The Dan Walker Journalism Scholarship

This is a fantastic opportunity for students on MA Journalism to be mentored by one of the country's leading news and sports journalists and broadcasters. This will include support and advice from Dan on your career development.

Dan Walker studied on the Broadcast Journalism course in 1998-99 and completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Sheffield. Dan currently anchors the Channel 5 evening news, hosts the breakfast show on Classic FM, and presents football coverage on Amazon.

He was at the helm of the UK's most popular morning TV show, BBC Breakfast, from 2016 to 2022 and was a major part of the BBC’s sport coverage for 15 years.

The scholarship provides opportunities for periods of work experience in journalism and production, and advice from Dan as you go through the course and prepare for a career.

Eligibility

You can apply for a scholarship if you meet all of the following five criteria:

• You are from a group that is evidentially under-represented among the institution's taught masters population (see the widening participation criteria below).
• You hold a conditional or unconditional offer from the University of Sheffield before the application deadline to study the MA Journalism course starting in September 2027.
• You are a home fee-paying student.
• You are not already qualified at masters level, or higher.
• You are self-funding.

Students intending to take a postgraduate student loan can also apply for the scholarship.

Widening participation criteria

You are eligible to apply for the scholarship if you meet any of the following criteria: 

As an undergraduate student you were/are in receipt of support from the Student Loans Company which indicates that your household income was assessed as £40,000 or less.

To be eligible for this criteria you will need to provide your full Student Finance entitlement letter confirming your household income was assessed as £40,000 or less. This should include your name and your maintenance loan entitlement amount from any year of your undergraduate course. 

Have you entered the University through one of our outreach schemes?

To be eligible for this criteria you must have attended one of the outreach schemes run by the University of Sheffield prior to starting your undergraduate course. Eligible programmes are listed below: 

• Access to Sheffield Summer School
• Sutton Trust Summer School
• Access to Sheffield (Medicine)
• Access to Sheffield (Dentistry)
• Access to Sheffield (Law)
• Access to Sheffield (Arts & Humanities and Social Sciences)
• Access to Sheffield (STEM)

If you attended an outreach scheme run by the University of Sheffield that is not listed above please get in touch (contact details are at the bottom of this page). 

Are you Black, Asian or from another minority ethnic group?

We will use the information submitted as part of your course application to assess this.

Do you have a disability?

You are required to provide evidence to support this, for example, a copy of your DSA notification letter that outlines your condition(s) or other relevant medical evidence, such as a letter from your GP or other health professional. We cannot accept medication/prescriptions as evidence.

Do you come from one of the more deprived areas of the country as defined by the government's Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) database?

If you live in an area with an IMD Quintile of 1 or 2 you meet this criteria. We will use the information submitted as part of your application to assess this. Please note this criteria only applies to students who live in England. You can check your postcode using our IMD checker. 

You have been in care as a looked-after child for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14

You will need to provide evidence confirming your care leaver status. Further information about eligibility and evidence that should be provided within your application can be found on our 'Financial support for care leavers' web page ('Support for postgraduate students' section).

Are you estranged from your parents and will be aged under 25 on the first day of your course?

Being estranged means you have no relationship with, or support from, your parents. Further information about eligibility and evidence that should be provided within your application can be found on our 'Financial support for estranged students' web page (the 'Support for postgraduate students' section). 

Are you a carer for an ill or disabled family member?

You are a student carer if you are responsible for providing unpaid care to a relative who has, for example, a long-term illness, physical or learning disability, mental health condition or an addiction. 

Further information about eligibility can be found on our 'Financial support for students with caring responsibilities' web page. Temporary care needs are not considered as part of this scheme.

How to apply

Application will open in March 2027. 

The deadline to apply is 1pm on Monday 28 June 2027. 

Successful applicants will be invited to an online interview on Wednesday 7 July 2027, if you haven't heard from us by this time unfortunately your application has been unsuccessful. 

Interviews will be held on the morning of Tuesday 13 July 2027 and the winners of the scholarships notified before the end of July. 

Selection process

All applications will be reviewed by senior members of Academic staff and/or Professional Services staff.

This is a competitive process and not all eligible applications will be successful. When reviewing your application, senior members of staff will look at personal circumstances and widening participation criteria. When assessing your application, we will give regard to the following:

• Applicant has provided a clear rationale for applying for the MA Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
• Applicant has identified clearly how the scholarship and mentoring opportunity will be beneficial to their student experience.
• Applicant has clearly articulated future ambitions; these goals relate to the postgraduate degree they have applied for, and they involve appropriate and credible contributions from which others will benefit

Terms and conditions

• All decisions made by the University are made in good faith. By applying for the scholarship you are confirming that you meet the eligibility criteria. If the information provided is incorrect or false, the University reserves the right to remove the award.

• Successful recipients of the scholarship will have the £10,000 scholarship paid towards their tuition fees.
• You must be starting a new, stand alone, eligible postgraduate course in September 2027 at the University of Sheffield to receive the scholarship.
• For courses where the 'home' and 'overseas' tuition fee is the same, you must be assessed as being eligible to pay the 'home' rate fee.
• Students intending to take a postgraduate loan are classed as self-sponsored and are eligible to apply for this scholarship.
• Students studying by distance learning are not eligible to apply.
• The recipients of the scholarship will not be eligible to receive any other scholarships from the University of Sheffield during their course.
• You must not have already achieved a masters level qualification or higher.
• If you register for a course and then take a leave of absence, you are not eligible to apply again the following year once you become fully registered - even if you register on a different course. To be eligible to apply, you must withdraw from your course and reapply to the University as an applicant.
• If you take a leave of absence we may not be able to pay any remaining funds towards your tuition fees when you return to your course.
• If you have previously been awarded the Dan Walker Journalism Scholarship you are not eligible to be considered for it again in future years.
• Students in receipt of other University scholarships are not eligible to receive this scholarship and vice versa.
• If you have a condition that can affect aspects of your written communication and would like panel members to be aware of this, let us know by emailing us at sheffieldscholars@sheffield.ac.uk.
• Full terms and conditions will be shared with scholarship recipients shortly after registration. 

I've been privileged to travel all over the world covering major sporting events and interviewing some fascinating people

Dan Walker

Broadcast Journalism MA

Now a senior presenter on 5 News, Dan is a graduate of our MA Broadcast Journalism degree. His previous roles include presenting on BBC Football Focus and BBC Breakfast News, as well as a weekly show on BBC World.