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Knight Science Journalism Program (KSJ)

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Fellowships

Knight Science Journalism Program (KSJ) at MIT 2024 Fellowship for Advancing Science Journalism in Africa and the Middle East

by OFA
written by OFA

Application Deadline: March 1, 2024

Applications are now open for the Fellowship for Advancing Science Journalism in Africa and the Middle East.

This new one-semester fellowship, hosted by the Knight Science Journalism Program (KSJ) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), was inspired by the life and career of Egyptian science journalist Mohammed Yahia. The fellowship was created in partnership with Springer Nature, publisher of Nature Middle East, which grew to be an important contributor to science reporting in the region under Yahia’s leadership from 2010-2023. 

The fellowship aims to enrich the training of a journalist from Africa or the Middle East so they can contribute to a culture of high-quality science and health journalism in those regions, as well as raising awareness of regional advances in the rest of the world.

This will be a one-semester fellowship, held in the fall of the academic year beginning in 2024, hosted by KSJ at MIT. The fellow will join other KSJ fellows in a program of study at MIT and other Cambridge/Boston area universities and in the program’s seminars, training workshops and field trips throughout the semester.

To be eligible for the fellowship, applicants must:

  • Be journalists based in Africa and/or the Middle East with at least three years’ experience reporting on science, health or environmental issues in the region. 
  • Be reporters, writers, editors, producers, illustrators, filmmakers, or photojournalists. This includes work for newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and digital media.

The applicant selected to participate in The Fellowship at MIT must meet the following expectations:

  • Reside full-time in the Boston-Cambridge area for the MIT from August 16, 2024 to mid-December 2024.
  • Attend field trips, seminars, and required training sessions arranged by KSJ.
  • Develop a course of study that includes at least one science course. Fellows audit courses at MIT, Harvard and other area universities. 
  • Refrain from outside paid professional work during The Fellowship, unless written permission has been granted by the director.

Each applicant must submit the following documents: 

  • Statement of Purpose: Describe, in 500 words or less, why you want to participate in the Fellowship for Advancing Science Journalism in Africa and the Middle East and how it fits with your professional goals.
  • Resume or Curriculum Vitae: Provide a brief overview of your education, work history, and professional honors. (Freelancers should include a list of freelance jobs completed in the past 12 months. Include each story, venue, and date of publication or broadcast.)
  • Three Work Samples: Please provide three (3) relevant work samples. Choose samples that best illustrate your interest and abilities. Please include a translation for any work not produced in English.
  • Letter of Professional Reference: Please provide at least one (1) letter of recommendation; additional letters are optional. The letter should come from an individual familiar with your work and should comment on your abilities and your commitment to journalism. Applicants will provide the name and e-mail address for their recommenders in the application form, and letter requests will be sent to the recommenders automatically.

The Application Process:  
  The following timeline is an outline of the application process, timing is subject to change:

  • February 1, 2024: Applications Open
  • March 1, 2024: Applications Close at 11:59pm Eastern Standard Time. References are strongly encouraged to meet this deadline, but they are given a grace period until March 4th to upload their recommendation letters. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
  • Early-March: Applications will be reviewed by a panel of distinguished science journalists and semi-finalists will be selected for video interviews.
  • Mid-March: The recipient of the fellowship will be selected. Applicants not selected will be notified by this time.
  • Mid-March to April: The recipient of the fellowship will be announced publicly.

Starting in mid-March: KSJ and MIT will work with the recipient on the visa sponsorship process for the start date of August 16, 2024 and end date December 31, 2024.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Knight Science Journalism Program (KSJ) at MIT Fellowship

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Fellowships

Knight Science Journalism Fellowship 2017/2018 for Science Journalists – MIT, USA ($USD 70,000 Stipend)

by OFA
written by OFA

Application Deadline: February 28th 2017

Every year, the Knight Science Journalism Program (KSJ) offers ten science journalists a 9-month fellowship — geared to the August-to-May academic year — designed to enable them to explore science, technology, and the craft of journalism in depth, to concentrate on a specialty in science, and to learn at some of the top research universities in the world.

