UW-System’s Liberal Arts Essay Competition

UW-La Crosse Deadline February 1, 2012

Sponsored by the University of Wisconsin System Advisory Group on the Liberal Arts (SAGLA).

Eligibility

This competition is open to any UW System undergraduate student in academic good standing (UW College or four-year institution) who has completed a minimum of 30 credit hours by the end of the Fall Semester 2011.

Award

Three awards for $2,000 each are available (one to a student from the UW Colleges and two to students from the UW comprehensive and doctoral institutions). UW-L is a comprehensive institution.

This Year’s Topic

Liberal education is often thought of as something that happens within the classroom. How, though, have other experiences you have had on your campus helped you understand and appreciate a liberal education? You may choose from a wide range of extra- and co-curricular experiences, such as student organizations, study abroad, service learning, undergraduate research, lectures, recitals, exhibits, plays, or films. Feel free to choose a single experience or an array of experiences, whichever best fits the development of your own liberal education. Your essay should create a clear picture of the experience(s) and should also make a clear connection between your experience(s) and your liberal education.

As you plan your essay, you may wish to check on the liberal education learning outcomes at http://www.aacu.org/leap/vision.cfm . Some of these outcomes could help inform your understanding of the larger framework of liberal education.

Submission

The deadline for submission of essay and transcript is February 1, 2012. Please note that the UW System webpage about this competition has a deadline in late February. The February deadline is the date by which our office has to submit the finalists we’ve selected for consideration at a state-wide level. Make sure you submit your materials to us by February 1, 2012, or you will miss the deadline and we won’t be able to consider your submission! Submit the below items electronically via e-mail attachment to provost@uwlax.edu. Only electronic submissions will be accepted.
1. Original essay:
  - Submission must be 1,000-1,250 words in length.
  - Submission must be typed and double-spaced.
  - Essay must include a title page with the following information:
    - Title of essay
    - Your name
    - Your major
    - The name of the institution you attend
    - Your college
    - Your home address
    - Your e-mail address
    - Your telephone number
    - The following statement: “I hereby affirm that this is an original essay and my own work.”
2. Unofficial UW-L transcript available on WINGS.

Selection Notification