The Dan Walker Journalism Scholarship
Each year, the School of Journalism, Media and Communication offer two Dan Walker Journalism Scholarships worth £10,000 each for home fee paying students starting a taught postgraduate course in MA Broadcast Journalism.
The scholarships are for students who meet at least one of our widening participation criteria. If your application is successful you can use the scholarship towards fees or living expenses – the choice is yours.
This is a fantastic opportunity for students on MA Broadcast 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 course in 1998-99 and also 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.
Are you eligible to apply?
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
- Hold a conditional or unconditional offer from the University of Sheffield before the application deadline to study the MA Broadcast Journalism course starting in September 2024
- 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 a scholarship.
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Widening Participation Criteria
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You are eligible to apply if you meet any of the following:
- You have been in care as a looked-after child for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14 and be aged under 25 on the first day of your course
- You are estranged from your parents and are aged under 25 on the first day of your course
- You have a disability
- You are a carer for an ill or disabled family member
- 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
- You are from a black and minority ethnic group
- You come from one of the most deprived areas of the country as defined by the government's IMD (Indices of Multiple Deprivation) database. If your postcode IMD value is 16,250 or less, you meet this criterion. You can check your postcode ranking using the IMD website. You should check the postcode for the address you lived at during your last year of school or college. Please note this criterion only applies to students who live in England
- You come from an area where it is unusual for people to go to university. This is defined by the government's classification called Polar 3; to meet this criterion your address must fall into quintile 1 or 2 in the young participation quintile or the Adult HE qualification quintile. You can check your postcode quintile using the POLAR search tool. You should check the postcode for the address you lived at during your last year of school or college. Please note this criterion only applies to students from the UK.
Other funding opportunities for masters degrees
Application and selection
To apply, you will be required to fill in an application form with a series of questions relating to your experience and future goals. This will be followed by an interview.
The deadline for applications for this year's Dan Walker Scholarship is 24th June 2024 at 1pm. Successful applicants will be notified before the end of July.
This scholarship is part of the Sheffield Postgraduate Scholarship scheme and if successful with both applications you will only be eligible to receive one.
More information
If you have any questions or would like to talk to someone about the awards, please contact the Student Fees and Funding Team 0114 222 1319 or sheffieldscholars@sheffield.ac.uk.
International postgraduate taught scholarships
We offer a generous package of financial support for international postgraduate taught students, including scholarships worth £10,000 towards the original tuition fee.
Applications are open for existing offer holders for a postgraduate taught programme starting in September 2025.