Columbia Central

Jay W. Boersma Endowed Scholarship for English & Creative Writing

for continuing undergraduate students

The Jay W. Boersma Endowed Scholarship in the Department of English and Creative Writing was established to help defray the cost of tuition for full-time, undergraduate, English and Creative Writing students.

Deadline to Apply: March 31, 2025

• How to Apply

  Visit Internal Scholarships and click on APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS to access the 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 Jay W. Boersma Endowed Scholarship in the Department of English and Creative Writing application. There are three parts to the application:

  PART 1: ESSAY

  In a 500-word essay, describe your work and interest in your major, and how this scholarship will allow you to continue this work at Columbia.

  Your essay must be double-spaced, and include your name and MyColumbia ID number in the upper right-hand corner of each page. Please upload your response in .pdf, .doc, or .docx format. 
  
  PART 2: LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION

  One letter of recommendation is required from a Columbia faculty member who is familiar with your academic achievement or accomplishment in your major.

  For your convenience, the online application will send an email notification directly to the person you've chosen to complete your recommendation. Please be prepared with the email address of your recommender. 
  
  

  Remember to contact your recommender directly before providing their information on the application. Be sure to give faculty members as much time as possible to write the letters. Requests made at the last minute are often difficult for faculty to fulfill by the deadline.

  PART 3: FAFSA SUBMISSION SUMMARY

  A current FAFSA Submission Summary must be on file. To receive a FAFSA Submission Summary, students must complete a 2024-25 financial aid application (FAFSA) by March 31, 2025.
  
  

  Access online applications through Internal Scholarships.

• About Jay Boersma

  The Jay W. Boersma Endowed Scholarship in the Liberal Arts and Sciences was established by Dr. Deborah Holdstein, Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, in honor of Jay Boersma.

  Jay Boersma graduated from Columbia College Chicago in 1974 with a degree focusing on fine art photography and went on to complete his M.F.A. in Photography at the Rhode Island School of Design, eventually becoming a tenured professor of art at Governors State University.

  Because of his early interest in emerging technologies and his skills as a photographer, graphic designer, and web designer—and because of his early and ongoing innovations in those areas—he was lured from a tenured academic position in 1996 to become Senior Creative Director at Playboy.com. He and Dr. Holdstein married in 2007.

  An artist whose work is in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, Boersma’s interest in the liberal arts was amplified by his responsibilities as a manager: hiring artists to work for him at Playboy.com. While there were many people who had the technical skills needed to create competent design, Boersma found that broadly educated artists were more able to produce interesting and sophisticated art and to better problem solve when challenges arose. His marriage to Dr. Holdstein, dyed-in-the wool academic and Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Columbia College Chicago, further solidified his interests.

  

• Scholarship Terms
  
  

  • Application must be submitted by March 31, 2025 (11:59 pm) for review by the committee
  • Previous award of this one-year scholarship was up to $1,900, awarded half in Fall and half in Spring
  • Recipients must maintain full-time, undergraduate enrollment during the 2024-25 academic year
  • Recipients who graduate in Fall 2024 will receive the full scholarship amount in Fall 2024
  • Scholarship is applied toward tuition only
  • Students’ scholarships that are applied toward tuition may not exceed the amount of their tuition costs
  • Scholarship may be renewable provided recipients:
    • Maintain full-time enrollment each semester
    • Do not interrupt enrollment
    • Maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5
    • Continue to complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) every year for the subsequent academic year and this application demonstrates continued financial need
  • Recipients must have submitted all outstanding documents to Columbia Central before the scholarship can be disbursed. Students can review missing documents in the MyColumbia portal under MyFinancials
  • Scholarship 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 scholarship 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
  • Columbia College Chicago reserves the right to withhold the award in any year in which, at the sole discretion of the scholarship committee, suitable candidates cannot be found among applicants

IMPORTANT DATES