PR Scholarships and Fellowships: Awards and Paid Internships

PR students can apply today for the LAGRANT Foundation's $150,000 scholarship program, due February 15, 2027, with awards of $2,500 for undergraduates and $3,750 for graduate students. The PRSA Foundation's agency fellowships paid up to $32,000 plus a $6,000 stipend and a paid internship in 2026, and the 2027 windows for those are not yet announced.

Last updated: November 14, 2026.

What are the key facts about PR scholarships at a glance?

PR scholarships come from four kinds of sponsors: the PRSA Foundation and its student society, PR agencies, local PRSA chapters, and journalism or multicultural associations. The facts below summarize what the sponsor pages showed on November 14, 2026.

• The LAGRANT Foundation will award $150,000 to 50 students in 2027, with applications due February 15, 2027.
• The PRSA Foundation's 12 agency fellowships in 2026 totaled $99,000 in awards, stipends and paid internships, and the biggest single package was Mission North's $32,000 scholarship plus a $6,000 stipend.
• Every PRSA Foundation deadline read was dated 2026, so none can be treated as a 2027 deadline, and the calendar below keeps confirmed dates apart from expected windows.
• Most PRSA Foundation scholarships required membership in the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) or listed it as a preference.

Which PR scholarships can you apply for right now?

Three PR-related awards had confirmed future deadlines on November 14, 2026: the LAGRANT Foundation scholarships (February 15, 2027), the Ed Bradley Fellowship at NYU (March 1, 2027) and the Emerald Coast PR scholarships for Florida high school seniors (March 15, 2027). Everything else read for this guide either closed in 2026 or has no announced 2027 window.

The PRSA Chicago Michelle Flowers Diversity Fellowship says its 2027 applications open in the fall, so Illinois students should check the fellowship site for a posted window. Treat every deadline in this guide as belonging to the cycle named beside it, because a 2026 date does not predict when the 2027 window opens.

What does the LAGRANT Foundation scholarship offer for 2027?

The LAGRANT Foundation offers 2027 scholarships of $2,500 to 30 undergraduates and $3,750 to 20 graduate students, a total of $150,000 for 50 students, according to its scholarship page. The foundation describes its mission as advancing representation in advertising, marketing and public relations.

Applications are due by 5:00 p.m. PST on February 15, 2027. Applications submitted by 11:59 p.m. PST on January 18, 2027 receive 10 bonus points in scoring.

The foundation also runs a Healthcare Marketing and Communications track for 10 to 20 students, with scholarships of $2,500 to $3,750 and a three-day program in April 2027 at a location still to be announced. An applicant may submit for the traditional scholarship or the healthcare track, not both.

• Applicants must be U.S. citizens, permanent residents or DACA recipients enrolled full time at an accredited four-year U.S. institution.
• The minimum GPA is 3.0 for undergraduates and graduates, and applicants who fall short can explain the gap in a one-page essay.
• Applicants must major in a field with an emphasis on advertising, marketing or public relations and have at least one year left (two semesters for graduate students).
• Recipients must attend the April 25 to 28, 2027 program in Washington, D.C. (the healthcare track meets separately in April).
• The application requires a career goals essay, a short response on why underrepresented groups matter in the field, a signed reference letter, a resume, unofficial transcripts and a headshot, all submitted together.

What are the highest-paying PR scholarships and fellowships?

The highest-paying PR awards listed here are agency fellowships that add a stipend and a paid internship to the scholarship. The ranking below uses the amounts the sponsor pages showed for the 2026 cycle.

1. Mission North Fellowship: $32,000 scholarship plus a $6,000 stipend and a 12-week paid internship.
2. LaunchSquad Fellowship: $15,000 scholarship plus a $4,000 stipend and an 8-week paid internship.
3. The Key PR Fellowship: $10,000 scholarship plus a $4,000 stipend and an 8-week paid internship.
4. Geoffrey M. Curtis Scholarship: $10,000 for one rising junior or senior (the largest standalone scholarship listed).
5. Betsy Plank/PRSSA first place, SolComms Fellowship and EvolveMKD Fellowship: $5,000 each.

