Earth Protect Blog

Each summer, the Media Institute for Social Change hosts a dozen college students and teaches them how to produce engaging and effective radio and film documentaries. Students come from across the country, from schools like Princeton, St. Olaf, Colby, Macalester, Whitman, and Reed, to name just a few. All currently-enrolled college students are eligible, including current, about-to-graduate seniors.

The program runs eight weeks—Friday, June 27 through Wednesday, August 13, 2014—and is hosted in Oregon. The city of Portland is a young, vibrant, and progressive city which serves as a hands-on laboratory for students to produce radio and video documentaries about “local solutions to global issues”—whether that means a radio program about local food production, or a video documentary about providing mental health services to returning soldiers.

The program is a mix of hardcore classroom academics and a hands-on production house. It is a potent recipe that helps students mature their passions into practical job skills, and in the process, produce a series of professional-quality radio and video documentaries. We work with award-winning filmmakers, radio personalities, and local politicos to teach about how media projects can effectively bring about positive social change.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Priority will be given to students whose applications are received by April 15,
2014. Applications are available at MediaMakingChange.org.

Tuition for the program is $1750. A limited number of scholarships is available to help pay for travel and living expenses. The Media Institute wants to make certain that there are no financial barriers to attendance. All attending students are eligible for homestays. Academic credit can be arranged through Portland State University.

Do you know a student who may be interested? For more information and for an application, please visit MediaMakingChange.org.