Undergraduate Student Awards

The Dean Elsbeth Melville Latin Prize

The John Oddy Memorial Award

The Alice M. Brennan Humanities Award

The Edwin S. and Ruth M. White Prize

The Robert E. Yellin Award

As noted in our mission statement, the Center defines the humanities both as designated departments and as an expansive and flexible mode of inquiry. In keeping with the Congressional Act that created the NEH, the humanities include the study and interpretation of the following: linguistics; literature; history; philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism and theory of the arts; those aspects of social sciences which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods; and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions, and history and the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of life. We understand humanities methods as primarily critical or speculative, as distinguished from the empirical approaches of the natural and social sciences. We welcome nominees who share an interest in issues of interpretation and value that are central to humanities work

Eligible departments may nominate 2-3 sophomores and/or juniors annually for general awards in the humanities. While we encourage no more than 3 students of outstanding quality, we leave open the possibility for a fourth nominee if truly merited. Students who have won a general BUCH Undergraduate Student Award in a prior year are not eligible to be nominated for another. Students who have won an Oddy Award or Melville Latin Prize in prior years are eligible to be nominated for a general BUCH Undergraduate Student Award. The awards are supported by the following funds:

• The Helen G. Allen Humanities Award
• The Alice M. Brennan Humanities Award
• The Clarimond Mansfield Award
• The Angela J. & James J. Rallis Memorial Award
• The Edwin S. and Ruth M. White Prize
• The Robert E. Yellin Award

The Department of Classical Studies nominates students for the following two awards, which have specific requirements. Students who have won an Oddy Award or Melville Latin Prize in prior years are not eligible to be nominated for another.

• The John Oddy Memorial Award Fund: Undergraduate junior and senior women who have taken a classical history course are eligible to be nominated for this award, even if they are not Classical Studies majors.
• The Dean Elsbeth Melville Latin Prize is awarded to an outstanding undergraduate scholar of Latin who is majoring in Classical Studies.

1. Current unofficial transcript with name and BUID
2. Personal statement (two pages, double-spaced): Think of this as an intellectual biography, providing insight on your academic development and future goals as a student of the humanities.
3. Writing sample: One 10-15-page essay or two essays that together add up to 10-15 pages, double spaced. Please also include a bibliography.
4. Confidential letter of support from a faculty member
5. Confidential letter of support from the nominating DUS

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*Only students who have been formally nominated by their department/program may apply