Columbia Journalism School thrives on teaching the fundamentals of delivering quality, meticulous, detail-oriented and accurate information, guiding young journalists through the formative parts of their careers.
To continue this century-long tradition, the doors must be open for the best journalism students in the world — and not just for the best students who can afford it. The School is embarking on an ambitious plan to create more inclusive pathways into journalism as a career in the public interest.
Scholarships are at the heart of our mission to represent the world that journalism covers.
The goal? To ignite the careers of our students and support local newsrooms. Providing generous scholarship support when students enter the School, and supporting new graduates when they start their careers in journalism, are ways the institution can achieve this.
Plus: this admission cycle, prospective students can apply to its degree programs at no cost.
This is another stake in the School’s commitment to fostering an inclusive media landscape as part of this CJS2030 initiative.
Providing a pathway to rigorous journalism education for students with the greatest socioeconomic need, we create a ripple effect for more diverse and equitable newsrooms of the future.
And, the support we offer doesn't end with their financial aid award. Graduates from CUNY and the School of General Studies are guaranteed up to 35% off tuition. Learn more
CJS is opening doors to the profession — beginning with the highest-caliber journalism education.
See this impact in action in ‘A weight was lifted’: Journalism School awards $450,000 in loan repayment assistance to 45 graduates of journalism schools from Columbia Daily Spectator.
The Loan Repayment Assistance Program — the first of its kind in the journalism industry — was launched in 2023 to help support recent Columbia Journalism School graduates who bring their talent and skills to local newsrooms. The school may lend up to $30,000 over three years to help make loan payments.
In the first year of the program, accepted graduates were offered over $300,000, allowing them to pay off a significant portion of their student loans. Since then, LRAP has distributed more than 100 awards over three years, providing more than $1 million in total assistance.
Following the long-standing model of law schools and medical schools, the school introduced this program to reinvent the business model for its industry. By providing financial aid to graduates working in local newsrooms, the program brings tomorrow's reporters into the most vital newsrooms of today, supporting journalists whose work is critical to upholding press freedom and protecting the First Amendment.
“Finding out that the journalism school would start offering loan repayments was on par with the level of excitement I felt getting into Columbia in the first place."
Local newsrooms are under extraordinary pressure, needing to do more with less, while also striving to recruit talent to create newsrooms that reflect the communities served. Those entering journalism need to be highly skilled and committed to the public interest. Student debt and modest salaries make it difficult for journalism to compete for top talent with other professions. This program aims to change that.
LRAP is investing in helping graduates build careers in public-interest journalism. It underscores a commitment to ease the burden of educational debt for journalists starting their careers. LRAP also strengthens the newsrooms where our graduates work, while targeting financial barriers young journalists face.
Dean Jelani Cobb on Access in Journalism
CJS Access in the News
Columbia Journalism School to Launch Nathan S. Collier Business Reporting Program With $2.4 Million Endowed Gift
The annual week-long seminar will help working journalists better understand the organizations and systems behind the stories they cover.
Columbia Journalism School’s Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) Nears $800,000 in 2026 Support On the Program’s Third Anniversary
Three years in, the program has grown into a national effort supporting local reporting.
Morgan State University Joins Columbia Journalism School Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) Network to Support Local Journalism
The partnership connects Morgan State graduates to loan repayment support for full-time local newsroom work.