2024 Department of English Undergraduate Essay Contest

UCLA undergraduates completing upper division English courses are invited to compete for the annual Department of English Undergraduate Essay Prize (with a cash award of $100) for the best critical or research paper on a literary subject.  Manuscripts should be typed double-spaced, and be at least 2,000 but not more than 7,500 words long.  The paper selected to win the departmental contest will be nominated for the University-wide Peter Rotter and Teague-Melville essay contests, which award prizes of $500.  (All other students are encouraged to submit essays for the University-wide contests, as well.  Please note that a nomination letter from the relevant course instructor is required to enter.)

To be eligible, a student must have written the entry for an upper division English course during the Spring Quarter 2023, Fall Quarter 2023, or Winter Quarter 2024. Each entry should be uploaded as a PDF file using the form below. Multiple entries are permitted, but each will require a separate accompanying application. The writer’s name/course number/instructor name should NOT appear on any page of the essay itself.  If the name appears on the essay, the essay will be disqualified. Questions that may arise about application submissions should be sent through MyUCLA MessageCenter (Academic counseling unit: English)

Manuscripts should be submitted no later than 12 Noon Friday, March 22, 2024.  The winner will be announced by Monday, April 1.  The deadline for the Peter Rotter and Teague-Melville essay contests is Tuesday, April 9, 2024.