Religious Studies Department

Awards for Scholarship

The Religious Studies Department offers two awards: the Hager Prize in Religious Studies and the Margaret H. Dornish Senior Thesis Prize.

The Hager Prize

An endowment by the late Mr. and Mrs. C.R. Hager provides a prize for an historical and/or interpretive essay on the subject of Christianity in cross-cultural encounters. While the Hager Prize is administered by the Department of Religious Studies, students pursuing other disciplines such as history and anthropology are also encouraged to submit essays. Major papers written for courses or seminars and senior theses are eligible for submission.

Eligibility: All currently enrolled Pomona College students.

Judges: Department of Religious Studies faculty.

Announcement: Senior prize winners will be announced at Class Day, the day before graduation ceremonies, and listed in the Commencement program. First-year, sophomore, or junior prize winners will be announced at the Fall Awards and Scholars' Banquet.

The Margaret H. Dornish Senior Thesis Prize

Professor Dornish (Pomona College Professor Emerita in Asian Religions) was instrumental in creating and sustaining the Intercollegiate Program in Religious Studies across the Five Colleges, and played a major role in establishing the study of Asian Religions in the curriculum. Her rigorous attention to issues of method in the study of religions resulted in key additions to the department that broadened the scope of Religious Studies from investigations of theology and philosophy to include the study of religion within culture, history and society.
It is in honor of her significant contributions to the curriculum and to the teaching of Religious Studies at the Claremont Colleges that the department offers the Margaret H. Dornish Senior Thesis Prize for theses with a high degree of brilliance, eloquence, and in-depth investigation. The award was first offered in 2003. It is presented at the Class Day ceremonies.