The School of Journalism and Mass Communication plans to attract the best and the brightest incoming freshmen to its program with a new scholarship program.

Beginning Fall 2014, JMC will present twelve incoming freshmen — high school students or non-traditional students — with Promising Scholar Awards, which will be renewable for up to four years.

Ten scholarship winners will receive $2,000, and the two highest achieving students will receive $3,000.

“(The scholarship) is one of our efforts to try to help the highest achieving high school students realize that Kent State is a very appealing option for them to consider a journalism major in college,” said Mark Goodman, the chair of the JMC recruiting and retention committee.

Goodman said the school’s desire to attract these students has no reflection upon current students, as they are already high-achievers, garnering national recognition across multiple platforms.

Funding for the award was provided by a number of donors including alumni, industry professionals and JMC Professional Advisory Board members.

The awards were created in order to put JMC on par with other top journalism schools in the country, which have offered significantly more money to incoming freshmen in the past, Goodman said.

“This puts us more on a level playing field with those other schools,“ he said.

Students applying for the award must meet certain requirements to be considered for such an award. He or she must have a resume displaying his or her leadership, present work samples, provide a recommendation letter and write a 750-to-1,000-word essay.

Students may renew their award if they maintain a 3.0 overall GPA and a 3.3 GPA within the JMC school.

“It is fundamentally important for us to be able to attract the nation’s strongest incoming freshman,” said Stephanie Smith, member of the recruiting and retention committee and an assistant professor in JMC. “One of the ways you attract talent to a school is by giving financial support.”

Contact Samantha Tuly at [email protected].