Sigma Tau Delta’s Fall Awards Cycle is open now through November 3, 2025, 4:00 p.m. CT. During the 2025 Fall Cycle, applications are being accepted for the Long-Term Study Abroad Scholarship, Short-Term Study Abroad Scholarship, The 1924 Scholarship, the Outstanding Literary Arts Journal Award, the P.C. Somerville Award for Future Teachers, Chapter Service Project Grants, Classroom Library Grants, Community Service Internship Stipends, W. W. Norton Priority Application for Spring 2026 Internships, and the Elaine W. Hughes Outstanding Advisor Award. Learn more about these opportunities below and consider applying via our AwardSpring platform.
Long-Term Study Abroad Scholarship
The Long-Term Study Abroad Scholarship provides up to $3,000 for the purpose of studying in a program that furthers the applicant’s engagement with Sigma Tau Delta’s mission. Students must be studying for an academic term or year in a certified, undergraduate program outside the country in which the nominating chapter is located. Applicants should demonstrate academic scholarship and chapter service; they also must explain the relevance of their study abroad program and activities to fostering the discipline of English, including literature, language, writing, or literacy.
Short-Term Study Abroad Scholarship
The Short-Term Study Abroad Scholarship provides up to $1,500 to support participation in an undergraduate study-abroad program of less than an academic term. The program must be a certified, undergraduate program outside the country in which the nominating chapter is located, and it should further the applicant’s engagement with Sigma Tau Delta’s mission. Applicants should demonstrate academic scholarship and chapter service; they also must explain the relevance of their study abroad program and activities to fostering the discipline of English, including literature, language, writing, or literacy.
The 1924 Scholarship
Students who are currently undergraduates are eligible for The 1924 Scholarship, which is awarded to an applicant who exemplifies the mission of the Society. Successful applications will emphasize the student’s dedication to and efforts for Sigma Tau Delta at the local, Regional, and/or international levels, and evaluators’ scores for this section will determine whether a student is considered for the award. Applicants should also explain how their ongoing work fosters the study of literature, language, writing, and literacy in English and English-related disciplines.
Outstanding Literary Arts Journal Award
Literary Arts Journals coordinated and supervised by Sigma Tau Delta chapters (even if they receive funding from other sources) are eligible for up to $500 for the Sigma Tau Delta Outstanding Literary Arts Journal Award. Journals are accepted in both print and digital format.
Qualifications
- The journal must have been produced during the previous academic year.
- The journal was produced with a high percentage of involvement by Sigma Tau Delta chapter members.
- The journal follows the publication guidelines of the chapter’s college or university.
- The journal contains a statement that clearly describes the involvement of the chapter in the production of the journal.
- First place recipients cannot apply the following year.
P.C. Somerville Award for Future Teachers
P.C. Somerville Awards for Future Teachers, named in honor of Sigma Tau Delta’s first President, are for active members who will begin their first year of teaching elementary, middle, or high school English. Applicants should demonstrate academic scholarship, chapter service, and an aptitude for teaching. Should winners not be able to provide verification of their employment as an educator by the beginning of the fall semester following their application process, their awards will be presented to the runners-up. Recipients of the P.C. Somerville Award cannot accept any other Sigma Tau Delta scholarship concurrently.
Chapter Service Project Grants
Sigma Tau Delta’s Chapter Service Project Grants are designed to encourage local chapters to be innovative in developing projects that further the vision and goals of the Society. The Society will award a limited number of grants, for no more than $500 each, to support local chapter activities. Funds may be requested for separate projects or for parts of larger projects, and chapters should explore ways to use Chapter Service Project Grants in combination with funds secured from other sources. Funds may be requested for ongoing projects, but there is no guarantee that projects funded during one grant period will receive funding in future grant periods.
