Columbia Central

Gary Marx Award for Investigative Journalism

for continuing undergraduate students

Students who want to attend the Investigative Reports & Editors Conference (June 19-22, 2025) may apply for funding to cover the costs of their attendance. Participants will be selected by Columbia College Chicago faculty in the Communication department who are familiar with the applicants' bodies of work and professional interests.

Deadline to Apply: April 28, 2025

• How to Apply
  Visit Internal Scholarships and click on APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS to access the Gary Marx Award for Investigative Journalism 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 Gary Marx Award for Investigative Journalism application. There is one part to the application:

  
  PART 1: ESSAY

  In a one- to two-page essay tell the selection committe why you want to participate in this conference, what you plan to do with what you learn; and how this will help you attain your career goals as a journalist.

  Your essay must be double-spaced and must include your name and MyColumbia ID number in the upper right-hand corner of the page. Please upload your response in .pdf, .doc, or .docx format.
  

   

  Access online applications through Internal Scholarships.
• About Gary Marx and David Jackson

  Chicago Tribune reporter David Jackson established this scholarship to honor a trusted colleague and to inspire a new generation of investigative reporters.

  Gary Marx began his career as a war correspondent in Africa, uncovered human rights abuses in Latin America and then returned to Chicago to expose prison murders, local political corruption and sexual violence against public school students.

  David and Gary continue to collaborate on important newsroom projects.

  Investigative reporting only matters if it's done right, and students need firsthand exposure to the methods and ethical standards of top journalists. David also is funding IRE/NICAR training for Columbia College Chicago journalism students, as well as paid internships at the Better Government Association.
  
   

• Scholarship Terms
  • Application must be submitted for priority consideration by April 28, 2025 (11:59 pm) for review by the committee;
  • Award includes funding to cover recipients' costs of conference attendance, including but not limited to conference registration, hotel, and airfare;
  • Recipients must be available to attend the conference June 19-22, 2025. If recipients do not attend the conference, the award will be rescinded;
  • Recipients must be returning to Columbia as undergraduate/graduate students for the Fall 2025 semester;
  • The rules and regulations governing other sources of financial aid (federal, state, institutional and other grants, gifts, or loans) will apply;
  • Columbia 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.

IMPORTANT DATES

More Dates