Television Production Scholarships

Specific Funding for Your Major

The television industry is everything that television itself is: bright, colorful, exciting and open to your input. Television production on the collegiate level aims to prepare students to succeed in the competitive field of broadcasting and networking. Whether your passion lies in commercial advertising, network management, or show production, the television arena may hold just the right balance of work and play to be your dream job.

Once you have graduated, top jobs in television are highly selective, but graduates with talent and proven portfolios have a good chance to make the cut. Smaller positions are available on regional and local levels and even in small production and advertising companies. You can expect to start on the smaller scale and work your way up to networks with a larger sphere of influence and audience.

Students who are serious about pursuing television production as a career will find quite a number of high-dollar scholarships that are extremely competitive, in keeping with the lucrative and fast-paced nature of the industry. For those looking for more modest funds to supplement their education costs, arts and media programs through your college may offer more manageable and reasonable scholarship opportunities. Find an assortment of television related scholarships below:

Scholarship Programs

Columbia College

Columbia College is exclusively an arts and media college with a smorgasbord of programs that number well over 100. The college is located in the heart of Chicago and affords students all the cultural amenities of one of the nation’s largest and most culturally diverse entertainment cities. Television Department scholarships available through Columbia College include:

• Al Lira Scholarship Program is funded by the renowned Leo Burnett Advertising Agency. Eligible applicants must be talented and motivated Television Production majors. Additional requirements include an impressive portfolio of completed work as well as a faculty reference. Students with the required academics in combination with financial need will be given first preference. Awards are $3,000.
• Thaine Lyman Scholarships go to students who demonstrate academic talent, creative motivation and financial need. Students must be majors in the Television department. Awards are $1,000.

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is the premier foundation for American television and broadcasting, not to mention a great student resource for all things involved in production. Since the invention of the television set this organization has been influencing and entertaining the American public. The Jim McKay Memorial Scholarship in the amount of $10,000 is offered by the Academy to any outstanding high-school graduate who is dedicated to studying any facet of the television industry.

The Foundation of the National Television Academy is also extending immense Cannon scholarships to high school seniors who are getting ready to head off to a program of study in the television production or arts field at a four-year college. The National Trustee Scholarship Opportunity is awarding $40,000 scholarships in the name of John Cannon to precocious applicants with an already impressive portfolio. You will want to compose your application for this scholarship carefully in order to have the best shot at this rare opportunity.

In addition, one of TV’s most celebrated children’s characters, Mister Rogers, is memorialized in an Academy scholarship. The Fred Rogers Memorial Scholarship is designed to reward creative and motivated television production students whose passion lies in children’s programming. Eligible applicants must be juniors or seniors in undergraduate programs or in graduate programs to be considered. Awards are $10,000 and are extremely competitive.

The Academy is also home to a student internship program rated among the top ten in the country. The program gives 40 students the opportunity to get their start in television by learning the ropes of it from the experts themselves. It is highly competitive and practically guarantees a good career path.

California Broadcasters Foundation

Students pursuing television production or television arts may qualify for the California Broadcasters Foundation Intern Scholarships. Four awards are given to those CBF interns who exhibit outstanding potential in the field and creative motivation. Awards are $500.

Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Television Academy

The Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Television Academy sponsors the NTA-NCCB Outstanding Achievement in Student Production Awards. Applicants must be engaged in a program of study focused on television production. Full-time college students will be awarded $5,000 for their successful application. Applicants must be going to school in D.C., Maryland or Virginia. Applicants must submit a production piece up to 30 minutes long.

More Opportunities in Television

Potential students in the television industry have the advantage of access to their local networks or programming providers as resources and hubs of possible scholarship funding. Contact the companies in your area to see if they offer any incentives like grants or internships for students considering study in the field.

Students have the unique and fantastic opportunity to entice future benefactors with video samples of their work, as well as supplemental written materials, in order to prove their talent as a television producer. Show off your best ideas and achievements to institutions and individuals in television who are doing what you dream of doing, and you may find a financial funder for your degree.