The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York announced on Thursday a $10 million inaugural gift from Craig Newmark Philanthropies (CNP), putting it on a pioneering route toward free tuition for all of its students.
The gift brings the Newmark J-School’s core endowment to $30 million, allowing half of the class to study for free beginning in August 2025. The school hopes to raise an additional $30 million in donations by the end of 2026, its 20th anniversary year, to become the first top-tier graduate journalism school in the United States to give entirely free tuition in perpetuity to its entire student body.
“If we believe journalism is public service, a service that is essential to our democracy, then we need to eliminate the barriers that stand between the people who want to go into journalism and a successful career in news media,” said Graciela Mochkofsky, dean of the “The first obstacle is a lack of access to a good journalism education, and the Newmark J-School is committed to leading the way in removing it. Our embattled industry and profession require it.
As part of its efforts to improve access, Newmark J-School took a historic step this year by providing full-tuition scholarships to 25% of the Class of 2024, with the remaining 65% receiving partial scholarships. This year, for the first time, the school waived application fees for the incoming Class of 2025, allowing students to apply regardless of socioeconomic status.
The Newmark J-School benefits the public by training aspiring journalists from diverse economic, racial, and cultural backgrounds and providing much-needed diversity to newsrooms. Founded in 2006, as the digital revolution began to transform the news industry, the school’s curriculum is constantly evolving as AI and other emerging technologies continue to disrupt the media environment and journalists’ profession.
In 2018, Craig Newmark Philanthropies gave $20 million to the school’s foundation. In recognition of the contribution, the CUNY Board of Trustees renamed the institution after Craig Newmark in 2019.
“Trustworthy journalism plays a crucial role in protecting our country from bad actors at home and abroad,” said Craig Newmark, Web pioneer and founder of the website Craigslist. “Now, more than ever, we rely on the media to tell the truth, hold the powerful accountable, and provide knowledge that empowers our communities. No school is better than CUNY’s Graduate School of Journalism at preparing the next generation of journalists to take on this role. For nearly 200 years, CUNY has provided a path to the middle class for students like myself. A tuition-free CUNY Journalism School allows students from all backgrounds to pursue careers in journalism, while also ensuring that our local and national media outlets reflect the communities journalists serve.”
As part of the City University of New York, the city’s main engine of social mobility and civic participation, the Newmark J-School prioritizes local news coverage. Its programs include a unique engagement journalism program, a community media center that supports immigrants and people of color, and a ground-breaking effort that teaches journalists bilingual in both Spanish and English to change the narrative around Latino communities.
“CUNY’s excellent Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism attracts smart and diverse students from all socioeconomic backgrounds. The university’s Chancellor, Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, stated that this significant gift will expand opportunities. “Kudos to Dean Mochkofsky and her team for the hard work they’ve done to deepen the school’s impact as it approaches two decades of service, and many thanks to Craig Newmark Philanthropies for its generous and sustained support, which has meant so much to the School, its students and the communities these future journalists will go on to cover.”
The tuition-free project at Newmark J-School is the centerpiece of a larger capital drive commemorating the school’s twentieth anniversary. Other funds raised will be used to achieve goals such as creating new endowed chairs and initiatives to innovate around new technologies, restoring public trust in the news media, training journalists to be safe in an increasingly hostile environment, and preparing business leaders to lead local news organizations.