Image

The C. C. Seetoo Family Scholarship Fund

This research award is the result of a generous gift by Amy Dah Sun Seetoo, a graduate of the Illinois MATESL program.  The Fund shall support scholarships for graduate students in the TESL program. Preference shall be given to students who aim to advance cross cultural communication in learning and teaching English as a second language in innovative and enterprising ways such as the ESL work in the fields of law, diplomacy, and business among others, and such may be determined by students' essays which discuss proposals for expanded implementation of written topics.

How does it function? 

Each year the Professors from the program will be called upon to nominate any deserving student doing research in one of these areas.  A panel of Professors will then evaluate the nominees on the basis of several criteria, including the innovative nature of the research, excellence of the research design, and potential for both presentation at national/international conferences and publication.  The award may be used to further fund the research in question or to aid in the expenses of presenting that information at conferences.

Who is eligible?

Any student from the MATESL program can be nominated as long as their research falls into the categories described above.  While the preference is for completed research, projects that are in progress may also be nominated, along with thesis research as long as the candidate has completed their Formal Proposal and completed the Institutional Review Board process.  

How can I apply?

Students cannot apply directly for this award, but may be nominated by their supervising Professors.

Previous Winners

Name	Year	Title of Research	Photo
Ivan Rodriguez Crespo	2022	For his continuing work in the development of pronunciation-focused materials for learners of English available through his social media channels.
Uliana Ovsiannikova	2024
Ogulcan Durmaz	2024