Fund Details
Ada Wells Memorial Prize
Award Amount
$1,000

Brief Description:

This prize is open to students and recent graduates of Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury for an essay on a subject involving an exposition of some passage chosen from literature having reference to social ideals.

Value/Benefits: Financial assistance at a value of $1,000

Level of Study: Students and recent graduates of the University. 

Closing Date: 11:59 pm (NZT) 30 September (Applications open approximately 8 weeks before this date.)

Tenure: Not applicable

Number Available Annually: One 

Applicable Enrolment During Tenure: Applicants must:
a. be students of the University; or
b. have graduated from the University in the 36 months prior to the closing date for applications for the current round.

Citizenship/Residency Requirements: Not applicable 

For more information, please click on the award name above. To read the regulations, click here.



Essay Topic for 2025: 

In her book The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins, Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing writes:

To walk attentively through a forest, even a damaged one, is to be caught by the abundance of life: ancient and new; underfoot and reaching into the light. But how does one tell the life of the forest?We might begin by looking for drama and adventure beyond the activities of humans. Yet we are not used to reading stories without human heroes. (Tsing 2015, 155)


Discuss. Do you think it is possible to tell the life of the natural world without giving humans prominence?
 
(Referencing is expected where appropriate and the length must not exceed 3,000 words.)

Application Information:

Applicants must submit an essay on a topic that is advertised here each year. The topic of the essay is set by the selection committee, and it involves the exposition of some passage chosen from literature having reference to social ideals. Essays must be no more than 3,000 words in length.

Additional Information:

The children of Ada Wells (Mrs W R Carey, Mrs Christabel Twyneham, Miss G A C Wells, and Mr J S Wells) established the prize in 1933 from a donation to Canterbury College in memory of their mother. Mrs Wells, née Ada Pike (1863–1933), was a student of Canterbury College in the 1880s. She is best remembered for her contributions to the women’s suffrage campaign in the 1880s and ‘90s, and for becoming in 1917 the first woman elected to the Christchurch City Council. A biography of Mrs Wells can be found in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography.

Contact Information:

For questions about this application, please contact Scholarships Office at scholarships@canterbury.ac.nz

Search Filters:
Level of Study
  • Undergraduate
  • Postgraduate
  • Masters
  • Doctoral
  • UC graduates
  • Honours
    Faculty/School
    • General (Any Faculty/School)
    • Arts
    • Business
    • Law
    • Education
    • Health
    • Engineering
    • Science
      Domestic/International Students
      • Domestic
      • International
        Equity Awards
        • Part-time study
          Award Type
          • Prize
            Begin Accepting Applications Date:
            5 Aug 2025
            Deadline Date (NZT Time Zone):
            30 Sep 2025 11:59 PM