The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is regarded as one of the most professional graduate schools of Columbia University. There are graduate programmes for students along with certain scholarships and awards for the same field. The Journalism School has several prizes, including the Pulitzer Prize and the DuPont-Columbia Award, along with co-sponsors the National Magazine Award and publishes the Columbia Journalism Review, essentially a trade publication for journalists.

The instructors and faculty members do have immense group of diversified people coming from politics, arts and culture, religion, science, education, business and economics, investigative reporting, national and international affairs.

With university funds and other sponsorship, Columbia Journalism School offers a ten-month Master of Science program to study the skills, the art, and the ethics of journalism by reporting and writing stories that range from short news pieces to complex narrative features. Students are free to choose for their future from the lot (specialization) – newspaper, magazine, broadcast, or new media. Students intersected in Investigative Journalism, a sub-specialization of the M.S. program can opt it as a part time programme.

Journalism Programmes

-Journalism and Law
-Journalism and Business
-Journalism and Religion
-Journalism and International and Public Affairs
-Journalism and Earth and Environmental Science 

Scholarships

Some most talked about scholarships/awards do include the following ones- The Punch Sulzberger News Media Executive Leadership Program, Spencer Education Journalism Fellowship, The Knight-Bagehot Fellowship and the Columbia Publishing Course.

The scholarships are positioned on the basis of the applicants’ merit (evaluated by the admissions committee) and financial need (evidenced in the applicant’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form and The Graduate School of Journalism Scholarship Aid Application). Let’s understand few more in details.

Knight-Bagehot Fellowship

The fellowship majorly focuses on full-time editorial employees of newspapers, magazines, wire services, and broadcast news organizations as well as to freelance journalists. An experience of four years is normally required for all. There are no academic prerequisites.

(a) The method of selection mostly resides on the worked articles, samples and published information.

(b) It takes an equal foothold on the worked process of each scholar with an insight as how far it has come across in terms of research done.

Every year the Knight-Bagehot Fellowships are announced by May 1. The number of fellowships awarded each year, as well as the level of the living-expenses stipend, is determined by the program’s financial resources. For the upcoming academic year, which begins mid-August 2014 and ends late May 2015, about ten fellowships of full tuition plus a $55,000 stipend each is expected.

Annual Fund of the Graduate School of Journalism Scholarships 

The assistance given in terms of money and funds do certainly play as a boost for the interest of candidates to pursue their studies here. The scholarship has budget for a range of nearly 20% of the school’s scholarship budget. The previous year there was gifts from more than 1,400 Annual Fund donors added up to more than $1.07 million—the equivalent of the school’s average scholarship award for 67 students.

The trust has also got a donation category award where an amount of $5,000 or above is bestowed upon the Annual Fund. Apart from that the awardees gets an opportunity to meet the donor at an annual event.

Spencer Education Fellowship

Spencer Education Fellowship basically aims for journalists, educators and education policy researchers who have certain goals of realizing the development of long-form journalism project to make more research oriented projects in the American education system. Among the candidates the fellows selected for the same are three in total and this fellowship offers a stipend of $75,000 along with research expenses to each selected candidate. The programme is competitive in nature and makes a worth approach of combined coursework in the residential manner with experts and faulty members. 

Scholarships for Women

 –Anne O’Hare McCormick Scholarships are otherwise known as Newswomen’s Club of New York which being a tax-exempt charitable fund, offers scholarships of the range from $4,000 to $6,000 each to women students.

-Business & Professional Women’s Foundation

This is basically for women in between 25 to 30 who come under the Career Advancement Programs that ranges mostly from $500 to $1,000. Business & Professional Women’s Club of New York State, Inc. offers several fellowships of $1,000 each for one academic year to women who are bonafide residents of NY State and in graduate studies.

Delta Sigma Theta, Inc.

The body provides the Julia Bumry Jones Scholarship to candidates having active membership with delta and should be graduating senior, undergraduate, or graduate student majoring in journalism or communications.

-New York Women in Communications, Inc.

The scheme provides at least one $2,000 scholarship (to both men and women), named in honor of Jessica Savitch.

-Women’s International Network of Utility Professionals 

It offers three fellowships in the area of engineering, communications, journalism, accounting, finance, computer science to students to enhance their growing capabilities. The first one is Julia Kiene Fellowship for $2,000, while the second being the Lyle Mamer Fellowship of $1,000 and last one is the Louisan Mamer Fellowship with $500. 

Andrew Goodman Scholarship

The Andrew Goodman Foundation entered into a partnership with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism to establish The Andrew Goodman Journalism Scholarship in the year 2007. Its basic aim is to work on the Civil Rights to provide financial assistance to deserving students who are interested in honest journalism and civil rights. Every year students with excellent academic background do opt for the award from the Master of Science or Master of Arts program at the Graduate School of Journalism. 

The career in journalism is increasing with manifolds and so do the student’s choice of taking the same. Scholarships do not only add to their brighter future but also make them in addressing issues to their funds and aid. It lessens the burden of getting a break in a reputed university with a scholarship attached tag. The scholarships provided by Columbia University are certainly trying to achieve the same with a good hold of amount being accessed at every step for students. 

Other outside scholarships offered are Ethnic Heritage Scholarships, Regional Scholarships, International Students and International Studies, Scholarships for Students of Color and Special Focus – Specific Field of Study. 

Students who have good academic excellence, at times don’t get the proper opportunity t nourish their talents. Such scholarships and fellowships do come as sign of relief for all of them to perform at their best and get recognized with the maximum scope. Scholarships can definitely prove as worth for the upcoming minds who want to focus on the field of journalism and more. 

Applicants should go through list of various Journalism School Scholarships and Professional Fellowships.