Columbia Central

Andrew Ruzkowski Memorial Scholarship

for continuing undergraduate and graduate students

The Andrew Ruzkowski Memorial Scholarship was established to assist English and Creative Writing majors with a primary interest in poetry or hybrid writing centered in poetry in defraying tuition costs.

Deadline to Apply: February 01, 2025

• How to Apply

  Visit Internal Scholarships and click on APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS to access the applications:
  

  • 2025-26 Academic Year applicants may apply through the College-Wide Graduate or College-Wide Undergraduate Scholarship Application

  
  Only complete scholarship applications submitted by the deadline will be reviewed by the scholarship committee. 
  
  Please follow all directions carefully. Students must submit the following materials to make a complete Andrew Ruzkowski Memorial Scholarship application. There are three parts to the application:
  
  
  PART 1: ESSAY
  
  Submit an essay of 300-500 words describing why you write.
  
  Your essay must be double-spaced and must include your name and MyColumbia ID number in the upper right-hand corner of the page. Please upload your response in .pdf, .doc, or .docx format.
  
  
  PART 2: WORK SAMPLE
  
  Submit a work sample of 8-10 pages of your poetry, which may have hybrid elements of prose, as does the work of Andrew Ruzkowski.
  
  Your sample must include your name and MyColumbia ID number in the upper right-hand corner of the page. Please upload your response in .pdf, .doc, or .docx format.
  
  
  PART 3: FAFSA Submission Summary
  
  A current FAFSA Submission Summary must be on file. To receive a FAFSA Submission Summary, students must complete the relevent year's financial aid application (FAFSA) by the scholarship application deadline.
  
   
  
  Access online applications through Internal Scholarships.

• About Andrew Ruzkowski

  

  Following completion of his MFA at Columbia in 2013, Andrew Ruzkowski earned his Ph.D. in Creative Writing and Poetry at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Andrew taught several writing and poetry courses at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, as well as at multiple other institutions in the Chicago area. Andrew exhibited a true love of teaching and had the ability to connect with his students on an extraordinary level.

  Andrew authored the following remarkable collections of poetry: A Shape & Sound (2013), Things That Keep Us From Drifting (2014), and Do You Know This Type of Tree (2016). Andrew was nominated for two Pushcart Prizes and a Best of the Net award. He was a finalist for the 2012 Atlantis Award and 2012 Kay Murphy Prize for Poetry. Andrew also served as Reviews Editor for Poets’ Quarterly and as a poetry editor for Black Tongue Review.

  Andrew passed away unexpectedly in February 2020. In his memory, Andrew's family established this scholarship to honor not only Andrew’s life, but also his incredible work as a poet. Andrew’s family hopes to help Andrew’s creative spirit live on by supporting future Columbia students in their pursuit of a degree in Poetry.

• Scholarship Terms
  • Application must be submitted by the deadline for review by the committee
  • Scholarship amount is up to $2,000
  • Scholarship is applied toward tuition only
  • Students’ scholarships that are applied toward tuition may not exceed the amount of their tuition costs
  • Recipients of the 2025-26 scholarship must maintain full-time, undergraduate/graduate enrollment during the 2025-26 academic year
  • Graduate students enrolled in a 0 credit hour thesis continuance course are not eligibile to receive award.
  • Recipients must have submitted all outstanding documents to Columbia Central before the scholarship can be disbursed. Review your missing documents on your MyColumbia portal under MyFinancials
  • Fellowship may be used toward a study abroad program through one of Columbia's student exchange programs, excluding Summer sessions. Please note: Recipients who enroll in an independent study abroad program will forfeit their fellowship during the semester spent abroad
  • The rules and regulations governing other sources of financial aid (federal, state, institutional and other grants, gifts, or loans) will apply

IMPORTANT DATES

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