A New Milestone in Newmark J-School’s Efforts to Become Tuition-Free
New York, NY — August 21, 2024 — The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York is proud to announce that more than two-thirds of the incoming Class of 2025 — who arrived on campus yesterday — will attend tuition-free.
The school surpassed its goal to eliminate tuition for half of the Class of 2025, awarding almost $2 million in scholarships. This milestone signals an achievement in its ongoing campaign to become tuition-free — an effort made possible by a launch gift of $10 million from Craig Newmark Philanthropies, a matching gift from the City University of New York, and philanthropic support from many other donors, including the Ford Foundation, the Charles H. Revson Foundation, the Lorana Sullivan Foundation, the Hearst Foundations, Reuters, the New York Community Trust, and longstanding endowments.
After waiving the application fee and announcing the tuition-free campaign, the school saw a 50 percent increase in applications this year. The Class of 2025 will be one of the school’s largest and most diverse cohorts. Over 60 percent are students of color, more than 80 percent are domestic students, 51 percent are New York residents, a third are first-generation Americans, and almost 30 percent are graduates of CUNY and SUNY colleges.
“In less than a year, we have grown tremendously, breaking fundraising records and reaching our enrollment goals. Our students will have more opportunities to succeed at a challenging time in our profession, and to find the paths forward for the news industry,” said Graciela Mochkofsky, Dean of the Newmark J-School. “We are providing essential support to emerging journalists and media entrepreneurs who will have the freedom to take risks and to experiment, because they will not be burdened by debt.”
Founded in 2006, the Newmark J-School has demonstrated a strong commitment to removing financial obstacles for journalism students — a mission in lockstep with the greater City University of New York, which serves as a powerful engine of social mobility.
“The success of our Graduate School of Journalism in opening the doors of opportunity to a greater number of students reflects the hard work we do to make good on CUNY’s mission to provide access to higher education to everyone, regardless of means,” said Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “Providing the finest training to journalists who fully reflect our country’s magnificent diversity stands to bolster the field at a time when its enterprise and purpose have become more vital than ever. CUNY commends Dean Mochkofsky and her team for their efforts and extends gratitude to Craig Newmark Philanthropies and all our philanthropic partners whose support makes this possible.”
The Newmark J-School’s tuition-free campaign, launched in January, aims to raise enough funds to build a scholarship endowment that will help cover the tuition costs of all its students in perpetuity. This initiative is the signature element in an ongoing capital campaign leading to the celebration of the school’s 20th anniversary in 2026. Other funds raised will be used to establish new endowed chairs and several programs to innovate around new technologies, rebuild public trust in the news media, train journalists to be safe in an increasingly adversarial environment, and prepare business leaders to lead local news organizations.
Learn more about the tuition-free campaign and read an op-ed from Dean Graciela Mochkofsky in The New York Times.
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About the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY
The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, founded in 2006, is a public graduate journalism school based in the heart of New York City. With affordable tuition and extensive scholarship support, it prepares students from diverse economic, racial, and cultural backgrounds to produce high-quality journalism. The school offers 16-month master’s degree programs: M.A. in Journalism, M.A. in Engagement Journalism, and M.A. in Journalism – Bilingual Program (English/Spanish). Through the school’s J+ division, which offers a suite of executive training programs, the J-School trains seasoned journalists to reimagine news business models, build news products, and step into leadership roles with an entrepreneurial mindset. The Newmark J-School is also home to four unique centers and initiatives: the McGraw Center for Business Journalism; the Center for Community Media; the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism; and the Journalism Protection Initiative.