Grants and Writing Resources for University of Chicago
A fourth-year in the College studying anthropology and creative writing became UChicago's 56th Rhodes Scholar in November 2025; she uses archaeology to recover African American history and was selected for a master's in African studies and archaeology at Oxford. Three months later a fourth-year finishing degrees in biology and chemistry was named a 2026 Gates Cambridge Scholar, one of 26 U.S. students chosen. Her Cambridge Ph.D. in cell biology begins in fall 2026.
Research Grants for the College
The College Center for Research and Fellowships runs a ladder of research grants. Quad Go!, a pilot for 2026-27, gives a $2,000 grant to students new to research. Quad Undergraduate Research Scholars and Quad Summer Undergraduate Research Scholars fund faculty-mentored projects during the year and over the summer, and Straetz International Undergraduate Research Scholars support full-time summer research with faculty at institutions abroad. Students presenting a poster or talk at a conference can apply for a Quad Undergraduate Research Conference Grant on a rolling basis.
Work comes back to campus each April at the UChicago Undergraduate Research Symposium. The 2026 program at the David Rubenstein Forum ran two poster sessions and four oral sessions, and artists can show creative work through performance or exhibition.
Creative Writing Prizes
The Program in Creative Writing gives its prizes to undergraduates. Third-years compete for the Margaret C. Annan Memorial Prizes, $1,000 in each of fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Seniors have the Olga and Paul Menn Foundation Prizes for fiction ($1,000 and $500), the David Blair McLaughlin Prizes for literary nonfiction, and the John Billings Fiske Poetry Prize ($500). Faculty nominate for two more: the Les River Fellowship for Young Novelists, $5,000 to a graduating writer of fiction, and the Elsie Filippi Memorial Prize in Poetry.
Graduate Fellowships
UChicagoGRAD's fellowship advising reads draft research, personal and diversity statements with no appointment needed, and a writing consultant gives feedback on proposals and project narratives. The 22 UChicago students and alumni named 2025 Fulbright finalists represent 18 undergraduate majors, two master's programs and four doctoral programs, among them Ph.D. programs in music, art history and South Asian languages and cultures.
Inside the university, the Arts & Humanities Division offers about 24 Dissertation Completion Fellowships each year to candidates close to finishing, on department nomination. They cover tuition, the student services fee, health insurance and a stipend, and the division also runs Dissertation Research Travel Awards. Incoming doctoral students in the humanities, social sciences and physical sciences can be selected as Neubauer Family Distinguished Doctoral Fellows.
Writing and Dissertation Support
At the Center for Writing, master's students meet one-on-one with Graduate Writing Tutors, and Communication Lab Advisors work with Ph.D. students and postdocs on dissertation chapters and qualifying papers. UChicagoGRAD's writing resources add tutors for writers of English as an additional language. When the dissertation is nearly done, the Library's Dissertation Office reviews drafts for format, runs workshops and walks students through submission.
Law Journals
Law students edit four journals: The University of Chicago Law Review, the Chicago Journal of International Law, The University of Chicago Business Law Review and The University of Chicago Legal Forum. The Law Review publishes student comments alongside articles and book reviews.
When a paper, thesis, or dissertation is ready for a final edit, our editors can help. See our University of Chicago dissertation and thesis editing and University of Chicago essay editing pages, or write to editors@editorsforstudents.com.
From Our Writing Guides
Compiled by James Peterson Brown, PhD, Managing Editor of Editors For Students. Links checked October 2026.
Editors For Students is an independent editorial service and is not affiliated with the University of Chicago, and your faculty may endorse our services individually. We look forward to helping you bring your UChicago writing to its strongest, submission-ready form.