Academic Awards for Capstone Students
Updated October 2025
The Wagner Awards
The Wagner Academic Excellence Prize is given to a student in recognition of their overall excellence in the Capstone Program, weighing a variety of factors in combination, such as performance in the workshops, grade point averages, thesis quality and rankings, and community involvement.
The John Wagner/Ralph Williams Award for Outstanding Thesis is given to the student whose final thesis has been deemed the outstanding thesis for the year. This annual award is decided by the Capstone Committee and includes a cash prize.
The Wagner awards are announced at the year-end Capstone Symposium.
The Wagner Bursaries
Each year the Wagner fund awards two or three grants to help English Capstone students acquire the materials or experience they need to complete particularly ambitious projects. Awards come from a limited pool of approximately $250 and may be used to help support trips to archives or other sites related to students' work; apply early. They may also be used to buy books or other materials not easily available but necessary to a given project. Applicants should first discuss their applications with the Director of their program. Please check the Contact Information & Calendar information page for your capstone program Director’s name and email. Click here to view the application for a Wagner Bursary.
The Quinn Awards
The Quinn Academic Excellence Prize recognizes the creative writing capstone student with an accomplished thesis, a clear engagement in literary life (using the resources available at UM), an exceptional GPA, and a strong sense of involvement in the process.
The Quinn Creative-Writing Thesis Prize is given to the creative writing capstone student whose final thesis has generated the most excitement among the readers and previous workshop leaders. This annual award is decided by a Capstone Committee and includes a cash prize. The Quinn awards are announced at the year-end Capstone Symposium.
Students who earn the award of Honors in the College with their thesis are additionally eligible for Honors Graduation awards such as the Voss, Kennedy, and Goldstein awards.
