Award Background

• The Tory Dent Research Scholarship in Creative Writing is awarded through donations paid to the New York University College of Arts and Sciences Dean's Undergraduate Research Fund. The award gets its name from Tory Dent who died in 2005. Dent graduated from New York University with a master's degree in creative writing. A poet, she was best known for her works related to her struggle with HIV. Her book "HIV, Mon Amour" won the James Laughlin Award in 1999.
  
  

Use

• The Tory Dent Research Scholarship in Creative Writing program funds research related to a writing project being executed by an eligible undergraduate student at New York University. The program does not pay for tuition, books, fees or any other general education-related expenses. Students may use funds to travel within the United States or internationally to research a topic or location for a project. Funds are also usable to purchase reading materials, such as examples of fiction similar to or related to the student's work or nonfiction necessary for research. Alternately, the scholarship can pay for a summer enrichment writing program, a conference or to relieve students from having to work so that they can focus on a project.
  
  

Features

• The Tory Dent Research Scholarship in Creative Writing is open to freshmen, sophomores, juniors and first-semester seniors. Students do not need to be creative writing majors to apply for the award, but they must be majors in one of the departments housed in the College of Arts and Sciences. A committee comprised of creative writing faculty determines the recipients, of which there may be more than one each year. The maximum amount of the award, as of December 2010,was $1,250.
  
  

Application

• To apply for the Tory Dent Research Scholarship in Creative Writing, students need simply submit a cover letter and abstract to the Creative Writing Undergraduate Program Administrator at New York University. The abstract must give the name of the project, the questions or themes it addresses and how it contributes to writers' development. In addition, students must describe how they are completing the project and what they plan to do with it upon completion. Applicants must also provide a timeline for the project's completion. Each year, a deadline is established for turning in the application materials. Typically, the date is in January.