Grants and Writing Resources for the University of Denver

In July 2026 DU introduced its first Udall Scholar, an environmental science and history major who was one of 65 students chosen nationwide. Her $7,000 scholarship came in the foundation's most competitive category, environmental stewardship. A year earlier, eight DU students and recent graduates received Fulbright awards, four to teach English and four for research or graduate study. That was the most Fulbright student awards DU has received in a single cycle since the program began in 1946.

Signature Work Grants and the May Showcase

Undergraduates apply for the PinS Student Signature Work Grant together with a faculty mentor, who helps complete the application. Funded projects can be original research or creative work, work that connects knowledge from different fields, or knowledge applied to a social problem. For 2025-2026 a single common application replaced the separate Discovery PinS, Community Engagement and Regeneration grants.

Students present results at the Student Signature Work Showcase, an interactive poster session in Community Commons. Any undergraduate may submit a proposal, and recipients of Signature Work Grants or Travel Grants are required to submit one. The 2025 showcase had 91 posters from 89 students. In 2026, 106 students took part, by the count in DU's research figures for the year.

Finished papers can go to the DU Undergraduate Research Journal, an annual, peer-reviewed publication of research articles from all undergraduate disciplines. A committee of faculty and upper-class students from several fields screens the submitted proposals.

Awards for First-Year Writing

The University Writing Program holds showcase events for student writers, and its awards build in stages. Each Writing Program faculty member may name one student for a Writing Excellence Award. Those winners, along with some others faculty name, may then submit a portfolio of their best writing for the Director's Award, which a faculty-led committee reviews. Exemplar Awards judge single pieces in specific genres, including work by students in the Minor in Writing Practices.

The top prize is the Kornfeld Scholarship, $8,000 a year to one outstanding first-year writer from the WRIT xx22 and xx33 courses. The Executive Director of Writing makes the choice, usually from the Director's Award finalists. Alumnus Lewis F. Kornfeld endowed the award.

Fellowships and Doctoral Funding

Since 2022 the Office of Scholar Development and Fellowship Advising has worked with students and recent graduates applying for nationally and internationally competitive awards. Students can book appointments with its fellowships advisors, and the office keeps a list of fellowships for language study, public service, research, study abroad and graduate school.

The Office of Graduate Education's funding page links the policies for its doctoral fellowships. Under the Graduate Studies Dissertation Fellowship policy, revised in January 2014, a faculty advisor or committee chair may nominate a Ph.D. student with an approved dissertation proposal. It is granted once, for spring term only. The Doctoral Fellowship for Academic and Community Engagement pays up to $4,500 a year, or $1,500 a quarter. Departments nominate doctoral students whose contributions can include mentorship, service and community-engaged scholarship.

Writing Help and Dissertation Submission

The Writing Center in Anderson Academic Commons works with all DU students, staff and faculty, in person or on Zoom. Writers can also send a draft for written comments from peer consultants; that service is meant for drafts still in development.

Graduate students can schedule up to three 45-minute appointments a week. Thesis and dissertation writers may be eligible for a series of extended-length consultations with priority scheduling, and the center helps with formatting. Graduate writing accountability groups are open to students working on large projects.

Theses and dissertations are submitted electronically to ProQuest through ETD Administrator, and the Office of Graduate Education then reviews and approves the formatting. ProQuest makes the work available to University Libraries, which list it in the catalog with links to ProQuest and the library's digital repository. Students can ask for an embargo of six months, one year or two years. The 2026-2027 Graduate Bulletin lets Ed.D. students choose whether to submit a dissertation in practice to ProQuest.

Before a dissertation goes into ETD Administrator or a paper goes to a journal, our editors can check the final draft for grammar, consistency and format. See our University of Denver dissertation and thesis editing and University of Denver essay editing pages, or write to editors@editorsforstudents.com.

From Our Writing Guides

• How to Write an Expository Essay: Reveal the Proof
• Writing the Abstract and Title: First Impressions Matter
• The Literature Review: Avoiding Intellectual Overwhelm