Departmental Citation
The Departmental Citation Plan was initiated in 1955 by the Committee on Prizes with the approval and support of the Chancellor. UC Berkeley’s Committee on Prizes has established the following policies for departments offering this distinction:
Only one nominee shall be selected by each department. Most recipients will no doubt be majors in the department, but the recipient need not be a major if he or she has done a substantial amount of work in the department and the department wishes to honor him or her in this way. Additionally, recipients of the Departmental Citation need not be in senior standing.
The citation indicates excellence in the departmental field of study. Evidence of distinction in work done outside the department may be taken into account, but it should not have decisive weight.
Other activity relating to the work of the department, such as writing, experimentation, or creative work in the field, will receive due consideration.
A department may take into account any qualities or attainments that it finds relevant. The main consideration is that the award should reflect the judgments of the department that the recipient is, because of unusual talents and promise, worthy of being recognized in this fashion.
Recipients need to have maintained a minimum grade point average of 3.5 in the department to be awarded a Departmental Citation.
Soyka Scholarship
Originally from Belarus, George and Olga Soyka experienced great difficulties under Stalinism and then World War II, during which they were refugees in what was then West Germany, meeting in a labor camp. They then came to the United States separately, Olga and her family passing through Ellis Island, George by himself first coming to Canada to work in a gold mine as a carpenter and barber, all the while corresponding via letters, eventually marrying in New York City in 1951.
Through hard work and persistence, they were able to create a middle class life for their two children in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, and they always stressed the idea that education was the key to a successful life. While George passed away in 2001, Olga Soyka is still alive in Florida and can recite Pushkin poems by heart.
It is in the spirit of education that their son Anatole (Tony), former Undergraduate Major Advisor in Comparative Literature, upon his retirement, established the George and Olga Soyka scholarship for Slavic Literatures for students in Comparative LiteratureThe Soyka award is intended to honor the work of a graduating Comp. Lit. major or graduate student who has worked extensively with texts written in a Slavic language.
Cha Fellowship
The Theresa Hak Kyung Cha Fellowship is presented each year to outstanding UC Berkeley students graduating with a major in Comparative Literature.
Established by an anonymous donor, the fellowship honors the legacy of Korean American artist Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (1951–1982). Cha earned multiple degrees from UC Berkeley: a BA in Comparative Literature in 1973 and a BA, MA, and MFA in art between 1975 and 1978. Cha worked in a variety of media, ranging from performance and video to works on paper, handmade books, and mail art. In her brief but productive career, Cha explored themes born of personal experience, primarily those of geographic exile and cultural and linguistic displacement. Many know her through her last work, the book Dictee (1982). Cha’s archives are held by BAMPFA, where she worked during her time as a UC Berkeley undergraduate.
Recipients are nominated by faculty in recognition of their outstanding academic achievements, with a particular emphasis on the values of creativity, perseverance, and interest in cultural heritage that reflect the legacy of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha.
Comparative Literature Leadership Award
This award, designed in 2023, honors student leadership for work on one or more of the three Comparative Literature Undergraduate organizations:
Comparative Literature Undergraduate Journal (co-leadership and/or editorial board)
Vagabond (co-leadership and/or editorial board)
Comparative Literature Undergraduate Research Symposium (organizing committee members)