ILS Award Descriptions
Please select an award or scroll down to read about all of the awards:
Meiklejohn Travel Assistance Prize
Up to $1500
Named for Alexander Meiklejohn, founder of the University of Wisconsin Experimental College (1927-1932), the forerunner to the ILS Program, this prize is intended to help support an ILS student in a university-sponsored or an independent program of education-centered travel or study abroad, taking place during the summer or academic year (or in the US if the destination is remote from the student’s home or the campus).
Eligibility:
- Enrolled in the ILS Certificate program.
- “Consideration is given to the student’s need, extra-curricular activities and academic standing.”
- Must be a full-time undergraduate student.
Submit:
- A two-page double-spaced typewritten statement of your project, outlining your interests, goals, and itinerary.
- The student should provide evidence that the travel proposal has been reviewed and endorsed by an appropriate faculty member.
- The travel should take place during the summer or academic year immediately following the award; in your application, please specify.
- This project may be directed by a faculty member for directed study credit, be part of a study abroad course for credit or non-credit, or be a non-credit self-directed trip. Indicate in your submission which of these options you will be using.
- The grantee will submit a report on the project upon returning and present an ILS Travelogue at an ILS student event in the fall semester
Pooley Prize
At least $200 each (based on available funds)
Named for Professor Robert Pooley, the first chair of the Integrated Liberal Studies program (1948), this prize is:
- given annually to one outstanding male ILS student and one outstanding female ILS student
- on the basis of academic achievement (GPA of at least 3.0 for the 3 preceding semesters),
- evidence of good character,
- student leadership in the ILS program, including involvement in extracurricular activities, and
- available for travel purposes relating to their ILS courses.
Eligibility: Open to all students who have either completed or are about to complete the ILS certificate program this year.
Submit:
- A double-spaced typewritten essay on your educational philosophy and goals (at least one page must be devoted to a narrative of your transcripts). The transcript narrative should tell why you took the elective courses you did, what you learned, what you liked or disliked, expectations met or exceeded, hopes realized, disappointments, and so on. Also discuss your participation in the life of the ILS Program.
- Two reference letters from faculty in ILS providing evidence of your participation in and contributions to the life of the ILS program, your scholarship, and your character.
Ruth Knatz Memorial Prize
Up to $5,000 (based on available funds)
Named for Ruth Knatz Gross Wisnewsky and given by her husband, Edward Wisnewsky, this prize will be given only to a truly outstanding student who:
- is majoring in at least one humanities discipline (including history and history of science, but not social science or science); this means you may be double-majoring in one non-humanities major, but the other must be a humanities major
- gives promise of making a valuable contribution to the humanities
- has done exemplary work in 15 ILS credits (six credits above 250)
- has achieved junior or senior standing,
- will be travelling with the purpose of strengthening their ILS course and academic purpose, and
- has signed up for the certificate and plans to complete the ILS certificate program.
Submit:
- Three letters of recommendation, two from ILS faculty and one from faculty in your major, addressing your current contributions to the humanities and your potential for future contributions
- A brief (4-5 pages, double-spaced) essay on why you love the humanities; how the study of the humanities has changed your life; and how you hope to share what you’ve discovered with others.
The winner will present a talk in a symposium at ILS entitled “The Promise of the Humanities.”
Towell Creativity Prize
$500
Roundhouse Marketing and Promotions, a promotional marketing agency located here in Madison, WI, provides the funding. Roundhouse builds national brands by using creative means outside of traditional advertising vehicles. To learn more about Roundhouse visit: www.roundhouse-marketing.com.
“We are granting the Towell Creativity Award and a $500 scholarship to the ILS student that can best combine their ILS experience and our value of creativity. Please answer the following question according to the directions below:"
Upon graduation, how are you going to make a difference in the world using both your ILS experience and your college degree?
Do not write your answer in the traditional essay form. Be as creative as possible using a non-traditional medium. Examples of creative media include writing a poem, song or rap, making a collage, writing a newspaper feature article, or obituary, developing an advertisement, planning to travel geared to a specific ILS course, writing a children’s book, cartoon, or comic strip, etc. Keep in mind you are being judged based on creativity.”
Eligibility: Open to all ILS students
