Letters and Science Prize for Excellence
Created by Estella Atekwana, Dean of the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis, the $2,500 prize is given annually to a graduating M.F.A. student in studio art. The prize was established to help further the career of an art studio M.F.A. graduate from UC Davis, and to encourage, recognize and celebrate creative and original contributions of the recipient.
- 2026: Sean Olmstead
- 2025: Raquel Tripp
- 2024: Gracianne Kirsch
LeShelle and Gary May Art Purchase Prize
Made possible through the generosity of Suzanne Hellmuth and Jock M. Reynolds (art studio, M.F.A. ‘72), the LeShelle and Gary May Art Purchase Prize art purchase prize enables the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art to continue the tradition of purchasing graduate student work for the university’s Fine Arts Collection.
- 2026: Levi Keatts
- 2025: Cella Costanza
- 2024: April Camlin
- 2023: Will Maxen
- 2022: Kelley O’Leary
Keister and Allen Art Purchase Prize
The Keister & Allen Art Purchase Prize is awarded annually to a graduating Master of Fine Arts student. The award, started in 2017, provides for the purchase of artwork created by the recipient for the university’s Fine Arts Collection. The purchase prize is made through an endowment fund established by Shaun Keister, vice chancellor of the UC Davis Office of Development and Alumni Relations, and Walter Allen, a business analyst in the client services unit of UC Davis Information and Educational Technology.
- 2026: Tara K. Daly
- 2025: Nicole Anderson
- 2024: Nitheen Ramalingam
- 2023: Jordan Benton
- 2022: Morgan Cristine Flores
- 2021: Genevra Daley
- 2020: Dongwan Hong
- 2019: Rachel Deane
- 2018: Jodi Connelly
- 2017: Faith Sponsler