Apply Now for Reporting Fellowships
Rolling applications are due by March 16, 2015
The International Reporting Project (IRP) is now accepting applications for reporting fellowships on two different topics:health/development and religion.
These fellowships are intended to provide in-depth coverage of important, under-covered international issues.
Applicants may choose only one area of focus per application; if you would like to apply for both health/development and religion fellowships, you must submit separate application forms for each.
Ecuador street scene.
Ruxandra Guidi and Bear Guerra reported on health and development in Ecuador in 2014.
Health/Development
Applicants may propose stories that examine maternal and child health; poverty; HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria, and other infectious diseases; nutrition and food security; education; access to roads and electricity; sanitation and water; sustainability; technology; equality and women's rights.
For the health/development fellowships, we have a strong preference for in-depth reporting from countries we've traveled to recently–India, Zambia, Tanzania, Brazil, Ethiopia, Mozambique–as well as other countries of focus–Nigeria, China, South Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea, among others.
The health/development fellowships are supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Religion
Applicants may propose any stories that relate to religion, including its role as a source of tension or conflict; its relationship to politics, economics or access to health, housing or clean water; its impact on art and culture, religion and human rights; or other issues.
For the religion fellowships, we encourage applicants to propose stories and destinations not covered by recent IRP fellows.
The religion fellowships are supported by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation.
More Details
Applications will be considered as they are submitted on a rolling basis until Monday, March 16.
The time spent in the field is flexible; fellows may propose to report for two to seven weeks. Fellows may also choose to extend their fellowships at their own cost.
IRP will purchase the fellows' roundtrip air tickets to and from their homes and destinations, but all other travel must be arranged and paid by the fellow. IRP will offer a stipend based, in part, upon the budgets that all applicants must submit.
Travel on these fellowships must take place no sooner than two months, and no later than four months, after the fellowship is awarded. For example, someone awarded a fellowship on March 30 may not begin travel before May 30 and must initiate travelno later than July 30.
Prayerful politicians.
Jason Plautz reported on evangelicals in Brazil in 2014.
Eligibility
Applications are open only to journalists from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Kenya, Nigeria, Norway, Malaysia, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States and Zambia.
Staffers and freelancers alike are encouraged to apply, and special attention will be paid to innovative forms of storytelling and projects involving new media.
Depending upon the proposal, teams of journalists may be considered; in that case, each journalist would apply separately, and mention their intention to work with another applicant in their essay.
The fellowships are intended for professional journalists who have worked for years as professionals and who have a record of outstanding achievement in reporting for influential media outlets.
This fellowship is not intended for students or for recent graduates without much professional reporting experience.
How to Apply
All applicants must fill out an application form.
Each proposal must include an essay of at least 1,000 words describing the stories they would produce during the fellowship. All essays must be in English. However, the stories and other updates produced by the international Fellows may be in English or in other languages. IRP encourages stories in a variety of media, including print, online, radio, television, photography, blog posts, social media and video.
Applicants are also required to submit a budget, which assists in determining the amount of the stipend. Typical costs include domestic transportation; fixers or translators; hotel accommodations; visas; food; and any other expenses related to reporting internationally. Fellows are not required to submit receipts or post-fellowship expense reports.
A telephone interview with finalists will also be a part of the selection process.
All of the fellows’ stories will be republished on the IRP website and co-owned by the fellow (or his/her distribution partners, depending on agreements) and the IRP.