In past years the foundation has offered studentships at a prominent British university or business school leading to a master’s degree in some aspect of finance or economics. At present the foundation supports two MA courses in financial journalism at City University of London and New York University.

City University of London

The Marjorie Deane foundation funds studentships for City University of London’s MA course in financial journalism. From September 2017, up to four students will be backed each year by the new Marjorie Deane Intellectual Excellence Scholarships, which will cover course fees in full. The funding will also contribute to living expenses for scholarship students in financial need. For more information about these awards, including details of how to apply for them, please contact City University of London’s Department of Journalism.

The foundation also funds the Marjorie Deane Professorship in Financial Journalism at City, the first holder of which was Steve Schifferes.

New York University

The foundation provides funding for scholarships on NYU’s MA programme in business and economic reporting, an annual Marjorie Deane Lecture and Dinner held in New York and for a summer school visit to London for the students on the course. Prospective students should contact NYU for more information about scholarship awards funded by the foundation.

The foundation also funds the Marjorie Deane Professorship in Financial Journalism at NYU, the current holder of which is Stephen Solomon.

The Marjorie Deane Summer School

In addition, the foundation also provides funding for the Marjorie Deane Summer School. This involves residential trips to study journalism in other parts of the world. On the summer school programme students from City University of London currently visit New York and Shanghai and students from New York University visit London and Shanghai. In the future, the trustees hope that the summer school will be extended to include students at Fudan University in Shanghai, to enable them to make a study visit to London.

More information about the Marjorie Deane Summer School can be found on its website.

The foundation also used to sponsor masters courses in economics and finance. This scheme is now closed.

Testimonials

Amy Borrett (Studentship, City University of London)

“Having decided that I wanted to work in financial journalism, the course at City was the obvious choice to gain some experience, learn from leading professionals and to make great industry contacts. The course has invaluable preparation for working in the industry, providing a firm grounding in business reporting as well as the fundamentals of journalism. It has undoubtedly helped me to access a range of exciting opportunities at media outlets such as the Financial Times, New Statesman and Sky News.”

LaToya Harding (Studentship, City University of London)

“I have always had an interest in journalism and being at the forefront of reporting news. After the EU Referendum vote and the outcome of the US Presidential election I knew there was no better time to be a journalist in London, right in the eye of the storm. Before starting my Financial Journalism MA at City, University of London I had a strong business background – after majoring in accounts and finance in my undergraduate business degree and going on to running my own company. However, I had no specific journalism experience prior to starting. The course has helped me to deepen my knowledge of finance, business and economics and I am now able to put this into rigorous reporting. I am extremely thankful to the Marjorie Deane Foundation for providing financial support, which has in turn enabled me to fully focus on getting the most out of the course and developing my skills across various media platforms.”

Tom Metcalf (Studentship, City University of London)

“The Marjorie Deane Financial Journalism Foundation helped me take my first steps into the world of journalism, something I had hankered for after several years working in the City of London. It supported me through my Master’s in Financial Journalism at City University, London, giving me the time and freedom to make the most of the course.

It was a privilege to be associated with the foundation, and the skills, contacts and experience I acquired as a result saw me land a job at Bloomberg in London covering the world’s billionaires. Thanks Marjorie!”

Sarah Marquer (Studentship, City University of London)

“Without a doubt, there is no way I could have attended City University London to study financial journalism had it not been for the studentship that I received from the Marjorie Deane Financial Journalism Foundation.

The support that the foundation gave me was invaluable because it allowed me to pursue my Master’s degree while also continuing to work as a freelance journalist. Through the various individuals that I met over the course of the school year in London—either via the university or my various freelance jobs—I was able to land my dream job.

At the end of March I will join Bloomberg TV as a producer inLondon, and could not be more excited. In this position, I will be able to apply what I have learned as a business journalist and an analyst in the financial services sector over the course of five years in Cairo as well as the skills I was fortunate enough to acquire at City University.

If not for the support of the foundation, I would not have been able to move to the bustling, busy and exciting city that is London, nor pursue a Master’s degree at City University, nor land the dream job I have long been hoping and working for. It’s true that you cannot get by without a lot of hard work, sweat and tears, but help from various individuals and organisations is just as important, especially in a niche field like financial journalism.

And one small shout out to my colleagues—this is what financial journalism students can produce when they receive just a little help and support: http://www.citybudget2012.com.”