Each Fellow largely designs his or her own course of study, with consultation offered by the director and the KSJ staff. Fellows are required to produce a research project during the academic year, which can form the basis of a story – which may be considered for publication by KSJ – or simply be a detailed report on an area of science. All fellows will do a formal presentation on their projects at the conclusion of the fellowship year.

Fellows are required to audit at least one science course per semester but are other wise encouraged to explore the  wide range of offerings at  MIT, Harvard, or other institutions in Cambridge and Greater Boston.  The program is designed to offer a rich and varied mix of coursework, attendance at departmental colloquia, research trips, lab visits, interviews, reading, and writing.

Eligibility Requirements:

To be eligible for a KSJ@MIT Fellowship, applicants must:

• Be full-time journalists, whether on staff or freelance. Part-time writers or producers are not eligible.
• 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.

Benefits:

  • Fellows receive a stipend of $70,000 as well as some additional benefits, including basic health insurance.
  • Under the terms of MIT residency, fellows must refrain from paid professional work during the course of the 9-month program, unless the program director grants prior permission.

Among the many Knight Fellowship programs and activities:

• Seminars: Fellows meet regularly for seminars with top researchers and media professionals.

• Field Trips: The program organizes several trips each year to locations of special interest to science and technology writers. Past destinations have included the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA, the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, ME, and the Harvard Forest in Petersham, MA.

• Digital Media Training: The number of storytelling channels open to journalists is multiplying, and we want our Fellows to return to the workforce with more technical skills than they had coming in. We offer workshops in various technologies, including video and audio capture, still photography, digital editing, data journalism and podcasting.

• Workshops: With support from the Kavli Foundation, the program organizes an annual workshop on an essential issue in science journalism, which may range from policy-based questions to basic science backgrounders, such as a series of lectures from leading nanotechnology researchers. These workshops are open to the larger science writing community on a competitive basis but all Knight Fellows are offered automatic admission to these workshops if they choose to attend.

Application Procedure:

Required Documents
KSJ@MIT uses an online application system via Submittable. Please read the guidelines and hit the “submit” button to begin your application. The final deadline for submission is February 28, 2017.

The following documents are required for 9-Month Fellowship applications:

  • Professional Autobiography: Provide a brief statement (500 word maximum) about why you want to participate in the Knight Science Journalism Fellowship Program at MIT and how it would fit with your professional goals.
  • Résumé or Curriculum Vitae: Be sure to include your education and work history. (Freelancers should include a list of freelance jobs in the last 12 months. Include each story, venue, and date of publication or broadcast.)
  • Research proposal: In consultation with the KSJ staff, Knight fellows will develop and produce a research project in a chosen area of science or science journalism. This project is intended to be developed as if for publication, in formats ranging from multimedia to long-form story. Research projects are reviewed by KSJ staff and Knight fellows, and will be considered for publication by KSJ during the academic year, either in Undark magazine or as a special presentation on the KSJ website. Fellows will deliver a formal presentation on their topic at the end of the fellowship year. All applicants should describe, in 500 words or less, a project to be developed during the desired fellowship.
  • Work samples: Five relevant work samples are required. Choose samples that best illustrate your interest and abilities. Please include a translation for any work not in English.
  • Professional references: Three letters of recommendation are required. Letters should come from individuals familiar with your work and should comment on your abilities and your commitment to journalism.

Stipulations
To be awarded a Fellowship, selected applicants must agree to the following requirements:

  • To reside full-time in the Boston/Cambridge area for the academic year: August 15, 2017 through May 15, 2018.
  • To attend field trips, seminars, and required training sessions arranged by the Knight Science Journalism Fellowship Program at MIT.
  • To participate in at least one science course per semester.
  • To produce a well thought out research project during the academic year.
  • To refrain from outside professional work during the Fellowship, unless written permission has been granted by the Director.
  • International candidates must obtain a valid visa from the U.S. State Department after being awarded the Fellowship; the visa is normally sponsored by MIT.

