United States: 2020-21 Knight Science Journalism (KSJ) Project Fellowships

Deadline: 30-Jun-2020

Applications are now open for the 2020-21 Knight Science Journalism (KSJ) Project Fellowships.

In the interim, and in keeping with Knight Science Journalism (KSJ) core mission of supporting science journalism, they will be awarding up to 20 KSJ Project Fellowships for the 2020-21 academic year.

These fellowships, open to U.S. residents only, are designed to support independently conceived projects — books, investigations, documentaries — and they will be awarded for varying durations over the course of the upcoming academic year, from September 2020 to May 2021.

Candidates will be asked to apply for one of three forms of fellowship support:

A nine-month, $40,000 fellowship running from September 2020 thru May 2021
A four-month, $20,000 fellowship running from September 2020 thru December 2020
A four-month, $20,000 fellowship running from February, 2021 thru May 2021

There is no requirement for project fellows to be based in Cambridge. Fellows may choose the appropriate location for their work. But each fellowship will grant awardees remote access to MIT’s university libraries and their vast trove of journal and database materials. And all appointments will include up to $5,000 in additional support for research-related expenses, such as travel or equipment.

Project Fellowship

Projects must be based in science journalism. In terms of story-telling approaches, they may include, but are not limited to, in-depth or investigative reporting work in any medium — including online, print, audio, video, and data visualization. Book research and explorations of innovative new approaches to science storytelling are also eligible. Projects may address the Covid-19 pandemic, though this is not required.
The fellowship is open to both freelance and staff journalists, and applicants may propose individual work or work that requires support from collaborators. However, the stipend will be awarded to the individual, not the institution, and the selection committee will lean more favorably toward projects proposed and planned by the applicant, rather than by a newsroom.
The selected fellows will work with assigned project mentors at the Knight Science Journalism Program for advice, to assure successful completion of progress deadlines, and for support with final deliverables.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for a project fellowship, an applicant must:

Be a U.S. resident.
Have at least three full years of experience covering science, technology, the environment or medicine.
Be reporters, writers, editors, producers, illustrators, filmmakers, or photojournalists. This includes work for newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and digital media. Applicants may be either staff or freelance journalists.

For more information, visit https://ksj.mit.edu/ksj-project-fellowships/