Mulligan earned two awards for her performance at the Hollywood Film Festival and Houston Film Critics Society—Breakthrough Actress and Best Actress respectively. "An Education" won Best Film from both the Sundance Film and Mill Valley Film Festivals, it would later go on to win Best Foreign Film at the Independent Spirit Awards. Four members of the cast were nominated for awards at the London Film Critics' Circle, along with the film and screenplay. Hornby subsequently received eleven more nominations for his work on the screenplay. Mulligan and Peter Sarsgaard both received awards from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the Alliance of Women Film Journalists, where they were the recipients of the Best Depiction Of Nudity, Sexuality, or Seduction award. The 16th Screen Actors Guild Awards saw the film's cast earn a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. The film's music, costume, and hair and make-up also earned four nominations among them.