Attention college journalists: The Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists (MNSPJ) is now accepting applications for its 2026 student scholarship. This year, MNSPJ will award one $2,000 scholarship to a student pursuing a career in broadcast, print, online or visual journalism.
These are unrestricted funds and can be used as students see fit toward academic or professional pursuits.
Last June, the MNSPJ scholarship was awarded to University of Minnesota student Samantha Siedow. Samantha impressed judges on the scholarship panel with her efforts to dig into controversial and nuanced topics, and with her wide variety of off-campus sources. She was able to find strong balance while covering sensitive issues, including campus tensions around the Israeli hostage crisis and the bombing of Gaza.
The 2024 scholarship winner was Kenzie Nguyen, a resident of Brooklyn Park and undergraduate at St. Olaf College, and the 2023 winner was Caleb Hensin, who was then an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota. Both also impressed the panel judges by a willingness to look off-campus for sourcing and take a global view on issues.
To participate in the 2026 scholarship competition:
Applicants must either be enrolled in a post-secondary institution in Minnesota or have graduated from a high school in Minnesota and be enrolled in college elsewhere. Preference will be given to Society of Professional Journalists members.
Click here to submit an application form –- the first step. Email the additional application materials to minnesota.spj@gmail.com. Here’s what’s required:
1. Application form, which can be found here
2. Resume
3. College transcript (unofficial transcript is fine)
4. Letter of recommendation
5. Essay (limited to 500 words): Why have you chosen journalism as a career?
6. Up to six samples of work via a link to your portfolio, a PDF of clips or story URLs
Applications must be received by 10 p.m. on May 15, 2026. No late submissions will be accepted. The scholarship winners will be announced prior to MNSPJ’s annual Page One Awards banquet, where recipients will receive their awards.
Questions? Email minnesota.spj@gmail.com.