Prizes and Awards

The English Department makes a number of awards to graduate students for outstanding achievement:

Ann Pazo Mayberry Award

Established by George Coan, a former poetry graduate student at UNH, in memory of his aunt, this annual award is made to an out-of-state graduate master's student in poetry who has financial need and has demonstrated excellence in poetry writing. The recipient is chosen by the professors of poetry and will receive a modest financial award.

Tom Williams Award

This award, in memory of UNH English Professor Tom Williams, is given for the best short story produced at UNH in an academic year. Competition is open to undergraduate and graduate students. The recipient is chosen by the professors of fiction-writing and will receive a modest financial award.

Graduate Student Teaching Awards

The English Department has established two annual awards that recognize the superior teaching of one of our Master’s candidates and one of our PhD candidates: the Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Master’s Degree Candidate in English, and the Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Doctoral Candidate in English. The recipients are chosen by the Graduate Committee in consultation with the Director of  Undergraduate Composition and, in the case of PhD students, faculty mentors for that year. Self-nominations and nominations by faculty and students are encouraged. The purpose of these awards is to acknowledge the often extraordinary work in the classroom carried out by graduate students on behalf of the department and the university.

Fanny Delisle Award

Named for Dr. Fanny Delisle, who in 1972 earned the first English Ph.D. at UNH, this award is given annually for the best graduate essay in literary studies. In 2002, the UNH English Department established this award to honor Dr. Delisle and to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its doctoral program. Any currently enrolled graduate student may compete, with the exception of previous winners of the award; the recipient is chosen by a committee of literature faculty and receives a modest financial award.

Nonfiction Prize Gift 

This prize was established by a variety of sources, including the NH Press Women in memory of Ann Marie LeClair and the Charles Simic MacArthur fund, and rewards outstanding work in narrative nonfiction by a graduate student. Submissions may include research-based narratives, personal essay, or memoir.  

In addition, the Graduate School makes the following awards to graduate students for excellence in scholarship and teaching. The English Department nominates students for these awards:

Graduate Student Research/Scholarship/Creativity Award

Two awards are made annually, one to a Master’s student and one to a doctoral student. This award is designed to recognize graduate student research/scholarship and other creative work that represents the best overall contribution to the discipline. Nominees must have received their degrees in the calendar year prior to January 1 of the year in which students are being nominated.

Graduate Student Teaching Awards

Up to fours awards are made annually (2 for master’s students and 2 for doctoral students). Graduate Teaching Assistants contribute significantly to the teaching mission of the University. These awards are designed to recognize graduate students who have demonstrated excellence in teaching.  Graduate students who are actively pursuing a degree in one of the graduate programs within the Graduate School and who have taught or played a significant instructional support role in one or more classes during the previous calendar year are eligible to be nominated. The award may only be received once at each level (master’s or doctoral) of a graduate student’s career.