Applications Accepted from Dec. 1 to February 1.
To attract and retain the strongest journalism and mass communication students in the nation, JMC is introducing a financial award program specifically designed for first-time freshmen entering our School in fall semester 2014. The Promising Scholar Awards will provide $2,000 a year, renewable for up to four years, to the 10 highest achieving incoming freshmen drawn from JMC’s undergraduate degree programs: advertising, electronic/digital media, journalism and public relations. The top two incoming freshmen will be awarded $3,000 a year, renewable for up to four years, as Ralph C. Darrow Promising Scholars. Darrow was a founding figure in JMC’s public relations program.
“Our School has made a commitment to provide scholarships to the highest-achieving incoming freshmen who are committed to an education in JMC. This scholarship is intended to help throughout their four years in our School. Attracting top students has become more competitive than ever, and the Promising Scholar program will help us and our students tremendously,” said Thor Wasbotten, JMC director.
With the Promising Scholar Award and other financial assistance programs, JMC has become one of the most affordable schools in the nation. It is also one of the strongest. The undergraduate program at JMC has been accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC) for nearly 50 years. ’s JMC is one of only 111 accredited journalism schools in the world, and the only accredited school of journalism and mass communication in Northeast Ohio.
In 2013, JMC ranked in the top 10 of the William Randolph Hearst Foundation’s Journalism Awards Program; ranked second in the nation in the Public Relations Student Society of America 2013 Bateman Case Study Competition; ranked fifth in the nation in the Collegiate Effie awards, the pre-eminent award for advertising students; and won gold, silver and bronze medals in the international College Photographer of the Year competition. For the last two years, TV2 KSU, part of JMC’s independent student media program, has been named “TV Station of the Year” by the College Media Association.
To be eligible for JMC’s Promising Scholar Award, a student must apply by February 1, 2014, and meet the following criteria:
- Be a first-time freshman. In addition to high school seniors, nontraditional students, especially U.S. military veterans, are strongly encouraged to apply
- Must apply to and be admitted to the Kent Campus and must select a JMC major
- Must complete a Promising Scholar Award application (PDF)
- A high school transcript
- A resume emphasizing leadership experiences
- A 750-1,000 word essay describing why they are choosing an education in journalism and mass communication
- Up to three original work samples
- One letter of recommendation.
The first Promising Scholar Award winners will be announced in Spring 2014. The award is renewable if students remain in good standing in JMC with a 3.0 GPA overall and a 3.3 GPA in their JMC courses.
The Promising Scholar Awards are being funded through the generosity of private donors -- including alumni, media and communication industry leaders, and members of JMC’s Professional Advisory Board -- and by matching gifts from the university’s College of Communication and Information.
“I am tremendously grateful for the generous support of our alumni and friends in creating these scholarships,” said Stan Wearden, dean of the College of Communication and Information at . “These are gifts that make an enormous and immediate difference. They are life-changing. I want to offer a huge thank you on behalf of the students, the faculty and the leadership of this college to those who have made a financial sacrifice to improve the lives and the education of our students.”
For more information on the JMC Promising Scholar Awards, contact Mark Goodman (mgoodm10@kent.edu) at (330) 672-6239. For information on other forms of financial assistance, contact ’s Student Financial Aid Office (finaid@kent.edu).