Liberal Education Initiative

LEAP Wisconsin is an initiative of the University of Wisconsin System that seeks to increase understanding of the value and purpose of liberal education for UW students and Wisconsin citizens.

Announcing the Fifth Annual
Liberal Arts Essay Scholarship Competition

Sponsored by the University of Wisconsin System
Advisory Group on the Liberal Arts (SAGLA)

View winners of this year's scholarships

View UW System news release announcing the winners

Download these guidelines as a pdf file.

This Year’s Topic:

Liberal education is often characterized as transformative. Reflect on your education*—and on what it means to be “transformed.” When have you been affected by a transformative educational experience? What did you learn about yourself or about the world in general as a function of that pivotal experience?  How have you been changed, and what do you imagine/hope will be the long-term impact of this change?

The scholarship committee strongly suggests that essayists include both narrative and analysis in their submissions.

*Consider classes or particular teachers; you may also choose to consider experiences beyond the classroom, such as independent research, study abroad, service learning, and learning communities.

NOTE: All submissions are to be original essays, 1,000-1,250 words in length, typed, double-spaced.  Each essay must include a title page with the following information:  title of essay, student’s name, major, institution, college and home address, e-mail address, telephone number, and the following statement: “I hereby affirm that this is my own work, an original essay, and agree that it will become the property of the UW System Board of Regents and that it can be reproduced in the public domain.”

Eligibility:

This competition is open to any UW System undergraduate student in academic good standing
(UW College or four-year institution) who has completed a minimum of 30 credit hours by the end
of the Fall Semester 2009, and who has at least one semester remaining (Fall 2010) as a full-time student.

Award:

Three awards for $2,000 each are available (one to a student from the UW Colleges and two to students from the UW comprehensive and doctoral institutions).

Submission/Selection:

The deadline for submission of finalist essays from the institutions to SAGLA is February 19, 2010.  These are to be made electronically via e-mail attachment to acss@uwsa.edu.

• Each UW institution will determine its own student essay submission and screening process, including the setting of institutional deadlines for essay submission to their Provost’s Office.

• Each comprehensive and doctoral institution may submit no more than three (3) finalist essays; the UW Colleges may submit up to 13 essays (one per campus).

Final selection of winning essays will be determined by a group of judges from the UW System Advisory Group on the Liberal Arts (SAGLA).  Recipients will be notified in spring 2010.

As part of the UW System’s partnership with the Association of American Colleges & Universities in the LEAP Campaign (Liberal Education and America’s Promise) this undergraduate essay competition aims to promote understanding of the purpose and value of a liberal arts and science education.