Student Achievement

CTC and University of Divinity recognise student achievements each year with the following prizes. The prizes are awarded on the graduands academic transcript and on the CTC website. For more information, see the University of Divinity’s Regulation 12: Honours and Prizes.

Prizes were awarded at the 2025 College Mass and Dinner on Thursday 5 June. Click here to view past prize winners.

• University of Divinity Vice-Chancellor’s Scholar Sr Emma Llewelyn RSM
• Master’s Prize Gerry Vytilingam
• The Archbishop of Melbourne Prize Christopher Blake
• The Archbishop Coleridge Prize Joshua McDermid
• The Baronius Prize Simon Zakari
• The Erasmus Prize Karl Zelesco
• The Guilford Young Prize Sr Emma Llewelyn RSM
• The John Maher Prize Karl Zelesco
• The Leslie Tomlinson Prize Joshua McDermid
• The Rod Doyle Prize Simon Zakari
• The Roma Mitchell Prize Andrew Wilson
• The Salesian Prize Trung Hieu Nguyen OMI

University Medal
The University Medal may be awarded by the Academic Board of the University to a student of the University who has completed a doctoral thesis of exceptional quality. Commissioned in 2016 by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Peter Sherlock, each medal is hand-crafted by local Melbourne artist Michael Meszaros.

University of Divinity Vice-Chancellor’s Scholars
One graduand per College has been named each year as a Vice-Chancellor’s Scholar. A Vice-Chancellor’s Scholar demonstrates excellence in fulfilling one or more of the University’s Graduate Attributes. This may include academic excellence, contribution to the College community, and service to wider society.

University of Divinity Prizes, Grants, Bursaries and Scholarships
CTC students may apply for other grants and prizes, including:

• Indigenous Theology Fund
• Janette Gray RSM Fund
• Leatherland Prize for Liturgical Scholarship
• Mary Ward Grant
• Australian and New Zealand Association of Theological Schools (ANZATS) New and Emerging Scholars Scholarship
• For more information, see Vox.

Master’s Prize
The Master may award the Master’s Prize ($500) to a student at Catholic Theological College on one occasion each year. The prize is awarded to that student whom the Master, after due consultation, considers to have made a significant and valued contribution to the life of the College. In selecting the recipient account is taken not only of academic results, but also of overall participation in the life of the College. Winners of the Master’s Prize are entered on the Honour Board in the Knox Room.

Academic Prizes
CTC offers the following prizes of $500 each. These prizes are presented each year at the College Mass and Dinner, on the basis of CTC units completed in the previous year.

• The Archbishop of Melbourne Prize – for an outstanding essay in systematic theology

• The Archbishop Coleridge Prize – for an outstanding essay in biblical studies

• The Austin Cooper Prize – for an outstanding essay in Christian spirituality (provided by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, in honour of Rev. Prof. Austin Cooper OMI AM)

• The Baronius Prize – for an outstanding essay in church history (in honour of the Venerable Cesare Baronio, 1538–1607)

• The Erasmus Prize – for the most outstanding student in biblical or ecclesiastical languages (in honour of Erasmus of Rotterdam, 1466–1536)

• The Gerald O’Collins Prize – for an outstanding undergraduate essay in systematic theology (provided by Em. Prof. Anne Hunt OAM FACE, in honour of Rev. Prof. Gerald O’Collins SJ)

• The Guilford Young Prize – for an outstanding essay in liturgy (in honour of Most Rev. Guilford C. Young DD KBE, 8th Archbishop of Hobart)

• The John Maher Prize – for an outstanding essay in philosophy (provided by the SRC, in honour of Rev. Dr John Maher OMI, head of CTC Philosophy Department)

• The Leslie Tomlinson Prize – for an outstanding essay in moral theology (in honour of Most Rev. Leslie R. Tomlinson DD, 7th Bishop of Sandhurst)

• The Rod Doyle Prize – for an outstanding undergraduate essay in biblical studies (provided by the Christian Brothers, in honour of Dr B. Rod Doyle CFC)

• The Roma Mitchell Prize – for an outstanding Minor Thesis (in honour of Dame Roma Mitchell AC DBE CVO QC). Minor Theses are not eligible for other essay prizes

• The Salesian Prize – for the most outstanding English as a second language student.

• For Essay Prizes
  • Every essay considered must have been submitted for assessment in a CTC unit above level 1 and have met the requirements for Academic Integrity
  • Every essay considered must be at least 1,500 words in length
  • Essays must be submitted to the Registrar in Word or PDF format together with a 50-100 word abstract and discipline area for which it is submitted
  • Submissions must include the following information:
    • Year and semester it was submitted for assessment
    • Unit code and name
    • Approximate word count
  • Essays must be submitted by the due date.
  • Prizes are only awarded if an essay of sufficient merit is submitted.
  • No essay may be submitted for consideration in more than one discipline area.
  • No essay can win more than one prize.
  • Minor Theses are not eligible for academic essay prizes, as there is a separate prize for them.

• For The Salesian Prize:
  • Awarded to the CTC ESL student with the highest average mark across the previous year.
  • Eligible students: at least four units completed in the year, born in an ESL country, lived in Australia less than 10 years, not able to satisfy UD English language entry requirements on the basis of previous studies undertaken in English.
  • The Academic Dean decides the winner in consultation with another member of the academic staff who teaches languages.
• For The Erasmus Prize:
  • Awarded to a student who achieved the highest aggregate mark in their Biblical or Ecclesiastical language unit within the distinction or higher-grade range.
  • The Academic Dean decides the winner in consultation with another member of the academic staff who teaches languages.
• For The Roma Mitchell Prize:
  • Awarded for an outstanding minor thesis (16,000 words).
  • The Master decides the winner in consultation with the Associate Dean for Research.

A bursary of $500 is available annually to assist CTC students in using methodologies of the social sciences in their studies (e.g., travel for interviews, transcriptions of interviews, software purchase, conference attendance). For more information contact Associate Dean (Research).