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Undergraduate Merit Tuition Award

Spring 2026 English Department Undergraduate Merit Tuition Scholarships

We are proud to offer, every term, the Undergraduate Merit Tuition Scholarship, which covers the equivalent of one course paid for in a given term.  Four (4) Merit Tuition Scholarships are awarded per term.

Eligibility

To be eligible for an English Department Undergraduate Merit Tuition Scholarship, applicants must:

• be a declared English major with at least 12 credits/4 courses completed in the major, taken at NEIU
  (these do not include ENGL 101/102, which are general University requirements)
• have a minimum GPA of 3.3 within the English major
• be an Illinois resident earning their first B.A.
• carry a minimum of six (6) credit hours during the semester of the award
• enrolled in at least one summer course (if applying for a summer award)

Please note: This tuition waiver may not be compatible with other tuition waivers. If there are any questions regarding eligibility, please contact Brad Greenburg at b-greenburg@neiu.edu.

Along with a completed application form, please include a cover letter and a writing portfolio.

In your cover letter, please write a brief, one-page essay that details why you merit the scholarship. While need will be taken into consideration, this scholarship is primarily merit-based. Please specify your achievements within English courses and beyond, including commitments to student activities (such as La Mosca literary journal and The Independent), internships, jobs and any other activities you deem appropriate.

As your writing portfolio, please submit 10-20 pages of your best written work produced for English courses within the major, from the last three terms. This portfolio may be a combination of all forms of writing, from literary analyses and creative work to research papers and argumentative essays.

Please email all completed applications to Brad Greenburg at b-greenburg@neiu.edu.

The deadline to apply for our Spring 2026 scholarship is November 2, 2025

The Ely Liebow Scholarship for 2026: $1000

Eligibility

To be eligible for an Ely Liebow Award, applicants must:

• be a declared English major with at least 12 credits completed in the major
• have a minimum GPA of 3.3 in the major
• be an Illinois resident
• be earning their first B.A.
• be enrolled for at least one summer course

Applicants should send an email to Office Administrator Hilary Jirka at h-jirka2@neiu.edu with the subject line "Liebow Award."

Attach or paste into the email an original piece of writing, in 750 words or less, your response to the following prompt: "Where do you get your news, and why do you trust those sources over others?"

The deadline to apply is March 31, 2026 

The English/CMT Paula M. Levy Memorial Scholarship for 2026: $1,400

Eligibility

The Paula M. Levy Memorial Scholarship is an annual funding opportunity available to English or Communication, Media and Theatre (CMT) majors at ÌìÌì³Ô¹Ï. To be eligible, a student must:

• be an undergraduate student who is a declared major in Communication or English at the time of application
• demonstrate financial need and academic excellence in their field
• maintain good academic standing and make satisfactory progress toward their degree for funding to be renewed for a second year

Recipients of the Levy Scholarship may also apply for other scholarships in either department.

Questions about this scholarship? Contact Brad Greenburg at b-greenburg@neiu.edu.

Apply Online

The deadline to apply is March 31, 2026

Student Awards Ceremony

Each year we host a Student Awards Ceremony to honor the best work our undergraduate majors and graduate students have produced in the ÌìÌì³Ô¹Ï English Department.

The event is typically supported by donations from our generous alumni, who have a great appreciation for their English Department education at Northeastern and who want to support those following behind them.

Start collecting your best work now!