Best Journalism Writing Scholarships in 2026

The Overseas Press Club Foundation strives to improve the media's understanding of international issues and to raise the quality of news-gathering efforts in covering the world. This is achieved by offering scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students in American colleges and universities, who aspire to become foreign correspondents. All applicants to OPC scholarships must submit a cover letter, resume, and writing sample about an international issue or topic.

Underwritten by the New York Life Foundation, the New York Life Award offers $2,500 scholarships/travel stipends to ten students whose works explore death and personal grief. Sharing your story through art or writing can be a healing experience both for you and other teens who are grieving. Your creative work can help someone with similar experiences to you feel less alone.

The Foundation awards a scholarship each year to a South Carolina college student interested in pursuing a newspaper career. The premier scholarship, worth $1,000 per academic year, is named for the Foundation’s first president, the late Frank R. Mundy of the Greenwood Index-Journal.

Since 1970, RTDNF has awarded more than $1 million in scholarships and fellowships to more than 500 young journalists. Scholarships are open to college students pursuing careers in radio, television, or digital journalism. To apply, students must complete an online form for each scholarship including their cover letter, resume, and 3-5 work samples.

The Anna Chennault Scholarship awards $5,000 to an Asian American graduate student pursuing journalism as a career. Candidates will be judged on academic and journalistic achievement, commitment to the field of journalism and sensitivity to AAPI issues. Applicants must produce a piece of concise and comprehensive journalism that provides unique context on a current geopolitical issue based on a prompt provided by CIC or AAJA.

The Mary Quon Moy Ing Memorial Scholarship will award up to $2,000 to a graduating high school senior who will be attending a college or university to pursue a journalism career. A winner will be selected based on academic and journalistic achievement, financial need, commitment to journalism and/or sensitivity to AAPI issues. Applicants must submit a resume, brief personal statements, and optional work samples.

We award small artist support grants ($500 – $2,000) to individual feminist women in the arts who are citizens in the U.S and Canada. We welcome applications from women artists and writers who exhibit high quality and originality, use feminism as their central interpretive lens, and validate and express intersectional views.

The AAJA Sports Task Force offers a scholarship of up to $2,000 to current college students interested in pursuing sports journalism/media as a career through the Al Young Sports Journalism scholarship. Applicants must submit a resume, cover letter, and essay on the assigned topic.

GPEF annually awards scholarships to Georgia residents attending Georgia colleges who are pursuing a career in the field of print journalism. Students must fill out the attached application, which includes two personal essay questions. Four scholarships of varying amounts will be given.

This $1,000 award will be given to a high school senior on the staff of an NSPA member newspaper with a minimum 3.5 grade point average on a 4.0 scale or equivalent. In addition to the entry form, applicants must submit three published editorials and a brief recommendation from the adviser.

These JEA scholarships recognize some of the top high school journalists in the country. The contest begins at the state level. Winning portfolios from state Journalist of the Year competitions are sent to the national level. Deadlines vary from state to state, so check with your JEA State Director for contest information specific to your state, including where to send your entry.

The Leonard M. Perryman Communications Scholarship for Racial Ethnic Minority Students awards a $2,500 scholarship for the undergraduate study of religion journalism or mass communications. It recognizes of the work of Leonard M. Perryman, a renowned journalist for the United Methodist Church. Each application should include a personal essay and samples of your journalistic work.

One high school junior from each state and Washington, D.C., with an interest in journalism will be selected for an all-expenses-paid program on June 21-26, 2026, featuring panel conversations with journalists and multimedia storytellers, newsroom visits, networking events, a chance to meet news industry leaders, and unique tours of our nation’s capital. Includes a $1,000 college scholarship and ongoing support from more than 1,700 alumni. Build your skills, grow your network and get a head start on your future.

The $6,000 Stoody-West Fellowships in religious journalism are offered in recognition of Dr. Ralph Stoody and Dr. Arthur West, who were leaders in public relations and information services in the United Methodist Church. Each application should include a personal essay and samples of your journalistic work.

The Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA) annually sponsors the Bodie McDowell Scholarship program to support tomorrow’s communicators. Ideal candidates are talented communicators with outdoor interests who can demonstrate a record of accomplishment in and commitment to the fields of outdoor communications.