The Theodosius and Irene Senkowsky Prize for Achievement in Ukrainian Studies was established in 1989 through a generous donation made by Marta and Ostap Tarnawsky of Philadelphia in honor of Mrs. Tarnawsky's parents. The Prize is awarded for outstanding progress and academic excellence demonstrated by students of the Ukrainian Summer Institute. The sum of an individual reward varies depending on the number of its recipients each year.

The nominations for the Senkowsky Prize are made by course instructors to a committee consisting of the Executive Director of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute and the academic staff of HUSI. The nominations are based on the students' performance in class and their contribution to the intellectual and cultural life of the Summer Institute. The Prize winners are announced at the certificate ceremony which, according to tradition, is held on the last Friday of the Summer program in HURI's Seminar Room. The Prize is presented by the Director of the Summer Institute with HUSI and HURI faculty, students and associates in attendance. The certificate ceremony is followed by an informal farewell reception.

More than twenty students of the Harvard Ukrainian Summer Institute have been awarded the Theodosius and Irene Senkowsky Prize.