Religious Communications Scholarships

Help Yourself to Financial Aid

Just like other fields of communications, religious communications is not very different. Professionals generally work within a particular denomination providing the critical link between church clergy, members and the public at large. All organizations require highly trained communications specialists. Religion is no less about marketing and public relations than any other business.

Students interested in the field of Religious Communications may choose to pursue a mass communications program or one targeting religious communication typically found on a faith-based campus. Professionals may work for specific church organizations or be more focused on religious academia without church affiliations.

Scholarship Programs

The Stoody-West Fellowship funded by the United Methodist Communications offers graduate students in journalism, particularly those whose career goals are in religious journalism or communication, with valuable fellowship funds to help offset the cost of their tuition. Awards are $6,000 and applicants must submit a portfolio of work to be considered. UMC also awards:

• Leonard M. Perryman Communications Scholarships for Ethnic Minority Students awards $2,500 scholarships to the most outstanding applicants. Preference is given to a student committed to religious journalism after graduation. Applicants must be members of the United Methodist Church to qualify.
• Judith Weidman Racial Ethnic Minority Fellowships are given to graduate students in religious communication majors who wish to pursue the field in association with the United Methodist Church. Qualified applicants must be church members.

The Religious Communication Association extends a number of scholastic awards to especially upper level students in the realm of religious communication. The organization is an inter-denominational society of scholars whose professional lives are involved in all aspects of religious communication and across a range of communications media. RCA doles out generous awards in the categories of book, article and dissertation, all of which are to be focused on the topic of religious communication.

Like many professional organizations the Religious Communicators Council offers student members small scholarships that help offset the heady cost of travel to annual conferences and events. Applicants must be religious communications majors and be able to prove a financial need for the funds. Awards cover room and travel as well as a society membership. RCC brings together religious educators and communicators from all faiths whose interests lie in traditional and emerging communications media.

The Baptist Communicators Association (BCA) supports the ongoing work of Baptist professionals whose careers lie in religious communication, including print, broadcasting, and public relations, among others. The BCA offers generous scholarships:

• Undergraduates in religious communications studies and members of the Baptist Church may qualify for $1,000 awards.
• Graduate students are given $500 for their continued studies in the major.
• Students and association members may qualify for scholarships that help defray costs associated with event travel. Up to $1,000.
• Minority students or foreign students whose career interests lie in “Baptist communication” may qualify for $1,000 in scholarship awards.

The School of Journalism and Communication at Southern Adventist University in Tennessee extends outstanding students the Maize Family Scholarships. Applicants must be majors in the department whose professional goals are to contribute to the field of religious communication. Applications must include an essay focused on contemporary issues in the field. The Journalism and Communication program is outfitted to educate students across a range of contemporary communications media including electronic print, video, television and radio.

Graduate students attending the United Theological Seminary in Ohio may choose to pursue any of a number of Masters programs including the Master of Arts in Religious Communication. The Seminary offers scholarships to students who demonstrate academic talent as well as financial need. Awards vary from full to partial tuition scholarships.