Communications Scholarships: Types and Sources

Communications majors: times they are a changin’. For students in media and communications the avenues for career specialization continue to expand. Communications embraces both technological as well as arts disciplines into a very interdisciplinary field of study. Communications students often specialize in advertising/marketing, broadcasting for television and/or radio, journalism and new media, film and public relations. Guess what? That means many opportunities for scholarships and many sources that offer them.

  • Private sources
  • College and university sources

Private and Professional Sources for Communications Scholarships

  • The New York Women in Communications Foundation offers competitive annual awards. Eligible students must be residents of the tri-state area and enrolled or enrolling in a communications degree program. Additional criteria include a combination of need, career and educational motivation, leadership skills, and academic talent. Minimum GPA is 3.2.
  • The IEEE Communications Society, a division of the IEEE, offers students at every level of education the opportunity to compete for scholarships and awards. Because IEEE also encompasses electronics and technology professionals, not every scholarship is suited to a communications student. You’ll need to explore carefully. Design and video competitions are available for communications students.
  • Charter Communications sponsors a student scholarship program that’s open to high school seniors from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois, who are enrolling in a college program related to Communications. This is a $1,000 cash award available to 10 students. Eligible candidates must be motivated, have good academic records, and be able to craft a compelling short essay.
  • Annual scholarships are awarded from the Dallas Society of Visual Communications Foundation as part of its National Student Show and Conference. Students may enter visual communications work in competition for over $20,000 in scholarship money.

College and University Communications-Related Scholarships

You should be checking out the scholarship opps available at the college or university in which you’re enrolled or going to enroll. Keep in mind that many Communications departments offer nice scholarships to high school seniors in hopes they might attract talented students to their programs. Examples:

  • Washington State University students studying in the Edward R. Murrow College of Communications may explore the few dozen scholarships administered to students in general Communications Studies, as well as Broadcasting, and Journalism.
  • College of Media students at the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign may apply for one of a few dozen scholarships administered through the department. Awards include cash for minority students, graphics arts students, journalism, broadcasting, advertising, journalism marketing. Some awards also include academic and/or financial need criteria.