Communications

Communications Scholarships and Grants

“The colossal misunderstanding of our time is the assumption that insight will work with people who are unmotivated to change. Communication does not depend on syntax, or eloquence, or rhetoric, or articulation but on the emotional context in which the message is being heard. People can only hear you when they are moving toward you, and they are not likely to when your words are pursuing them. Even the choices words lose their power when they are used to overpower. Attitudes are the real figures of speech.” Edwin H. Friedman

Many college students will major in communications until they figure out what they really want to do. Others will know that this is their niché and will pursue general or specialized courses of studies. Scholarship providers are aware of this and a great many communications industries are willing to spend the bucks required to convince all communications majors to continue on the track, especially if they have what it takes in terms of grades and talent.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (www.gatesfoundation.org) offer scholarships in every country in the world for just about every field of study and type of need. Communications is no exception. Applied through many colleges in the United States the Gates Foundation have set aside significant funding for those undertaking a communications program of study and the Gates are certainly not alone. Many communications media companies – from broadcast to print to virtual communications, are offering awards to qualifying students.

StraightForward Media & Communications Scholarship Program

StraightForward’s Media & Communications Scholarship program offer four scholarships a year exclusively to students of media and communications. Before applying they recommend you check their scholarship help site, GiveMeScholarships.com. In their words, “It’ll help you avoid mistakes that’ll get your application tossed in the trash!.” Once you’ve read those tips, apply online. Runs every 3 months.
http://www.straightforwardmedia.com/scholarships2/media/

The Graphic Communications Scholarship, Award & Career Advancement Foundation

The Foundation provides financial support to New York City metro area students pursuing careers in graphic communications. In addition to providing money for college, they help mentor and advise students from middle school through graduate school to coordinate internship and work/study opportunities. The organization also aims to help increase awareness of rewarding careers in the graphic communications field. Deadline: March 15th
http://in3.org/ga/scholarshipinfo/

The Bayliss Foundation Radio Scholarship

The Bayliss Foundation has been distributing scholarships to outstanding broadcast students for over 23 years. In 2005, the Bayliss Foundation began a partnership with top communications schools nationwide in an effort to bring a strong radio presence to college campuses.

Juniors and seniors majoring in broadcast communications who have maintained a 3.0 GPA or better are encouraged to apply. Although financial need is a consideration, students of merit with an extensive history of radio-related activities are given preference.
http://www.beaweb.org/bayliss/radio.html or
http://www.baylissfoundation.org/

The First Person Journalism Scholarship Fund

This annual award is given to a Native student who is enrolled in a journalism program at the undergraduate or graduate level. MIGIZI Communications Inc. is dedicated to expanding opportunities for American Indian journalism students. They annually award an undergraduate or graduate scholarship to students committed to journalism careers. The scholarship is awarded in the name of the news service First Person Radio and First Person Productions.
http://www.migizi.org/default/index.cfm/first-person-productions/

United Methodist Communications

United Methodist Communications offer scholarships and fellowships annually to students interested in religious communications, regardless of denominational affiliation. For the fourth year, the Nashville-based agency is also providing scholarships specifically for United Methodists to help meet the need for trained communicators in the church. In addition, the agency is offering its sixth mentoring experience to address the lack of racial and ethnic diversity in annual conference communications.
http://www.umcom.org/

Stoody-West Fellowship

The $6,000 Stoody-West Fellowship will help two graduate students pursuing careers in religious journalism to study at an accredited graduate school or department of journalism. The agency also awards two $2,500 Leonard M. Perryman Communications Scholarships for Ethnic Minority Students. These scholarships assist ethnic minority college students who will be juniors or seniors and are planning careers in print journalism, public relations, and marketing or in audiovisual or electronic communications.
http://www.umcom.org/site/c.mrLZJ9PFKmG/b.3579929/k.8293/Scholarships__Fellowships.htm

Judith L. Weidman Racial Ethnic Minority Fellowship

This whopping $30,000 fellowship is awarded to a full-time, United Methodist recent college or seminary graduate for a 12-month period to explore communications in the church.
http://www.umcom.org/about/inspire#scholarships

This is by no means a comprehensive list but rather a sampling of what is available in communications. There is an impressive array of funding opportunity in this field.

Apart from athletic and academic scholarships, it would be fair that communications’ scholarships cover the broadest range of individuals, and types of scholarships offered. Communications is a dynamic and diverse field of study and this is truly reflected in the diversity of the scholarships available to students.

“Generally speaking, the first nonviolent act is not fasting, but dialogue. The other side, the adversary, is recognized as a person, he is taken out of his anonymity and exists in his own right, for what he really is, a person. To engage someone in dialogue is to recognize him, have faith in him. At every step in the nonviolent struggle, at every level we try tirelessly to establish a dialogue, or re-establish it if it has broken down. When I say ‘the other side,’ that could be a group of persons or a government.” Hildegard Goos-Mayr