Semi-finalists for the Fellowship will be notified by email by April 1, 2017 and Skype interviews with program administrator Bettina Urcuioli will be scheduled for all those wishing to continue further in the process.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Knight Science Journalism Program (KSJ 2017

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FellowshipsJournalists

2016/2017 Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT, USA ( $USD 70,000 Stipend)

by OFA
written by OFA

Application Deadline: February 29, 2016, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time

The Knight Science Journalism (KSJ) program, founded at MIT in 1982 with a generous endowment from the James S. and John L. Knight Foundation, has hosted more than outstanding 300 mid-career journalists, specializing in coverage of science, medicine, technology, and the environment, since its inception.

Every year, the Knight Science Journalism Program (KSJ) offers ten science journalists a 9-month fellowship — geared to the September-to-May academic year — designed to enable them to explore science, technology, and the craft of journalism in depth, concentrate on a specialty in science, and to learn at some of the top research universities in the world.

Each Fellow largely designs his or her own course of study, with consultation offered by the director and the KSJ staff. Fellows are required to audit at least one science course per semester but are other wise encouraged to explore the  wide range of offerings at  MIT, Harvard, or other institutions in Cambridge and Greater Boston.  The program is designed to offer a rich and varied mix of coursework, attendance at departmental colloquia, research trips, lab visits, interviews, reading, and writing.

Eligibility Requirements:

To be eligible for a Knight Fellowship, applicants must:

• Be full-time journalists, whether on staff or freelance. Part-time writers or producers are not eligible.
• Have at least three full years of experience covering science, technology, the environment, or medicine.
• Be reporters, writers, editors, producers, illustrators, filmmakers, or photojournalists. They may work for newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and digital media.

Benefits:

  • Fellows receive a $70,000 stipend, spend an academic year in Cambridge, Massachusetts, studying at both MIT and Harvard University, and enjoy a rich offering of science seminars, training workshops and field trips offered by KSJ.
  • Each Fellow largely designs his or her own course of study, with consultation offered by the director and the KSJ staff. Fellows are required to audit at least one science course per semester but are other wise encouraged to explore the  wide range of offerings at  MIT, Harvard, or other institutions in Cambridge and Greater Boston.
  •  The program is designed to offer a rich and varied mix of coursework, attendance at departmental colloquia, research trips, lab visits, interviews, reading, and writing.

Among the many Knight Fellowship programs and activities:

• Seminars: Fellows meet regularly for seminars with top researchers and media professionals.

• Field Trips: The program organizes several trips each year to locations of special interest to science and technology writers. Past destinations have included the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA, the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, ME, and the Harvard Forest in Petersham, MA.

• Digital Media Training: The number of storytelling channels open to journalists is multiplying, and we want our Fellows to return to the workforce with more technical skills than they had coming in. MIT offer workshops in various technologies, including video and audio capture, still photography, digital editing, animation, data journalism and podcasting.

• Workshops: Occasionally the program organizes special 1- or 2-day workshops on science, technology, and journalism issues. These have ranged from policy-based questions, such as a focus on food security, to basic science backgrounders, such as a series of lectures from leading nanotechnology researchers. The Knight Fellows gain automatic admission to these workshops.

Application Process:

Required Documents:

In the course of completing the online application form, you will be asked to submit several supporting documents. For each required document, you can either upload a PDF file, or type (or copy/paste) the document’s contents into the text area provided. File formats other than PDF are not accepted.

The following documents are required for 9-Month Fellowship applications:

  • Professional Autobiography: Provide a brief statement (1 page maximum) about why you want to participate in the Knight Science Journalism fellowship program and how it would fit with your professional goals.
  • Resume or Curriculum Vitae: Be sure to include your education and work history. (Freelancers should include a list of freelance jobs in the last 12 months. Include each story, venue, and date of publication or broadcast.)
  • Undark proposal: Each semester, Knight fellows will be required to develop and produce, in consultation with the publication’s editor(s), an essay, feature story, multimedia package, or other contribution to the program’s forthcoming science magazine, Undark. Describe one story or project you might like to pursue during your time in Cambridge. Information on the magazine’s format and editorial mission can be found here.
  • Work samples: Five work samples are required. Choose samples that best illustrate your interest and abilities. If work samples are not in English, a translation must also be submitted.
  • Recommendations: Three letters of recommendation are required. Letters should come from individuals familiar with your work and should comment on your abilities and your commitment to journalism.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the 2016/2017 Knight Science Journalism Fellowship 

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