Which PR agency fellowships include paid internships?

The PRSA Foundation's Foster the Future program lists 12 agency-sponsored fellowships that pair a scholarship with a paid internship. The table shows the 2026 program benefits and eligibility from the Foster the Future page, where the application deadline was February 17, 2026. The 2027 application window has not been announced.

The foundation's page says the 12 fellowships in 2026 totaled $99,000 in awards and paid internship opportunities. Check each fellowship's own page for the full rules before you apply.

What does the data show about PR agency fellowships?

Across the 12 PRSA Foundation agency fellowships listed above, the scholarships total $85,000 and the median scholarship is $3,250, according to an Everything-PR calculation from the foundation's published 2026 amounts. Adding the three stipends ($6,000, $4,000 and $4,000) gives $99,000, which matches the foundation's own total for the program.

• All 12 fellowships include a paid internship.
• Six offer internships in New York, three are remote, two are in Boston, two are in San Francisco and one is in Miami (Mission North and Kite Hill offer a choice of cities).
• Eight of the 12 list an identity criterion such as BIPOC identified, first-generation or LGBTQ identified, and four (Hannah Cranston Media, Hirsch Leatherwood, Scout Lab and Kite Hill) do not.
• The foundation page does not list PRSSA membership as a requirement for any of the 12.

These figures cover only the 12 fellowships, not every award on this page, because several other awards do not publish their amounts or recipient counts.

Which PR scholarships do not require PRSSA membership?

Several PR scholarships do not list PRSSA membership as a requirement, so students without a campus chapter can still apply. The sponsor pages read for this guide showed these.

• The LAGRANT Foundation scholarships, which list citizenship, enrollment, GPA and major criteria.
• The Axia Public Relations Scholarship, which lists financial need and PR experience.
• The Chester Burger Scholarship, which lists a graduate program and a 3.0 undergraduate GPA.
• All 12 agency fellowships in the Foster the Future program.
• The Ed Bradley Fellowship at NYU and the Dow Jones News Fund program.

Which PRSA Foundation scholarships exist?

The PRSA Foundation runs the largest set of PR-specific scholarships for students, and several are open only to PRSSA members. The table lists the scholarships where the sponsor page showed an amount.

The foundation lists other awards with the same pattern. The Robin M. Urbanski Memorial Scholarship, Ron Culp Scholarship for Mentorship, Ofield Dukes Multicultural Student Award, PRSA Memphis Scholarship and PRSA Houston Scholarships all closed on April 30, 2026. Amounts and full rules are on the PRSA Foundation scholarships page and the PRSSA individual scholarships page.

Does New York Women in Communications offer scholarships?

New York Women in Communications (NYWICI) lists a 2027 sponsored scholarship program on its sponsored scholarships page, and its student page says the 2027 program opens in the fall of 2026. The page names the awards but does not show amounts or a deadline, and third-party listings that show January 2027 dates disagree with each other, so confirm the date with NYWICI.

The named awards include the Kaplow Scholarship for a rising sophomore, junior or senior in marketing communications or public relations, the Omnicom Scholarship for a rising junior, senior or graduate student, and the Yahoo Scholarship for an undergraduate interested in storytelling, social media and AI. The Esperanza Scholarship is for a student of Hispanic heritage. NYWICI says award criteria can include a declared major, year in school and personal background.

Which chapter and regional PR scholarships are available?

Local PRSA chapters fund their own PR scholarships for students in their state or region, and the rules differ from the national awards. Four regional programs were read for this guide.

