prizes will be offered, if there are candidates of a sufficient merit, each of a value of £250. The first shall be for the best performance in Course I Paper 2 of the Final Honour School in English and its associated Joint Schools (as judged by the board of examiners for the relevant School).

The second shall be for the best dissertation on a subject dealing with the works of Shakespeare submitted by a candidate for the MSt in English or for Transfer from PRS to DPhil status (as judged by the board of examiners for the MSt course).

No special application is required.

Gibbs Prizes

          A prize of £100 for the best performance in Mods.

          Prizes of £70 are awarded for the best performances in the following FHS papers:

          Course I, Paper 7

          Course I, Paper 8 (extended essays only)

          Extended essay in Course II

          Overall performance in Course I

          Overall performance in Course II

The Mrs Claude Beddington English Literature Prize

The prize, value about £150, will be awarded, if there is a candidate of sufficient merit, by the Moderators in Moderations in English Language and Literature in Trinity Term each year to the candidate whose performance in that examination, or in part 2 of the Preliminary Examination in English and Modern Languages in the same term, they judge to be the best. No special application is required.

Passmore Edwards Prizes for Classics and English

There are two prizes, each valued at £200. One will be awarded, if there is a candidate of sufficient merit, by the Moderators in Honour Moderations in Classics and English to the candidate whose performance in that examination they judge the best. The other prize will be awarded by the Examiners for the Final Honour School of Classics and English, to the candidate whose performance in that examination they judge the best. No special application is required for either prize.

Tower Poetry Prize

The Christopher Tower Poetry Prize is open to anyone age 16-18 in full time education.

Graduate Studentships

Details on studentships available for graduate study may be found here.