Benjamin Lewy (University of Oxford)

“When I was 13 my father bought me a subscription to The Economist and told me that he had learned more from reading it over the years than he had from the schooling he endured over the years. Nine years later, I can say that I owe my education to The Economist too.

“Thanks to the generosity of the Marjorie Deane Financial Journalism Foundation’s studentship, the advert for which I saw in the back pages of The Economist, I was able to take up a place to study for a Master’s degree in economics at Oxford University. I have now started my course and am greatly enjoying having the opportunity to learn more about how economists try to model our financial and monetary systems. I hope to one day play a role in communicating these ideas, and am incredibly grateful to the foundation for having allowed me to continue my education.”

Dan Brown (Studentship, University of Oxford)

“I applied for the foundation studentship frantically in the summer of 2011. I held a place on the MSc Economics for Development at Oxford starting just a few months ahead but had very little funding and had no real idea where I was going to find the rest of the money I needed. Fortunately, I stumbled upon this studentship, and with the incredible generosity of the foundation was able to continue my studies. Those studies have in turn led to my current year as a Special Student at Harvard, and will hopefully lead to the DPhil in Economics back at Oxford next year.

My interest is in development economics. Although I could be studying for a while longer yet, my desire is to report on economic and financial policies in developing countries one day. To this end, I am currently enrolled in writing courses at the Kennedy School of Government. Without the Marjorie Deane Financial Journalism Foundation, the path of postgraduate study would have been closed for me, and I would have been rushed into the real world without the skills I am now learning, ill-equipped to succeed in economic and financial journalism. I cannot express enough my thanks to the foundation.”

Vaishnavi Surendra (Studentship, London School of Economics)

“It was a stroke of luck that I chanced upon a notification for the Marjorie Deane Financial Journalism Foundation’s studentship in the summer of 2011. I was hoping to study economics at the London School of Economics, and thanks to the foundation’s generosity I found myself in a position to do so.

The foundation was extremely supportive and accommodating throughout this journey, and also gave me the opportunity to sit in on an editorial meeting at The Economist, making the experience that much more special. All that I learned, the people I met, and my experiences in London made for a remarkable year.

I am grateful to the foundation and her trustees for their faith in me. Armed with this degree, I am now renewed in my resolve to write about economics and help explain economic phenomena to the world.”

Dana Andreicut (Studentship, London School of Economics)

“On a foundation-sponsored internship at the London School of Economics, Dana Andreicut studied for an MSc in economics and philosophy. Her dissertation is titled, “Is the Perfectly Competitive Market a Morally Free Zone?” Now, she is a Brussels-based research assistant at economics think tank Bruegel. Of her time as a student at the LSE, she says:

“My experience at the LSE was exciting and challenging. It enabled me to explore a variety of academic topics, from microeconomics and econometrics to moral philosophy and rational choice theory. Most of all, it offered me the opportunity to meet intelligent people from all over the world, with whom I could engage in fascinating debates from topics as diverse as philosophy to current affairs. My peer group, together with a highly stimulating academic environment and the fast-paced London atmosphere made my stay at the LSE unforgettable. I am very grateful to the Marjorie Deane Financial Journalism Foundation for giving me this opportunity.”

Elena Egawhary  (Studentship, London School of Economics)

“Quite simply without the support from Marjorie’s foundation I could not do the course at the London School of Economics. To be learning about the regulation of financial markets and corporate and financial crime is fascinating and an absolute gift.

Marjorie´s grant will no doubt make me a better informed journalist and for that I will always be grateful. In return I hope that I will one day be able to go some way to repaying this kindness and belief in my abilities by producing stories which are informative, accurate and in the public interest. It really is difficult to put into words what this scholarship means to me — they simply do not do it justice.”

Daniel Nixon (Studentship, London School of Economics)

“After studying an MPhil in Economics in Cambridge funded by a MDFJF studentship and an MA in Global Studies in Tokyo, I joined the Bank of England in September 2008. As you can imagine, it´s been a pretty interesting time to work at a central bank.

Working in the international economics division, my job involves briefing the Monetary Policy Committee on developments in the world economy, including trying to understand movements in commodity prices–very topical! The work we cover here is fascinating and I´m grateful to Marjorie and the foundation for the opportunities that the studentship has afforded me.”