Students who build up their portfolio while in high school, such as with high school newspaper or yearbook experience, can compete for several national scholarships. The Journalism Education Association, for example, awards a $5,000 scholarship annually for the student it deems the Journalist of the Year. Students must submit work samples, an essay outlining their journalistic life and a photo of themselves in action. Similarly, the National Press Club annually offers the $5,000 Richard G. Zimmerman Journalism Scholarship to high school seniors with sterling clips. Members of the Quill & Scroll Society, an honor society for high school journalists, can win scholarships either through the society's competitions or the Richard P. Johns Scholarship, which is open for all members.
The Society of Professional Journalists has about 300 chapters across the United States; and most of these organizations award several thousands of dollars in scholarships to journalism majors in their region. The SPJ chapter in western Washington, for example, awarded five $2,000 scholarships in 2010. Some of these scholarships are general, for all students studying journalism, while others are targeted to specific minority groups or fields of study.
There are multiple organizations for journalists who are members of minority groups, such as the National Association of Black Journalists, the Asian American Journalist Association, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalist Association. All of these organizations offer scholarships, some in quite large amounts, to student members. The NABJ, for example, gives out more than $60,000 in scholarships annually, including some as large as $25,000.
Journalism majors who want to specialize in specific fields of journalism have an extra pool of scholarships from which to draw. Students interested in science writing, for example, can submit their work to the National Association of Science Writers, which each year offers a $1,000 scholarship and an expense-paid trip to its annual convention for outstanding scientific articles. Female students interested in sports reporting can compete for scholarships and paid internships through the Association for Women in Sports Media. The American Copy Editors Society awards several thousands of dollars each year for students interested in editing. Students interested in becoming a foreign correspondent can vie for one of 12 $2,000 scholarships offered through an essay contest by the Overseas Press Club Foundation.