Undergraduates

Scholarships for Undergraduate Students

All scholarships are open to enrolled students (freshmen excluded) who are pursuing careers in radio and television news. Winners of the Ed Bradley, Carole Simpson and the Lou & Carole Prato Sports Reporting also receive an expenses-paid trip to the RTDNA International Conference. Candidates must be a full-time college student whose career objective is electronic journalism and have at least one full year of college remaining. To receive an award, winners must be officially enrolled in college and be in good standing. Scholarships are paid in semi-annual installments for one year of study. Click here for the application.

The Ed Bradley Scholarship
Ed Bradley, 60 Minutes correspondent at CBS News, was once a teacher and made a switch to journalism. Bradley spoke of introducing deserving minority students to the communications career field and endowed this $10,000 annual award under the banner of RTDNF.

The Ken Kashiwahara Scholarship
Ken Kashiwahara, retired ABC News bureau chief and correspondent, developed this $2,500 annual award in 1998 for aspiring minority journalists. His 23-year career with ABC includes coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial, Ronald Reagan's presidential bid and the Vietnam War.

The Carole Simpson Scholarship
Carole Simpson, ABC news senior correspondent, created this annual $2,000 award to encourage and help minority students overcome hurdles along their career path. Besides honoring those with talent, Carole is strict about her applicants meeting requirements in tenacity, determination and ambition to excel.

The Pete Wilson Journalism Scholarship
In memory of the late news anchor, Pete Wilson, ABC7, KGO-TV established The Pete Wilson Journalism Scholarship. The endowment will provide an annual $2,000 scholarship to students from the San Francisco Bay area pursuing a journalism undergraduate or graduate degree.

Presidents Scholarships
Two awards given in honor of former RTDNA Presidents Theodore Koop, Bruce Dennis, James McCulla, John Salisbury, Bruce Palmer, Dick Cheverton, Jim Byron, Ben Chatfield and John Hogan. Only currently enrolled college sophomores, juniors and seniors in good standing are eligible to apply.

The Lou and Carole Prato Sports Reporting Scholarship
Lou Prato was RTDNA treasurer from 1981 to 2001 and served as secretary of RTDNF's Board of Trustees until 2006. Prato's friends and colleagues have endowed an RTDNF scholarship in honor of Lou and his wife, Carole. The scholarship will provide a $1,000 tuition grant to a deserving student who is planning a career as a sports reporter in television or radio. Applicants should have strong writing skills.

The George Foreman Tribute to Lyndon B. Johnson Scholarship
George Foreman, television commentator and former heavyweight champion, created this $6,000 annual scholarship to honor Lyndon B. Johnson. It was developed for a broadcast journalism student at the University of Texas-Austin.

APPLICANT CRITERIA:
Must be officially enrolled in college and have at least one full academic year remaining.

Must be a fully enrolled college sophomore or higher to receive a scholarship.

Must apply for only one scholarship.

May be enrolled in any major so long as your intent is a career in electronic journalism.

May submit samples of web work in addition to materials requested below. (optional)

REQUIRED ITEMS FOR ALL APPLICATIONS:
A completed application form, signed by your faculty sponsor, clearly identifying the scholarship for which you are applying.

A copy of your resume.

One to three examples showing your journalistic skills, totaling 15 minutes or less, on audio CD or DVD, accompanied by scripts.

A brief statement describing your role (writing, editing, producing, reporting, videography) in each story and a list of colleagues, if any, who worked on each story and what they did.

A one-page statement explaining why you seek a career in electronic journalism, with reference to your specific career preferences (radio, TV, online; reporting, producing or newsroom management).

A letter of reference from your dean or faculty sponsor explaining why you are a good candidate for an award. The letter must also certify that you have at least one or more years of school remaining.

Contact Stacey Staniak at staceys@rtdna.org, or call 202.467.5214 with questions.