Application Process
Eligibility
Any full time MIT undergraduate - with the exception of previous winners of a Kelly Essay Prize — may submit an essay written during his or her years at MIT. The work may have originally been conceived for an MIT subject. A contestant is allowed, indeed encouraged, to consult with appropriate members of the faculty while preparing his or her submission (naturally, any assistance received should be acknowledged in the essay).
Format
A coherent and cogent analytic composition that focuses on a single topic and is readily understood to readers both outside and within the writer's special field. Essays may range from 5000 to 8500 words in length (roughly 15 to 30 double-spaced pages, with standard one inch margins). A group of shorter papers, a translation, a work of creative fiction, or a study exceeding 30 pages will not be considered. The essay should be properly documented, its pages numbered, and footnotes appearing either at the bottom of each page or at the end of the essay. A bibliography should be appended to the essay (bibliographies do not count towards the length restrictions). The essay and its documentation should be consistent in following a standard style, such as the MLA Handbook or the Chicago Manual of Style.
Submitting an Essay for Consideration
Applicants must submit two unstapled copies of the essay. These must be accompanied by an Entry Form, which may be downloaded here.
The author's name should appear ONLY on the entry form, since submissions are read without the Committee knowing the author's name. The title of the essay should be entered on both the entry form and on the first page of the essay.
Submissions should be delivered or mailed to the following address:
Attn: The Director, Kelly Essay Prize Fund
c/o Kevin McLellan, Fund Administrator
Literature Section
14N-407 MIT
77 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge MA 02139
Judging
Entries are judged by a panel drawn from the different Faculties with HASS, who read each essay without knowing the author's name, On occasion, the total prize money — usually split between two winners — may be divided among three deserving essays, in a proportion to be decided by the Committee for that year. Prize winners are notified in late April.
