Columbia Journalism School Partners with Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications to Expand Loan Repayment Assistance Program

With support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Columbia Journalism School (CJS) is expanding the impact of its pilot Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP). 

Beginning in 2026, the program will offer educational loan relief to graduates from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications.

“This partnership with Medill creates even more possibilities for journalism graduates,” said Jelani Cobb, Dean and Henry R. Luce Professor of Journalism. “As LRAP grows, it empowers them to bring reporting to local newsrooms and the communities they serve.” 

LRAP allows journalists to invest their time and skills into more local communities across the United States. This marks another significant step toward addressing the financial challenges that often deter early-career journalists from pursuing these vital roles.

“Medill is known throughout the world for its work in supporting local news, and we are delighted to be a part of this program that will support our graduates who do vital reporting in local communities,” said Medill Dean Charles Whitaker. “Local media is essential to the health of our democracy.”

Launched in 2023, LRAP is a cornerstone of the CJS2030 Access Initiative. Designed to reduce financial barriers for students and graduates alike, CJS works to create pathways for more diverse and equitable newsrooms. Since the program’s inception, more than 60 LRAP awards have helped build careers in local newsrooms nationwide, including The Texas Tribune, The Baltimore Banner, The Honolulu Civil Beat, New York Public Radio and more. 

“Nurturing the next generation of journalism talent is essential to strengthening the field,” said Maribel Pérez Wadsworth, president and CEO of Knight Foundation, when their support of the program was announced in June. “If emerging journalists can’t afford to pursue work in public service reporting, we risk losing vital voices who hold power to account.”

This expansion is made possible by a $3 million grant from the Knight Foundation, which has consistently backed efforts to strengthen journalism’s infrastructure and accessibility. 

As LRAP furthers its impact, it reinforces a simple but urgent principle: the future of journalism depends on supporting the journalists who choose to serve the public.

About the Loan Repayment Assistance Program

Graduates working full-time in local newsrooms and who are within five years of their graduation date are eligible to apply. Those qualified may receive up to $10,000 per year for three years. To learn more about eligibility, visit the program page.

See what happens when a graduate is supported by LRAP. 

Learn more about applying to Columbia Journalism School.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

We are social investors who support democracy by funding free expression and journalism, arts and culture in community, research in areas of media and democracy, and the success of American cities and towns where the Knight brothers once had newspapers. Learn more at kf.org and follow @knightfdn on social media.

About Columbia Journalism School

For more than a century, Columbia Journalism School has been preparing journalists in programs that stress academic rigor, ethics, journalistic inquiry and professional practice. Founded with a gift from Joseph Pulitzer, the school opened its doors in 1912 and offers a Master of Science, Master of Arts, a joint Master of Science degree in Computer Science and Journalism and Doctor of Philosophy in Communications. It houses the Columbia Journalism Review, the Brown Institute for Media Innovation and the Tow Center for Digital Journalism. The school also administers many of the leading journalism awards, including the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, the Maria Moors Cabot Prizes, the John Chancellor Award, the John B. Oakes Award, the J. Anthony Lukas Prize Project, Paul Tobenkin Memorial Award and the Meyer “Mike” Berger Award. 

About Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications

For more than 100 years, Medill has trained the world’s best storytellers. Whether they are journalists who record the first draft of history or marketers blending data with creativity, Medill students and alumni craft the narratives of the events, people and brands that populate and animate our world. Medill’s hands-on learning programs are matched with innovative research and thought leadership. Learn more at medill.northwestern.edu.