Applications are now being accepted for the Rhode Island Press Association’s annual $1,000 scholarship competition, open to high school seniors or college students planning to pursue a career in journalism.
Scholarship applicants must be residents of Rhode Island and attending or accepted to any college or university in the 2025-26 academic year, including both undergraduates and full-time graduate students.
Students don’t have to be a journalism major to be eligible. Instead, judges are looking for academic achievement and a demonstrated interest in journalism, such as work on a school or community newspaper.
Interested students should send a letter of nomination written by a high school or college official or instructor detailing the student’s accomplishments along with a cover letter, resume and samples of work via links or attachment. Work samples may include newspaper stories, classroom assignments or any other supporting material. Email applications to Newport This Week Publisher/Editor Lynne Tungett at news@newportthisweek.net.
The deadline to apply is Monday, April 14.
A panel of editors and journalists will judge the nominations. The Rhode Island Press Association will award the scholarship at its annual banquet on May 9. The scholarship money is paid directly to the student.
The Rhode Island Press Association is a nonprofit organization that promotes the interests of newspapers and other publications and advances journalism standards and educational opportunities in Rhode Island since 1886. For more on the scholarship, visit the association’s website.
Rhode Island PBS and The Public’s Radio also has a scholarship opportunity for students. The scholarship offers awards to residents of Rhode Island PBS’s demographic market area who demonstrate promise of a successful career in the fields of broadcasting, communications, and/or journalism.
- Resident of Rhode Island or Bristol County, Massachusetts
- A graduating high school senior planning to attend an accredited 4-year post-secondary school, or a student currently enrolled in an accredited 4-year post-secondary institution
- Demonstration of merit toward a successful career in broadcasting, communications, and/or journalism
- Award: up to $15,000; past recipients are eligible to reapply
- Current employees of Rhode Island PBS, The Public’s Radio, and their children and other immediate family members are not eligible to apply.
Selection criteria:
- A resident of Rhode Island or Bristol County, Massachusetts
- A graduating high school senior planning to attend an accredited 4-year post-secondary school, or a student currently enrolled in an accredited 4-year post-secondary institution
- Demonstration of merit toward a successful career in broadcasting, communications, and/or journalism
- Award: up to $15,000; past recipients are eligible to reapply
- Current employees of Rhode Island PBS, The Public’s Radio, and their children and other immediate family members are not eligible to apply.
- A complete application includes:
- Completed online application form
- Most recent high school or college transcript
- Students must demonstrate evidence of financial need, as demonstrated by information provided about his/her family’s financial resources and projected expenses, and prove that this scholarship will make a meaningful difference in their educational plans.
- Scholarship resume worksheet
- Recommendation letter from a teacher or professional in the fields of communications, broadcasting, and/or journalism
This article was originally published by the Rhode Island Current and has been edited to share more information on other scholarship opportunities.
