One of the key factors an organization needs in order to be successful, whether that be by locating more supporters of a cause for a non-profit association or maintaining profitability in a corporation, is that they uphold a positive appearance in the eyes of the public. That can be a tough job depending on the situation, but if you’re up for the challenge and you have a knack for seeing good opportunities in bad situations, then becoming a public relations major might be for you. Yet, instead of paying your educational expenses out-of-pocket, use that gift of conveying a positive appearance to the public by applying to a few Public Relations Scholarships. If you’re able to get the judges to like you most out of all the other applicants, who knows what other successes you’ll be able to accomplish?
PRSSA Scholarships
The Public Relations Student Society of America offers over $20,000 worth of scholarships over the course of each year. A few of the individual Public Relations Scholarships they provide include the Chester Burger Scholarship for Excellence awarded to graduate students in public relations or journalism related fields who maintain at least a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale. The John D. Graham Scholarship is a merit-based scholarship which awards $3,000 to 1st place winners and $1,000 to two runners up. Their PRSA Diversity Multicultural Scholarship aims to promote adequate ethnic representation in communication related fields and so awards $1,500 twice a year to African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian-Americans, Pacific Islanders or Alaskan Natives. Other Public Relations Scholarships include the Gary Yoshimura Scholarship which is based on financial need, the Marcia Silverman Minority Student Award presenting winners a $5,000 check for educational purposes to eligible students and the Stephen D. Pisinski Memorial Scholarship in honor of a former Board of Directors member of the PRSA. Learn about all the awards, internship opportunities and scholarships the PRSSA has to offer by visiting their webpage .
The Lagrant Foundation Scholarships
The Lagrant Foundation provides Public Relation Scholarships to minorities in addition to career development workshops, internships and professional development assistance so that ethnic races can be better represented in the public relations field. They’ll award 20 scholarships to individuals pursuing public relations, marketing or advertising careers. They provide undergraduate and graduate scholarships worth $5,000 and $10,000 respectively. Winners also are able to travel to Washington, DC so to engage in workshops, attend the scholarship recognition reception and meet with other professionals in the field.
Public Relations Scholarship/Internship
The Founder’s Award comes from the Fahlgren Mortine company – an advertising, public relations and digital marketing company – that provides winners a $2,000 scholarship plus a paid, full-time summer internship ($12/hour) with the company. They require you be in your sophomore or junior year in college, are able to organize, research and write well; have sufficient knowledege of the public relations field and are able to work well with a teams. Along with completing various application details, they ask you to participate in an interview either by phone or in person. You can find more information about this award and other employment opportunities here .
