Published: February 3, 2015

Beginning on February 2, 2015, students entering SJSU’s iSchool in the fall semester will be able to apply for a scholarship using the media platform Pinterest. The brand new Director’s Scholarship for Excellence will award five $1,000 scholarships to students who can illustrate their desire to be an information professional and visualize their future in the field.

School of Information Director Dr. Sandra Hirsh had been looking for a way to provide financial opportunities to new students for some time. She and the iSchool Scholarship Committee are excited to offer this new and creative way for incoming students to express themselves and demonstrate their ability to present ideas using a modern media tool.

If you enjoy putting together Pinterest boards (and I don’t mean the ones with the cute kitten pictures or the samples of Venetian chandeliers you plan to purchase the next time you buy a winning lottery ticket), then this could be just the right format for you.

“The application format is unique and reflects the multimedia environment in which iSchool students work,” says Dr. Cheryl Stenstrom, Scholarship Committee chair. “The idea of a Pinterest board came from a desire for applicants to both be able to use an important and popular social media tool, and to be able to creatively show why they might be the best choice for the award.”

Think using Pinterest for school and for libraries is weird? Think again. It’s a great way to organize visual images, resources, ideas and information. Sure, I’ve got a handful of Pinterest boards dedicated to decorating ideas and fashion, but I’ve also got one entitled “Resources for Writers.” It started out as an iSchool course assignment, but it’s a great resource for my women writers’ group and it gets repinned all the time. Pinterest, and many other social media tools, will be a big part of your graduate school coursework.

“By the time iSchool students graduate,” says Dr. Stenstrom, “they’ve not only gained a thorough professional grounding, they’ve also become experts in using a variety of technical tools and social platforms. These skills, combined with their ability to quickly learn how new tools, can be used make them attractive candidates in the job market. Libraries, information centers and other organizations rely on these tools for sharing, discovering, using and creating information.”

MLIS students who have been accepted for the Fall 2015 semester are eligible to create a Pinterest board and apply. The application period is from February 2, 2015, until May 1, 2015, and winners will be notified after June 1. New Spring 2016 semester students can apply as well, though the application period has not been yet been announced. Applications for Fall 2015 are here. Applicants must have an undergraduate GPA of 3.5 or better.

If you have any questions about the scholarship or the application process, please contact the Student Services Team.

Related Content:

The Many Ways an Online Program Saves You Money

A Record Year for Scholarships at the Information School