Bursaries totaling £240,000 are being offered to aspiring science journalists to encourage diversity in journalism.

The Association of British Science Writers has teamed up with the Wellcome Trust to make the cash available over three years.

Bursaries are available to anyone with an interest and aptitude for science who wishes to undertake a postgraduate journalism course either part or full time.

A key aim of the scheme is to increase diversity in the science media and boost the numbers of women and people from poorer and ethnic backgrounds in the industry.

Scheme manager Toby Murcott said: "Lack of diversity is not just true of science journalism, but journalism in general.

"A study conducted by the Journalism Forum showed that 96 per cent of journalists were white and that journalism was increasingly becoming middle and upper-middle class."

Application packs for the scheme are available from the ABSW at the ABSW website, with a closing date of May 31.

Candidates will be required to show their knowledge of science, flair for communication and need for financial support through the application and interview process. Final decisions will be made by the end of July.

Seven full time bursaries of £10,000 to cover course fees and living expenses are available. Three part-time bursaries of £3,333 are available to cover course fees and other associated costs of part-time study.

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