Friday, August 10, 2007

Journalism Scholarships Resource

If you are interested in finding scholarships and grant money for college while pursuing a degree in journalism, there are many options available to you.

There’s no rule that says you have to accrue mounds of debt while studying for your journalism degree. There are many schools, national organizations and public/private companies that offer journalism scholarships.

All you need to know is where to look, and how to best maximize your chances of obtaining funds to help cover college expenses.

The following information was designed to help you locate the best sources for journalism scholarships. What’s more, you’ll gain useful knowledge to help you search for additional scholarships that aren’t listed here.

No matter what type of journalism you plan to pursue as a career, chances are that there are scholarship opportunities out there for you.

Sports Journalism Scholarship Program

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), in partnership with The Freedom Forum, offers eight $3,000 scholarships to students interested in sports journalism.

The program was designed to help deserving students pursue a career in sports journalism, or who have experience in campus sports journalism and are majoring in the subject.

Full-time students in their last year of study are eligible for this award, and applications are available in late August.

For more information about this scholarship program, please visit their website or contact them via e-mail or postal mail at the address given on the website.

South Asian Journalists Association

The South Asian Journalists Association awards several scholarships to both high school graduates and college students who plan to pursue a career in journalism.

Each year, five scholarships are awarded annually. One scholarship worth $1,000 is given to a graduating high school senior; one scholarship worth $1,500 is given to an undergraduate student, and two $2,000 scholarships to graduate level students.

Additionally, SAJA awards a $2,000 scholarship for Broadcast Journalism to either an undergraduate or graduate student with a demonstrated interest in the subject matter.

In order to be eligible, students must be of South Asian descent, and prove they are serious about pursuing a career in journalism.

Other eligibility requirements apply, so please visit their website for complete details.

National Association of Black Journalists Scholarships

The National Association of Black Journalists offer over $30,000 in scholarship funds each year to students who are interested in obtaining a journalism degree.

NABJ offers several scholarship opportunities to journalism students. To be eligible, you must first become a member of NABJ and follow the individual eligibility criteria for each scholarship you are interested in.

Each scholarship can be worth up to $5,000, and are open to any foreign or American-born student who is attending an accredited college or university full-time within the United States.

Check back in September, when scholarship applications are reopened. For further details, please visit the official website and read about the individual journalism scholarships offered by NABJ.


Robert Walker Scholarship in Christian Journalism

While the winners of the Robert Walker Scholarships have already been announced for this year, stay tuned for when applications reopen.

Funded by Christian Life Missions, these scholarships are awarded to students who are interested in pursuing a degree in journalism.

Please visit the website for further information.

Other Scholarships

The John Bayliss Radio Scholarship offers scholarships to outstanding broadcast journalism scholarships each year.

The scholarships are offered to juniors, seniors and graduate level students majoring in Broadcast communications. Applicants must maintain a 3.0 GPA.
Financial need is considered in the application process, but the foundations look at a demonstrated performance of academic performance and radio experience over everything else.

The Overseas Press Club Foundation has offered 12 scholarships every year since 1992 to outstanding journalism students who plan to become foreign correspondents.

Scholarships are in the amount of $2,000 each, and undergraduate and graduate students are encouraged to apply.

Awards are given to 12 students who win a national essay contest, and there are a number of criteria the judges (who are seasoned journalists) are looking for. Essays should be no longer than 500 words.

Remember to make your entire application look professional and neat! You can download the 2008 scholarship application online, as well as view further information about the scholarship contest.

Additionally, The National Association of Hispanic Journalists offers multiple scholarships to Hispanic students interested in pursuing a career in journalism.

Through the Ruben Salazar fund, the NAHJ offers scholarship money to undergraduate or graduate students who are majoring in print, online, broadcast or photo journalism.

Scholarships are only open to students who are attending or plan to attend a school within the United States or Puerto Rico. Also, students must be attending full-time.

The American Copy Editors Society also awards scholarships in the amount of $2,500 or $1,000 each to students who will be pursuing a career in Copy Editing.

All of the scholarships offered through ACES are only awarded to students who have the potential and desire to become a copy editor. Scholarships are open to juniors, seniors and graduate students.

Graduating students must take full-time copy editing jobs or internships to be eligible.

The next deadline for these scholarships is October 15th, 2007. Winners will be announced in early 2008.

For more information and to download an application, please visit their website.

For students who are interested in pursuing a career in journalism, there are many scholarship opportunities available to you.

Before you research opportunities, it’s important to speak with the school you are attending or plan to attend to see what scholarships they offer.

The scholarships and awards listed above are only a starting point for finding journalism scholarships. There are countless additional resources you can use to find scholarships to help you pursue a degree in journalism.

You can use generalized scholarship search engines such as Fastweb.com or Scholarships.com and tailor your search to find scholarships specifically for journalism students.

Additionally, you can apply for general scholarships that aren’t geared towards journalism majors, but that you are still eligible for.

Remember, the more scholarship opportunities you apply for, the better your chances of receiving at least some money to help cover college expenses.

Good luck!

::this article is taken from http://www.scholarshiptalk.com/

No comments: