journalism-fellowship

Application Deadline: April 15 2013

The Knight Science Journalism program at MIT will offer a new kind of Fellowship during the 2013-2014 academic year to add to the traditional 12 Fellows who come to Cambridge to study for the academic year at MIT and Harvard. This new Fellowship is intended to produce a publishable product instead of coming only to study.

The proposed projects should combine in some way science journalism and digital media. The product at the end of the year should be something tangible such as a video, audio, or digital piece or a written work if the subject includes or can be published in some digital form. Collaborations with news organizations are strongly encouraged.

The requirements of the Fellowship will be to work at least partly in Cambridge, to attend some seminars of the Knight Fellowship, and to present updates on the project to the director and the other Knight Fellows. The final project should be completed by May 30, 2014.

The length of the Fellowship is up to nine months starting in August 2013.  A stipend based on your proposed project, project expenses and the length on the project will be determined once the project is chosen.

View the Project Fellowship applications instructions for a detailed list of application requirements.

Application requirements:

A) Online Application form. Application deadline: April 15, 2013.

Please email your subsequent materials, listed below, to [email protected] with “Project Fellowship” in the Subject field.

B) Professional autobiography: Tell us about your professional life, with specific attention to any experiences that have prepared you to execute your proposed project. Not to exceed 750 words.

C) Résumé or curriculum vitae: Be sure to include your education and work history.

D) Project proposal: Describe your project, its goals, and how you plan to execute it. Include a timetable for completion and a description of your plans for publication. Not to exceed 1200 words.

E) Budget: Provide and estimated budget for your project. This should include travel, specialized equipment or software, contract labor, and any other expenses necessary for the successful completion of the project. Items that are optional depending on available funding can be identified as such.

F) Samples of professional work: Please provide four samples. If your work is in a format that cannot be submitted electronically, please contact us for submission details. Note: mailed submissions will not be returned.

Guidelines for samples:

• Select four works that best show your interests and abilities. Samples that illustrate your command of the skills necessary to complete your proposed project are especially desirable.

• If work is available online, we prefer you provide a PDF (for print), an .mp3 (for audio) or an .mp4 (for video) in addition to the URL for each work sample.
• If original work is not in English, English translations are required for all works.
• Editors/Producers/Directors should indicate their involvement in the piece.
• For series, send only the first and last pieces, with a brief outline of other items in the series.
• For books, submit one chapter. (PDF files preferred.)
• For audio/visual, submit a sample (or samples) with a total running time of up to 40 minutes. If samples are submitted on a CD or DVD, please include a written manuscript or synopsis indicating where each item (program, story or segment) begins. Please contact us first before sending CDs or DVDs. For online submissions, .mp3 or .mp4 files are preferred. Please contact us for details on how to upload your samples.
• For photography/graphics, submit published works in context or as unmounted printouts. (For electronic submissions, JPG or GIF files preferred.)

G) Two Letters of Recommendation:

• Letters should be from individuals familiar with your work, commenting on your abilities and your commitment to journalism.

Letters may be emailed to [email protected], and should come directly from the recommender, not from the applicant. Letters must reach us by April 15. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure that the recommenders submit their letters of recommendation to us by the April 15 deadline.

All application materials must be received by April 15:

Please email materials, with “Project Fellowship” in the Subject field, to: [email protected].

We prefer PDF files, but if you are unable to send a PDF we also accept DOC or TXT files.

We have a dropbox for submitting large audio or video files. We prefer .mp3 for audio and .mp4 for video files. However, we do accept most other formats. Please contact [email protected] for details and dropbox URL.

If you cannot—or prefer not—to email your application materials, we’ll happily accept mailed copies. Make sure they reach us by April 15, 2013. Please contact us first before sending CDs or DVDs.

To send by US Mail use this address:

Knight Science Journalism at MIT
MIT E19-623, 77 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139

To send by Fed Ex, UPS or DHL use this address:

Knight Science Journalism at MIT
MIT E19-623, 400 Main St.
Cambridge, MA 02142

617-452-3513
[email protected]

Selection process:

The Project Fellow will be selected by a panel of leading journalists and MIT faculty. All application materials must be received by April 15. Finalists will be chosen in mid-May and interviewed by telephone. Winners will be announced by early June.

A few things everyone should be aware of when they apply for our Project Fellowship

If you are selected as a Project Fellow:

• You will need to pay for you and your family’s travel to and from Boston.

• Your housing search should begin early! We’ll share information from previous Knight Fellows and apartment listings, but securing an apartment is your responsibility.

• Before signing a lease or sending any money for an apartment either see it in person or have someone you know and trust, like a friend or relative in the area, check it out for you.

• Housing in the Cambridge area is expensive. To finalize a rental agreement, it is often required that a person pay their first and last month’s rent, plus a security deposit of one month’s rent. MIT’s International Scholars website has information everyone should read about housing, utilities, and food prices in Cambridge.

• The Project Fellow will receive a stiped based on the project’s length and expenses. The stipend amount will not exceed $65,000 over a 9-month period. If you are selected as a Project Fellow, your first stipend payment will be on August 31. Unfortunately, salary advances and loans are not possible.

• FOR INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS: If you are selected as a FINALIST, please make sure that you and your family’s passports are current. The visa process must begin immediately after the Fellows are selected, and that process cannot start without a valid passport.