Call for Liberal Arts essay submissions—$1,000 cash prizes awarded!
Washington Consortium for the Liberal Arts (WaCLA) invites UW undergraduates to participate in an essay contest that explores the value of a liberal arts education. Cash prizes will be awarded to first place ($1,000) and second place ($750) winners in each category: freshmen/sophomores and juniors/seniors.
To apply, students must submit their essays to Gretchen Ludwig (gludwig@uw.edu) no later than 5 pm on Friday, May 4th, 2018. Essays must be 500 words maximum submitted in a Microsoft Word document that is double-spaced with centered title and 12 point font. Submission for school consideration should include a WaCLA cover page down below.
2018 Liberal Arts Essay Contest
Sponsored by Washington Consortium for the Liberal Arts
The Washington Consortium for the Liberal Arts (WaCLA) (www.gonzaga.edu\wacla) advocates for the importance
of a liberal arts education and believes that the voices of those who are benefiting from such an education are
profoundly persuasive. In an effort to let those voices be heard, we invite undergraduate students at WaCLA
institutions to participate in an essay contest.
Submissions must address the following prompt:
A liberal arts education values ways of knowing that cross the humanities, the arts, and the social,
natural, and physical sciences. Engaging in a multifaceted approach to knowledge inspires creative
responses to a range of important topics and pressing issues. Drawing on your experience with a
specific topic or issue, discuss the importance of the liberal arts as a means of engaging with the
present and shaping our individual and collective future.
Eligibility: The essay contest is open to all undergraduate students currently enrolled in WaCLA member
institutions (https://www.gonzaga.edu/college-of-arts-sciences/about/wacla/member-inst...). Entrants will be
divided into two categories: students who have freshman or sophomore standing at their institution and those who
have junior (a rising senior in 2018-19) standing. Each institution will pre-screen entries and submit no more than
three essays in each category for statewide judging.
Length and Format: 500 words maximum submitted in a Microsoft Word document that is double-spaced with
centered title and 12 point font. Submission for school consideration should include a WaCLA cover page (see form
next page).
Deadline and Submission Instructions: Each institution will promote the essay contest, create internal submission
deadlines, and collect and judge submissions as they think appropriate. Once schools have selected the essays they
wish to advance for statewide consideration, please contact Matt Bahr at Gonzaga University (bahr@gonzaga.edu)
for final instructions on electronic submission requirements. WaCLA member institutions must have students ready
to submit their pre-screened essays by May 15, 2018.
Prizes: Awards will be made in two categories: freshmen/sophomores and juniors/seniors. Two awards will be
made in each category: $1,000 for first place and $750 for second place. Winners will be announced by June 15,
2018.
Questions: Matt Bahr, Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Gonzaga University,
bahr@gonzaga.edu