Knight Foundation Scholarships
Coders Wanted
Journalism scholarships available for programmers/developers
Scholarship winners can enroll at Medill in January 2009, June 2009, September 2009 or January 2010. Applications are being accepted now.
Are you a skilled programmer or Web developer? Are you interested in applying your talents to the challenge of creating a better-informed society? Do you think technology can improve journalism -- or, maybe, believe that journalism is behind the curve technologically?
If your answers are "yes," consider applying to Medill for a master's degree in journalism. You can earn your degree in just a year. You'll open doors to new career opportunities that might help build a better democracy. And a new program at Medill offers you a chance to win a fully funded scholarship.
Why you should consider a Medill master's degree
People who understand coding and journalism are in great demand now -- at traditional media companies as well as startups. Media companies want people who can build better systems for news production and distribution. Newsrooms want journalists who can help figure out the best way to present data-driven stories on digital platforms. Startup companies want developers who understand how people use and consume information. And there are endless opportunities to create new digital products that engage audiences with information they need to be citizens. Here are three Web sites that meld journalism and technology in different ways:
Everyblock, which lets people find information in their neighborhood;
Digg, which helps people find interesting news (and check out Digg Labs, where the news is visualized in novel ways);
Politifact, which fact-checks claims made by political candidates.
Everyblock and Politifact were built by developers with journalism backgrounds. The team that launched Digg was led by an undergraduate computer science major who later became a host of technology TV programs.
With your programming knowledge and a master's degree in journalism from Medill, you, too, can help invent the future of media and journalism.
What you'll do at Medill
Medill operates an internationally recognized one-year journalism master's degree program. In the first three of your four academic quarters, you'll choose from the same courses that all of our master's students take. You'll learn to understand the needs of media consumers, find and cover the news, seek out and create compelling content, and tell stories in multiple media formats.You'll learn about the social mission of journalism and its critical role in building a democratic society. You'll also learn the legal and ethical frameworks that guide journalists and build audience credibility. And you'll be immersed in the culture and business of journalism, learning how news organizations work and how media businesses make money.
In your final quarter, you'll enroll in one of our "innovation project" classes. You'll team up with students from more traditional backgrounds and develop some kind of new application, site or service that somehow addresses a problem faced by journalists, media companies or our democracy. The class will help you understand the challenges facing today's journalists and media companies, and give you a chance to build something that addresses these challenges.
Why we're offering these scholarships
Medill believes that journalism is a key foundation for a functioning democracy and that in the 21st century, programmer/developers are enormously important to the future of journalism. So we have partnered with the Knight Foundation to create this scholarship program for people with strong technology skills who are interested in pursuing a journalism master's degree at Medill.
"The skills and insights that technology developers have are increasingly important to the analysis, delivery and accessibility of information needed in a democracy," said Rich Gordon, who teaches interactive journalism at Medill. "At the same time, the journalistic skills learned at a place like Medill can yield important ideas for applying technology in ways citizens will find relevant and engaging."
What to do if you're interested
To be considered for the scholarship, applicants must be admitted to Medill's graduate journalism program. If you are interested in applying for this scholarship program, here are the steps to follow:
- Fill out an online application for admission to Medill, including all required materials.
- Please upload your resume with the application. In the resume, please include details about (and links to) your programming work.
- In addition to answering the essay questions on the standard application, please upload your answer to the following question: "How do journalism and technology relate to one another in the digital age?"
More information about the admissions process can be found here.
Details about the Medill graduate journalism curriculum can be found here.
If you have questions about the scholarship program, please contact Rich Gordon at richgor@northwestern.edu. For questions about the application process, contact Anne Penway, director of admissions, at a-penway@northwestern.edu, or call the office of graduate admissions at 847-491-2052.
