Grants and Writing Resources for Worcester State University
In two straight cohorts, a Worcester State student from the class of 2027 has been named a Newman Civic Fellow. The yearlong Campus Compact program recognizes students who demonstrate leadership potential and a commitment to creating positive change in their communities. In November 2025 a political science and urban studies junior was named a 2025–2026 fellow. In October 2026 an urban studies senior with a pre-law minor, who helps coordinate placements for unaccompanied refugee minors and connect them with resources, joined the 2026–2027 cohort.
The April Celebration
Each spring since 2008 the university has held the Celebration of Scholarship & Creativity. Undergraduate and graduate students present posters, critical papers, panels, performances and exhibits. The 2026 Celebration was held on April 22.
Presenters can also apply for a Library Research Award. The library offers a number of these awards at $500 each, paid for by anonymous donors and the family of Catherine T. Novick, and applicants fill out a short supplementary form linked from the Celebration application.
Grants for Research and Travel
The Worcester State Foundation puts up to $10,000 a year into its Student Research Grant Fund for undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activity. Matriculated undergraduates, full-time or part-time, can apply. Forms come from University Advancement, Academic Affairs or the student's department.
Honors students have a smaller fund. The Lt. Col. James F. Sheehan '55 Honors Program awards research and travel grants of up to $300 on a rolling basis, conference trips included, and recipients present at the Celebration in April. Study abroad grants go as high as $1,000 when funds allow.
Honors Projects and Prizes
Honors students are encouraged to complete a Commonwealth Honors Project in junior or senior year. A finished project earns the Commonwealth Honors Scholar designation on the transcript. Each project is presented in public, for example at the Celebration or at the Statewide Undergraduate Research Conference at UMass Amherst, and only students who present at the Celebration can be considered for a CHP Prize.
Departmental and university prizes are presented at the Academic Achievement Awards. The April 23, 2026 ceremony honored more than 60 students, four of them with university awards. Departmental awards included the Worcester State Foundation Award in English and the Ann M. O'Leary 1960 Memorial Award in Spanish Translation. The English department also lists an annual poetry contest, the Dr. A. Barbara Pilon Poetry Contest.
Writing Help and the Master's Thesis
Student consultants staff the Writing Center in Sullivan Academic Center, Room 306. Writers can book an in-person session, send a draft and assignment sheet for an online asynchronous review, or ask for a reading session on an assigned text. Every service is free.
Students in the M.A. in English finish with either two area exams or a thesis, which the program describes as a book-length study of literature, literary theory or rhetoric. Assistantships may be open in the Writing Center or with two online publications, Currents in Teaching and Learning and The New Worcester Spy.
Graduate assistantships for 2026–2027 in academic departments waive tuition and fees for up to three graduate courses a semester and pay an hourly stipend for 15 hours of work a week. Placements in campus offices carry a similar waiver for 12 hours of work a week.
Before a Commonwealth Honors Project, a master's thesis or a term paper is turned in, our editors can give it a final pass for grammar, consistency and format. See our Worcester State University dissertation and thesis editing and Worcester State University essay editing pages, or reach us at 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 Worcester State University, and your faculty may endorse our services individually. We look forward to helping you bring your Worcester State writing to its strongest, submission-ready form.