Scholarships & Funding Resources

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Scholarship for students engaged in documentary projects that have a humanitarian focus as their subject. Scholarships of up to $3,000 will be awarded.

Funds can be used for:

• travel
• living requirements
• equipment or
• other incurred expenses related to the project 

Considerations:

• Both Undergraduate and Graduate applications will be considered.
• Students must be enrolled for the duration of their project, including for the upcoming Fall 2023 semester. 
• Applicants will be selected based on:
  • quality of previous work
  • recommendation from faculty
  • clarity of idea
  • relevance to the mission of the scholarship
  • feasibility of proposed project
  • academic standing
• Projects that have been developed past the initial idea stage will carry greater weight than others, though all projects will be considered.
• Priority will be given to projects that fulfill requirements for a degree.
• Upon completion of the project, grantees must submit the finished work to a faculty committee. 

Apply here.

Provides funding to support undergraduate and graduate film projects related to their degree requirements in RTF.  Scholarships of up to $1,500 will be awarded.

Funds can be used for:

• travel
• living requirements
• equipment or
• other incurred expenses related to the project 

Considerations:

• Both Undergraduate and Graduate applications will be considered. 
• Students must be enrolled for the duration of their project, to include the upcoming Fall 2023 semester. 
• Applicants will be selected based on:
  • quality of previous work
  • recommendation from faculty (selection committee will reach out to instructor named in the application for input on the quality of applicant’s past work.)
  • clarity of idea
  • feasibility of proposed project
  • academic standing
  • financial need
  • creative vision
• Projects that have been developed past the initial idea stage will carry greater weight than others, though all projects will be considered.
• Priority will be given to projects that fulfill requirements for a degree.
• Upon completion of the project, grantees must submit the finished work to a faculty committee.  

Apply here.

Provides $1,000 scholarships to undergraduate Texas residents seeking a degree in RTF.

• Funds can be used for:
  • travel
  • living requirements
  • equipment or other incurred expenses related to the project 
• Considerations:
  • Only Undergraduate applications will be considered.
  • Students must be enrolled for the duration of their project, to include the upcoming Fall 2023 semester. 
  • Applicants will be selected based on:
    • quality of previous work
    • recommendation from faculty
    • clarity of idea
    • feasibility of proposed project
    • academic standing
    • creative vision
  • Projects that have been developed past the initial idea stage will carry greater weight than others, though all projects will be considered.
  • Priority will be given to projects that fulfill requirements for a degree.
  • Upon completion of the project, grantees must submit the finished work to a faculty committee.

Apply here.

Provides $1,000 scholarships to undergraduate Texas residents seeking a degree in RTF, with a focus on documentary filmmaking.

• Funds can be used for:
  • travel
  • living requirements
  • equipment or
  • other incurred expenses related to the project 
• Considerations:
  • Only Undergraduate applications will be considered.
  • Students must be enrolled for the duration of their project, to include the upcoming Fall 2023 semester. 
  • Applicants will be selected based on:
    • quality of previous work
    • recommendation from faculty
    • clarity of idea
    • feasibility of proposed project
    • academic standing
    • creative vision
  • Projects that have been developed past the initial idea stage will carry greater weight than others, though all projects will be considered.
  • Priority will be given to projects that fulfill requirements for a degree.
  • Upon completion of the project, grantees must submit the finished work to a faculty committee.

Apply here.

Provides $1250 in financial support for undergraduate prospective professional editors.

Read more about Christopher Palmer.

• Funds cannot be used for tuition or fees.
• Instead, financial support can be used for:
  • professional training
  • purchase of software or equipment
  • travel support to an approved editing or post-production internship
  • competition application fees and festival submission fees
• Considerations:
  • Only undergraduate applications will be considered.
  • Students must be enrolled in the upcoming Fall 2023 semester.
  • Preference will be given to Junior and Senior students with an interest in a career in editing
  • Grantees must be enrolled for the duration of their proposed project and provide receipts for all covered expenses.
  • Completion or current enrollment in RTF 346, Introduction to Editing, is suggested, but not required.
  • Applicants will be selected based on:
    • quality of sample work provided
    • faculty recommendation
    • clarity and feasibility of the spending plan, and the grant's likely impact on the applicant’s career.
    • academic standing

Apply here.

Financial support for graduate student projects related to narrative or documentary film work or photojournalism. Grantees shall be selected based on academic merit and creative vision.

• Stipends can be used for:
  • travel
  • living requirements
  • equipment or other incurred expenses related to the project 
• Considerations:
  • Only Graduate student applications will be considered. 
  • Students must be enrolled for the duration of their project, including the upcoming Fall 2023 semester. 
  • Applicants will be selected based on:
    • quality of previous work
    • recommendation from faculty
    • clarity of idea
    • feasibility of proposed project
    • academic standing
    • financial need
    • creative vision
  • Projects that have been developed past the initial idea stage will carry greater weight than others, though all projects will be considered.
  • Priority will be given to projects that fulfill requirements for a degree.
  • Upon completion of the project, grantees must submit the finished work to a faculty committee.  

Apply

Provides funds for professional development to students who are concentrating in narrative screenwriting and demonstrate the potential for professional excellence.
Scholarships for up to $2,000 will be awarded.

RTF celebrates excellence in screenwriting by annually awarding the Robert Foshko Memorial Scholarship. Two students will receive a stipend for professional development.  Open to both graduate and undergraduate students.  Both original television pilots and feature films are eligible. 

The award was renamed in 2017 in honor of longtime RTF screenwriting professor, Robert Foshko. For nearly three decades, two-time Emmy winner Robert Foshko taught screenwriting and television production at UT’s Department of Radio-TV and Film.

During that time, he established RTF’s screenwriting curriculum, launched its graduate writing program, was a founding member of the Michener Center for Writers, and fundamentally advanced the television production curriculum to meet the rigorous and competitive standards of the business and creative practice of television. In so doing, he influenced and guided the education and careers of countless screenwriting and television students along the way.

Bob and his wife Sally established this scholarship to help support the kinds of screenwriting students he taught and mentored so well during his many years of service at the University of Texas at Austin.

Considerations:

• Both Undergraduate and Graduate applications will be considered. 
• Scripts must have been written for an RTF screenwriting course during the 2022 Spring semester or later.
• Only feature-length screenplays and TV pilot scripts qualify. No TV specs will be considered.
• Scripts must not have been previously submitted for past Longhorn Showcase Script Competition or Robert Foshko Memorial Screenwriting Scholarship consideration.
• Winners of previous Longhorn Showcase Script Competitions and Robert Foshko Memorial Screenwriting Scholarship are ineligible.
• Course instructor approval is required.
• One writer may submit multiple scripts; however, each submission requires a separate application.

*Note: In addition to the Bob Foshko Memorial Scholarship in Screenwriting, RTF juniors and seniors who've written a script for an RTF screenwriting course may apply for the Todd Milam Schulze Memorial Scholarship in Screenwriting, administered by the Texas Exes. Please note that the deadline to apply for this scholarship is typically earlier than the RTF department scholarship deadlines.