Columbia Central

Diana King Memorial Scholarship

For continuing undergraduate and graduate students

The Diana King Memorial Scholarship was established to assist in defraying tuition costs for students studying within Columbia College Chicago's School of Film and Television who demonstrate academic merit and financial need.

Deadline to Apply: February 01, 2025

• How to Apply

  Visit Internal Scholarships and click on APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS to access the Diana King Memorial Scholarship application. Only complete scholarship applications submitted by the deadline will be reviewed by the scholarship committee.

  Please follow all directions carefully. Students must submit the following materials to make a complete Diana King Memorial Scholarship application. There are two parts to the application:

  PART 1: ESSAY

  In a 500-word essay, describe how the medium of television has influenced your choice of major and career goals, and in what ways you hope to have an impact on the industry and society with your work.

  Your essay must be double-spaced and include your name and MyColumbia ID number in the upper right-hand corner of each page.

  Upload your response in .pdf, .doc, or .docx format.

  PART 2: FAFSA SUBMISSION SUMMARY

  A current FAFSA Submission Summary must be on file. To receive a FAFSA Submission Summary, students must complete a 2025-26 financial aid application (FAFSA) by February 1, 2025.
  
  

  Access online applications through Internal Scholarships.

• About Diana King

  The Diana King Memorial Foundation Scholarship was named in memory of the Charles and Lucille King Family Foundation's founder and longtime President and Chair, an outstanding philanthropist recognized for her commitment to educational opportunities in television, film and other media, who passed away in 2019. Since 1990, the Foundation has granted scholarship awards to undergraduate students with a focus in film, television and related media/communications studies, and as part of a streamlining of its operations has chosen to provide endowment grants to those schools who have historically provided the Foundation with the largest number of scholarship winners, to allow for their continued awarding of scholarships recognizing excellence in these disciplines.

  Diana King grew up in the world of television, a daughter of the late Charles King (who founded King World Productions in 1964) and his wife Lucille King.  King World became the leading distributor of television syndicated programming in the United States, including such iconic series as The Little Rascals, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Inside Edition and Dr. Phil.  Diana began working in the accounting department of the family business in 1972, and at the time of King World's acquisition by the CBS Corporation in 2000 served as Executive Vice President, Corporate Secretary and Director.

  Diana established the Foundation in 1988 to support individuals and organizations committed to educational excellence and professional development, in particular film, television and other media. During her 30-year tenure as Board Chair and President, the Foundation awarded hundreds of scholarships to students with a focus in film, television and related media/communications studies at colleges and universities around the country, in many instances to individuals who would have been financially unable to continue their studies without this assistance.  In addition, the Foundation has acted as a longtime sponsor of programs at several leading cultural and educational institutions around the country.

• Scholarship Terms
  
  

  • Application must be submitted by February 1, 2025 (11:59 pm) for review by the committee
  • Award amount is up to $3,500, awarded half in Fall and half in Spring
  • Scholarship is applied toward tuition only
  • Students' scholarships that are applied toward tuition may not exceed the amount of their tuition costs
  • Recipients must maintain full-time enrollment during the 2025-26 academic year
  • Graduate students enrolled in a 0 credit hour thesis continuance course are not eligible to receive award
  • Recipients who graduate in Fall 2025 may be reviewed to receive the full scholarship amount in Fall 2025
  • Recipients must have submitted all outstanding documents to Columbia Central before the scholarship can be disbursed. Students can review missing documents in the MyColumbia portal under MyFinancials
  • Scholarship may be used toward a study abroad program through one of Columbia's student exchange programs, excluding Summer sessions. Please note: Recipients who enroll in an independent study abroad program will forfeit their scholarship during the semester spent abroad
  • The rules and regulations governing other sources of financial aid (federal, state, institutional and other grants, gifts, or loans) will apply
  • Columbia College Chicago reserves the right to withhold the award in any year in which, at the sole discretion of the scholarship committee, suitable candidates cannot be found among applicants

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