July 15, 2011, deadline for Lilly Scholarships in Religion applications

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO JULY 15th!

June 2, 2011
Contact: Amy Schiska
573-355-5201 ext. 3#
Schiska@RNA.org

Study Islam, Religion and Politics, War, Theology—on us!

Journalists, editors eligible for $5,000 scholarships for religion courses

(Columbia, Mo.) — RELIGION | NEWSWRITERS invites journalists, regardless of beat, to apply to its Lilly Scholarships in Religion Program. The scholarships give full-time journalists up to $5,000 to take college religion and spirituality courses.

With religion headlines taking center stage, now is the perfect time to dig deeper into today’s hottest religion stories. More than 200 people have already taken advantage of RELIGION | NEWSWRITERS’ Lilly Scholarships in Religion Program for Journalists.

Some topics reporters have studied include: Islamic Movements, God & Politics, Early Christianity and Western Culture, Religious Tradition and Scientific Inquiry, Buddhism and Science, Violence and Liberation and Religion and Medicine.

"I have had three exciting opportunities to study religion through a Lilly Scholarship, and each time I believe it has made me a more well-rounded reporter, and a more understanding person. The scholarship program is allowing me to further my religious studies in a way that would not otherwise be possible,” said Bridget Brown, A News (a division of CTVGlobemedia).

The scholarships can be used at accredited colleges, universities, seminaries or similar institutions. Journalists can take any religion course they choose. Scholarships cover tuition, books, registration fees, parking and other course-related costs. Online and travel classes are also eligible (as long as travel costs are a part of the curriculum).

All full-time journalists—including reporters, editors, designers, copy editors, editorial writers, news directors, researchers and producers—are eligible, regardless of their beat.

The next scholarship application deadline is July 15, 2011. Scholarships must be used within three academic quarters of their award date. Only full-time journalists working in the general circulation news media are eligible.

RELIGION | NEWSWRITERS is the world’s only journalism association for people who write about religion in the mainstream news media. The scholarships are offered through its non-profit arm, the Religion Newswriters Foundation, with funding from the Lilly Endowment, Inc.

Complete information about the Lilly Scholarships in Religion program is available at http://bit.ly/j8MOOg For questions, contact Amy Schiska at 573-355-5201 ext. 3#, or Schiska@RNA.org.

RELIGION | NEWSWRITERS offers training and tools to help journalists cover religion with balance, accuracy and insight. Visit www.RNA.org to learn more about our RELIGION | LINK story ideas, Religion stylebook and primer, contests for religion reporting, annual conference and more.

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