About

The CSPA Summer Journalism Workshop is a one-week skills program for high school student journalists, organized by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and hosted on Columbia University's campus in New York City. CSPA itself is one of the oldest student press associations in the world, founded in 1925 with a mission to support scholastic journalism through education, critique, and awards — it administers the prestigious Crown Awards, widely considered one of the top honors in high school journalism. The Summer Workshop is its annual training arm, now in its 45th year, offering sequences in reporting and writing, editorial leadership, digital media, broadcast journalism, and design. Students register for one sequence and attend daily sessions across the week, building skills alongside student journalists from across the country and internationally.

The in-person format includes the full Columbia campus experience: residential housing, gym access, media visits around New York City, and a Broadway show excursion, all included in the activities fee. The virtual format covers the same instructional sequences in a condensed remote schedule. Both formats are taught by working journalists and scholastic press educators rather than Columbia faculty — the Columbia affiliation is institutional and organizational rather than academic. No credit is awarded and admissions are not merit-based; students register rather than apply.

The workshop is best understood as a practical skill-building program for students who are already engaged with their school's journalism program and want a concentrated week of instruction with peers who share that focus — not a prestige credential comparable to Medill Cherubs or a selective editorial fellowship. For that student, the Columbia setting, national peer community, and CSPA's deep institutional roots in scholastic journalism make it a well-regarded and worthwhile choice.