Journalists working in any media from countries around the world are invited to apply for the Nieman Fellowship programme, an extraordinary, transformative learning opportunity provided at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The fellowship is open to journalists around the world working for news organizations in a business, technology, or leadership capacity.
Selected applicants will spend two full semesters at Harvard University auditing classes with some of the university’s greatest thinkers, participating in Nieman events, and collaborating with peers. Nieman Fellows are also able to audit classes at other local universities including MIT and Tufts.
Each year, the Nieman Foundation awards paid fellowships to up to 24 journalists working in print, broadcast, digital, and audiovisual media. Journalists and other professionals working in positions that support journalism, such as the business or technology departments of news companies, are welcome to apply for one of the foundation’s short-term Visiting Fellowships.
During their time at Harvard, Nieman Fellows will attend seminars, shop talks, master classes, and journalism conferences designed to strengthen their professional skills and leadership capabilities, thereby helping to fortify the news industry itself. With the knowledge they gain on campus and the relationships they build, fellows often return to work as journalism entrepreneurs, industry innovators and top managers in their newsrooms.
To be eligible, all applicants for academic-year Nieman Fellowships, including freelancers, must be working journalists with at least five years of full-time media experience.
Nieman Fellows receive a stipend of $85,000 paid over a nine-month period to cover living costs.
All Nieman Fellowship applicants must complete an online application form. Candidates for academic-year fellowships must submit the following information as part of their package: two essays; a professional profile and study plan summary; work samples and three letters of recommendation.
Candidates for the Nieman Visiting Fellowships complete a streamlined application that requires only biographical information, a résumé and a project proposal.
Questions about the application process may be sent to fellowship program administrator Nicole Arias.
The Foundation also provides a health insurance supplement (up to $6,000 each for the fellow and a spouse, and up to $3,500 for each child younger than 18) and a childcare allowance for children 12 and younger that ranges from $8,000 to $14,000 depending on the number of children, with an additional $7,000 if a child is aged three or younger.
The application deadline is December 1, 2023, for international journalists and January 31, 2024 for U.S. journalists.
For more information and to apply, please visit https://nieman.harvard.edu/fellowships/how-to-apply/.
