Top Sports Journalism Scholarships

Sports Journalism Scholarships

Sports journalism is one of the most exciting career tracks in the journalism industry. For the most part, it is considered ‘happy’ reporting, because there is seldom actual human tragedy involved. This doesn’t make it any less serious or less competitive however, when you are looking for college journalism scholarships. There are several top sports journalism scholarships that you need to be aware of – if this is the field of study that your passionate about.

First consider the Freedom Forum – NCAA Sports-Journalism Scholarship. Each year, eight scholarships are awarded through this program, sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and awarded in the amount of $3000 each. You must be a junior in college, with a career in sports journalism planned in order to be eligible, and of course, you must be majoring in journalism. Additionally, you should have experience in sports journalism concerning the sports on your campus.

The Associated Press Sports Editors Scholarship is also available, through the Associated Press Sports Editors. Four awards are available each year, in the amount of $1500 each, and they are available for juniors or seniors. Awards are made based on journalistic skill and work, academic achievement, financial need, and the location of the student. You can get more information about this journalism scholarship program at http://cubreporters.org/2009/03/sports-journalism-scholarships.html.

Don’t forget school specific journalism college scholarships opportunities, such as the one offered to Vanderbilt University journalism students. This award is actually made to a high school senior who will be attending Vanderbilt University, who has a strong interest in sports writing. The amount of this top scholarship is an astounding $40,000, and can be viewed at http://www.tra-online.com/scholarship.html.

Because sports journalism is so popular – and so competitive – you can be certain that the competition for these sports journalism scholarships will also be quite competitive. Make sure that you submit your best work when samples are requested, and make sure that you have a clear understanding of what you are up against in terms of competition. Go to the above individual websites and read up on all they want from a scholarship candidate and do your best to give them exactly what they are asking for in their scholarship criteria. All sponsors of scholarships will make sure that you follow their requirements to be even considered for their award and this is never more true when applying for a college journalism scholarship.