The WVU Reed School of Media and Communications invites incoming freshmen students to apply for Portfolio Scholarships.
High school seniors who have at least a 2.75 high school GPA are eligible to apply. An official and current high school transcript that includes the student’s GPA is a required part of the application.
Awards are based on the quality and extent of the student’s high school journalism and media work as presented in the student’s online digital portfolio. Students may also include journalism or media work that they completed outside of school courses and/or activities.
West Virginia resident recipients will receive, on average, $2,000 per academic year. Non-resident recipients will receive, on average, $5,000 per academic year.
The school closely follows the Journalism Education Association’s “Journalist of the Year” or JOY requirements for online portfolio submissions. The school’s requirements are listed below. The full JOY requirements are on the Journalism Education Association website. (Note: The Reed School of Media and Communications Portfolio Scholarship Application does not require a narrative or letters of recommendation.)
Upon submission of a Portfolio Scholarship Application, the student must register to attend one of two “Portfolio Days” at West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV, which are typically held in January and February. Each student will have a 15-minute time slot to present their portfolio to three Reed School of Media and Communications representatives. Scholarship recipients will be notified by March 31.
Students must create an online portfolio with up to 5 examples of their work in each of the following categories:
- Reporting and Writing
- Editing, Leadership and Team Building
- Design
- Broadcast Journalism
- Photojournalism
- Web and Social Media
- Law, Ethics and News Literacy
- Marketing and Audience Engagement
- Commitment to Diversity (Note: Work in this area can also be embedded in other categories in lieu of creating a dedicated category in the portfolio)
Each entry within the portfolio should be accompanied by a clear and concise explanation, stating the following:
- An explanation/reasoning for each example that includes any difficulties encountered with the assignment and special circumstances affecting it. The explanation should typically be less than 100 words in length, easy to read, and should explain why this entry is important and was chosen for the portfolio. Also include whether it was published, and if so, when and where.
A student is not required to have content in all categories listed above.
For information and examples on what to include in each category, view the JEA’s Portfolio Polish Videos .