Senior Ryan Willis earned a Beinecke Scholarship

Ryan Willis, a senior in Pitt’s Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, has been named a Beinecke scholar. He is one of just 20 students selected nationwide for this year’s award, which supports graduate study in the arts, humanities or social sciences.

Willis — who is majoring in English literature and philosophy with a minor in French — is also pursuing a Bachelor of Philosophy degree in the David C. Frederick Honors College.

The Beinecke Scholarship awards $35,000 in funding for graduate school to undergraduates who demonstrate academic promise, intellectual curiosity and financial need. Pitt is allowed to nominate only one candidate each year.

“Ryan represents the very best of our undergraduate scholars — deeply inquisitive, bold in his intellectual pursuits and dedicated to expanding the boundaries of knowledge,” said Nicola Foote, dean of the Frederick Honors College. “His achievement is a testament to both his talent and the strong mentorship culture at Pitt.”

Willis is completing an honors English thesis under the direction of William Scott, an associate professor in the Dietrich School’s Department of English. His project focuses on the influence of 17th-century German mystic Jakob Böhme and the thought and poetry of English Romanticism. He is also preparing a second thesis that will compare philosophers’ interpretations of the German Idealism movement.

Beyond his supervised coursework, Willis’ independent research on French philosopher Georges Bataille will be published in the Spring 2026 issue of Philosophy Today, a peer-reviewed academic journal.

After graduation, Willis plans to pursue a PhD in philosophy or comparative literature, with the goal of contributing to academic discourse as both a scholar and educator.

The Beinecke Scholarship was established in 1971 by the Sperry and Hutchinson Company in honor of Edwin, Frederick and Walter Beinecke. Since 1975, the program has supported more than 700 students at 122 colleges and universities across the United States.

Photography by Aimee Obidzinski