Eligible Projects
Appropriate projects include, but are not limited to, the following:
- service project connected to the discipline (for example, literacy projects connected with local partner schools or social services)
- projects intended to broaden appreciation for language and literature (for example, audio/video projects related to literature)
- research project costs (for example, photocopying, postage, print materials, or travel); research projects must involve multiple chapter members and demonstrate their impact on the larger community
- projects intended to increase chapter membership or visibility
- joint projects secured with another society partner. (Chapter members or Advisors should check the English Honor Societies’ Chapter Directories to determine which chapters exist in the immediate geographic region. Identify potential partners and contact the Chapter Advisors to propose a joint project.)
Check out past grant recipient blogs to gain inspiration for your grant application.
Classroom Library Grants
Sigma Tau Delta’s Classroom Library Grants are designed to enhance the Society’s goals of
- promoting interest in literature and language in the surrounding communities;
- fostering all aspects of the discipline of English, including literature, language, and writing; and
- serving society by fostering literacy.
The Classroom Library Grants are also intended to support our members who have entered the field of teaching and need material support to help achieve these goals through their work in the classroom by providing their students with a library in their own classrooms, especially where access to school or public libraries or to books in the home may be limited.
The Society will award up to five grants of $400 each per cycle to help student and alumni members of Sigma Tau Delta who are teachers of record in pre-school through twelfth-grade classrooms build a classroom library for their students. Applicants need not be recent college graduates or new teachers.
Check out past grant recipient blogs to gain inspiration for your grant application.
Community Service Internship Stipends
Sigma Tau Delta offers funding for current undergraduate and graduate student members accepting internships for which their expenses exceed what they will be paid. Sigma Tau Delta will not cover expenses related to tuition and/or student fees. The Community Service Internship Stipend is a competitive program providing a limited number of stipends of up to $1,500 each.
The internship must involve working for an “organization” while being directed by a supervisor/mentor within that organization, and the intern’s duties must be consistent with the applicant’s level of education, area of study, and career goals. Financial need will be taken into consideration in addition to internship length. Applicants are responsible for obtaining and providing verification of the internship. Check out BestColleges’ Ultimate Guide to Internships for advice in finding and applying for internships.
The internship stipend does not apply to activities that are part of a student’s pre-professional degree requirements, such as student teaching or capstone internships in journalism/technical writing, and cannot be used to supplement a graduate assistantship. Students are eligible for the internship stipend award one time per internship.
Check out past internship recipient blogs to gain inspiration for your internship application.
W. W. Norton Priority Application for Spring 2026 Internships
Sigma Tau Delta is partnering with the W. W. Norton College Division to offer Sigma Tau Delta student and alumni members the opportunity to gain experience in college/university publishing through a 12-week internship program. Internships provide valuable hands-on experience with the day-to-day work that brings books into existence, as well as opportunities to network with employees at the company and with fellow interns who frequently go on to become colleagues in the field.
- Interns are paid $16.50 per hour, subject to applicable law, and work a maximum of 20 hours weekly.
- Specific work hours are flexible to accommodate an intern’s schedule within 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time window.
- Sigma Tau Delta candidates will be given priority consideration for an internship interview at the editorial department of the W. W. Norton College Division.
- For interns who reside within commuting distance of the office, this internship will be in-person in our Manhattan offices; those in other locations will work remotely.
- Interns must be eligible to work in the United States. They are required to reside in the United States during their internship.
Elaine W. Hughes Outstanding Advisor Award
The Elaine W. Hughes Outstanding Advisor Award and the Outstanding Regional Advisor Awards are given annually to recognize Advisors who give generously of their time, talent, and creativity to a local chapter. The awards recognize Advisors and mentors who foster a spirit of scholarly exchange in the local chapter.
The recipient of the Elaine W. Hughes Outstanding Advisor Award will receive a $500 check from Sigma Tau Delta and a commemorative plaque. The award is named in honor of Elaine W. Hughes, of the University of Montevallo, former Southern Regent, Vice President, and President of Sigma Tau Delta.
The recipients of the Outstanding Regional Advisor Awards will receive a commemorative plaque and regional recognition. The awards are given to recognize an Advisor from each region.
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