The Dan Walker Journalism Scholarship

The scholarships are for students who meet at least one of our widening participation criteria. If your application is successful the £10,000 scholarship will be paid towards your tuition fees.

This is a fantastic opportunity for students on MA Journalism or 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 Journalism or MA Broadcast Journalism course starting in September 2025
• 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: 

Was your household income £40,000 or less when you studied your undergraduate course?

To meet this criteria you will need to provide evidence that confirms 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

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. Please note, we cannot accept medication/prescriptions as evidence.

Do you come from an area where it is not usual for people to go to University? This is defined by the government's classification called POLAR

To meet this criteria your address must fall into quintile 1 or 2 of POLAR4. We will use the information submitted as part of your course application to assess this. Please note this information only covers the UK. 

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 your postcode IMD value is 16,250 or less, you meet this criteria. We will use the information submitted as part of your course application to assess this. Please note this criteria only applies to students who live in England.

Have you 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. Your evidence will need to include the dates you were in care. For example, a letter from your local authority, a letter from social services, or proof of legal guardianship, such as a court order.

Further information about eligibility can be found on our 'Financial support for care leavers' web page.

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. To be considered an estranged student, this situation must be permanent, and you must have little or no contact with your parents with this being unlikely to change. 

Further information about eligibility can be found on our 'Financial support for estranged students' web page.

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. Please note that temporary care needs are not considered as part of this scheme.

Application and selection

Apply for the Dan Walker Journalism Scholarship

The deadline for applications for this year's Dan Walker Scholarship is 23rd June 2025 at 1pm. 

To apply, you will be required to fill in the application form with a series of questions relating to your experience and future goals. Successful applicants will be invited to an online interview on Tuesday 15th July 2025. If you have not been contacted by this time unfortunately your application has not been successful. 

Successful applicants will be notified before the end of July. 

Further information 

• 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 2025 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 a condition that can affect aspects of your written communication and would like panel members to be aware of this, please let us know by emailing us at sheffieldscholars@sheffield.ac.uk.
• Full terms and conditions will be shared with scholarship recipients shortly after registration. 

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 9754 (option 1) or sheffieldscholars@sheffield.ac.uk.

Other funding opportunities for masters degrees in the School of Information, Journalism and Communication

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.