The Department of Communication offers a variety of competitive scholarships and awards. Please see below for descriptions of each.

The College of Arts and Science also offers a variety of scholarships which can be accessed here. 

Applications for all scholarships and awards should be made on the ScholarshipUniverse website. For more information on how to use Scholarship Universe, see this instructional webpage from Student Financial Aid.

 

Timeline for Application Due Dates

• February 1, 11:59 PM:  College of Arts & Science Scholarships
• April 1, 11:59 PM: Department of Communication Curator Scholarships
• April 1, 11:59 PM: Unbridled Media Women and Minority Scholarship
• April 1, 11:59 PM: Department of Communication Outstanding Senior Awards
• April 1, 11:59 PM: ACDC Summer Opportunities Fund Internship Scholarship 

Department of Communication Curator Scholarships

Curator Scholarships are given to a select number of students who demonstrate both community involvement and active participation with student organizations through various extracurricular activities, have at least a 3.0 GPA, and have completed 12 hours of course work within the department by the end of the applying semester. Applications are due by April 1 and announcements are made approximately two weeks later..

College of Arts & Science Scholarships 

Students who will be juniors or seniors in 2020-2021 are eligible to apply for college-wide scholarships. The application packet for these scholarships requires two letters of recommendation, at least one from an MU faculty member. In order to make it easier for the department to nominate students for these scholarships and to provide a letter from a member of the Communication faculty, interested students should submit application materials to the department. Completed application materials should be scanned into one PDF document (reference letters may be sent separately) and emailed to the Department of Communication (communication @missouri.edu)—with A&S Scholarship in the subject line—no later than 9:00 AM Monday, December 1. The packet should include the following:

• Undergraduate Scholarship Application cover sheet
• One page student resumé AND one page narrative of academic experiences
• Unofficial transcript of college work to date
• Optional: 1 letter of reference from someone outside of the MU Communication Department faculty

The department’s Undergraduate Committee will review application materials and secure a letter of recommendation from a Communication faculty member. Students should include in their materials requests for recommendations from a preferred faculty member.  The Communication Department will then submit completed application packets to the College of Arts & Science no later than February 1 at 11:59 PM.

College of Arts & Science Scholarship applicants must also submit a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) to the university by the required deadline, or include a brief note with their application stating that the family will not be submitting a FAFSA.

Summer Internship Scholarship

The Advisory Council for the Department of Communication awards a $1,000 travel scholarship for a Communication Major who secures a summer internship in a location where they do not currently live. This scholarship is intended to help a student with travel expenses and/or housing costs associated with a summer internship. Internship scholarship requests must be received by April 1 at 11:59 PM.

Department of Communication Outstanding Senior Awards

Each spring semester, we offer awards to outstanding seniors in the four areas of the department.  The nominations for the awards come from the faculty and teaching staff, and the faculty selects the recipients of the awards.  The criteria for the awards emphasize involvement with the undergraduate program through participation in coursework, research projects, and relevant student activities.  The awards are presented at the annual Department of Communication Undergraduate Awards ceremony during COMM Week in mid-April.

The awards include:

• The Outstanding Senior in Interpersonal Communication (The Mary-Jeanette Smythe Award)
• The Outstanding Senior in Organizational Communication
• The Outstanding Senior in Political Communication
• The Outstanding Senior in Mediated Communication
• The G. Joseph Wolfe Award
  • This award is given to a senior who has demonstrated creative and technical abilities in all phases of media production and has provided noteworthy involvement with student production activities.
• The Outstanding Senior in Department Service and Leadership (The Loren Reid Award)
  • This award is given to a student who has demonstrated strong leadership skills through his/her participation in student activities for the department. 

Unbridled Media Women and Minority Scholarship

One or more annual scholarship awards shall be given to undergraduate students enrolled in the College of Arts and Science who are majoring in Communication. First preference shall be given to students who have an interest in a career in media, particularly (although not necessarily exclusively) digital media production.

Additional preference shall be given to female students, nonbinary students and/or students who belong to an historically underrepresented racial or ethnic group.

Applicants should provide the following:

1. A brief written statement (maximum of 500 words) describing the student's professional and personal goals after college, and why their interest in mediated communication is central to those goals.
2. Links to any examples of digital media creations by the student that are available for review on an online source.  "Digital media creations" include (but are not necessarily limited to) such products as videos, audio productions and visual graphic design.

For more information on Unbridled Media, please visit the company’s website here.