Awards and Honors

AATF Prize

The Virginia chapter of the American Association of Teachers of French will annually award a $500 prize to the author of a three-hour essay, on a subject to be announced, composed in French without assistance (including dictionaries). To qualify, a prospective contestant must be a university student whose first language is not French and who has completed the equivalent of two years of university-level French. The early April date, the hour and the place of the contest will be announced well in advance and the prize awarded by the state AATF before May 15.

Alliance Française Contest

Every autumn the Alliance Française sponsors a nationwide essay-writing contest open to students in our department.
Details are available from Andrée King - 434-973-8268 - P.O. Box 124; Earlysville VA 22936.

The Maas Prize

These annual awards honor the authors of essays written in French. The prize was established by the late Mrs. Kittyn M. Maas as a memorial to her husband , Lieutenant Commander Charles Maas, USNR.

Guidelines:

1. The contest is open to all undergraduate students of French at the University of Virginia who have learned the language primarily in the United States and have not previously won a Maas prize. Questions concerning eligibility or other matters should be addressed to the prize-committee chair. This year's first prize is $2,000, second, $1,000, and third, $500.
2. The subject of the essay, set by the bequest, shall be an aspect of Franco-American relations in such fields as literature, history, politics, art, cinema or science.
3. Limited to 2,500 words, the essay should be typed (approximately 10 double-spaced pages) and pledged. The essays must be the work of the contestant, although outside materials may be used if acknowledged. Grammatical and other linguistic aid from sources other than reference works is not allowed. Essays must be submitted in triplicate in hard copy by the deadline; faxes and electronic files will not be accepted. The essay must not have been previously submitted for another contest or to satisfy a University course requirement.
4. To assure anonymity, essays must be accompanied, in a separate sealed envelope, by the contestant's full legal name (first, middle, last), both the local and the permanent addresses, and the local telephone number. The essay and the outside of the sealed envelope will bear only the contestant's social security number. Sealed envelopes will not be opened before the jury has reached a decision.
5. Essays are judged by a special committee appointed by the chair of the French Department. The decision of the judges is final. The Maas Committee reserves the right to withhold any or all of the announced prizes if, in its opinion, no essay submitted is of sufficient merit.

The Woody Award

Endowed by Professor Emeritus T. Braxton Woody, this $350 award, administered by the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society, honors a French major in the next to last year of study who through academic achievement and other activities has contributed to the advancement of French studies. Nominations from the French faculty are gathered in January by the chair of the Undergraduate Studies Committee, and the recipient is selected the following month by the department chair. The award itself is presented at a Rotunda dinner on or about Founder's Day.