• PRSA Puget Sound offers the Horace and Susie Revels Cayton Scholarship ($4,500) and the Sally Heet Memorial Scholarship (up to $4,500) to Washington State students, with a June 15, 2026 deadline on its scholarships page.
• PRSA Oklahoma City offers up to two merit scholarships of $1,500 for the 2026-2027 academic year and a $500 award to an Oklahoma PRSSA chapter, whose applications were due September 30, 2026, per the chapter page.
• PRSA Chicago awards four $2,500 Michelle Flowers fellowships, each with a summer internship at a Chicago agency or company, to full-time students at Illinois four-year colleges.
• The Emerald Coast Public Relations organization offers $1,000 scholarships to graduating seniors with a 3.75 GPA in Okaloosa, Walton and Santa Rosa counties, Florida who plan to study PR, communication, marketing or journalism, with a March 15, 2027 deadline on the organization's announcement.

Which PR scholarships and fellowships are for journalism students?

Journalism awards suit students who may move between reporting and communications work, and two stand out. Both pay for experience as well as tuition.

The Dow Jones News Fund summer 2027 program pays a $1,500 scholarship, a weekly salary of at least $525 for at least 10 weeks, and paid training, according to the News Fund's application page. Its application deadline was November 11, 2026, so it has closed for this cycle.

The Ed Bradley Fellowship at the NYU Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute is free for admitted students and open to U.S. college students who completed their freshman year by summer 2027. The deadline is March 1, 2027, per NYU's fellowship page.

Which awards are for specific groups, schools or regions?

Several PR awards are limited to a community, a university or a state. The Hispanic Public Relations Association awarded $10,000 in scholarships in 2026, with applications open April 1 to June 20, 2026, according to its scholarships page. Its Roshana Gossoff Memorial Scholarship is $1,500 for an undergraduate at Florida International University.

The Future Communicators Foundation funds agency scholarships at named universities, such as the FINN Partners award for senior PR undergraduates at Florida A&M University, so check whether your school is a partner. The University of Alabama's Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations lists the John W. Felton Endowed Scholarship, which gives two awards a year to Alabama PR students, on its awards page.

What do PR scholarship applications ask for?

PR scholarship applications usually ask for a transcript, a resume and a recommendation, and some add essays or work samples. The sponsor pages read for this guide listed these items.

• A current academic transcript and a resume (LAGRANT, PRSA Memphis, PRSA Houston, Dow Jones News Fund).
• A recommendation letter from a faculty member, adviser or internship supervisor, up to two pages for the Ofield Dukes award and signed on letterhead for LAGRANT.
• A cover letter or intro video, a LinkedIn profile link and up to three PR work samples (Axia Public Relations Scholarship).
• A career goals essay and a response on underrepresented groups in the industry (LAGRANT).

The PRSA Houston application states that AI use is not permitted, so write every answer yourself.

What is the PR scholarship application calendar?

The PR scholarship calendar below separates deadlines that sponsors have confirmed for 2027 from windows that are only expected from last cycle's dates. Expected windows are not deadlines, so check each sponsor's page before planning.

How do you apply for a PR scholarship?

Applying for a PR scholarship starts with the sponsor's own page, because deadlines and rules change each cycle. Follow these steps.

1. Join PRSSA early if you are an undergraduate, because several PRSA Foundation awards require membership.
2. Open the sponsor's official page and note the cycle year printed beside the deadline.
3. Gather the transcript, resume, recommendation letter and work samples the page lists.
4. Read the rules on AI use, page limits and submitting everything together before you write.
5. Submit before the deadline, or before the early bonus date where one exists, and keep the confirmation.

Students still choosing a school can compare the best PR and communications schools, the PR degrees compared by major and the master's in public relations cost guide. Students building experience can use the PR internships guide, the PR internship pay data and the list of entry-level PR jobs. The full education coverage and Everything-PR research are on the site.

Details

• Scope: PR, communications and journalism scholarships and fellowships open to U.S. students.
• Last reviewed: November 14, 2026.
• Sources: sponsor pages at lagrantfoundation.org, nywici.org, ecpro.org, prsafoundation.org, prsa.org, prsapugetsound.org, prsaokc.com, hprausa.org, futurecomms.org, dowjonesnewsfund.org, journalism.nyu.edu and plankcenter.ua.edu.