The Institute for Citizens & Scholars is offering a Higher Ed Media Fellowship for early to mid-career journalists who are interested in diving deeper into underreported issues in higher education. Fellows receive a $10,000 award, mentoring support and expenses-paid professional development at its symposium. Applications close Feb. 15.
The Higher Education Media Fellowship aims to increase the number of journalists with the tools and networks to provide richer and more comprehensive coverage of postsecondary education, particularly career and technical education (CTE). The Fellowship program is sponsored by the ECMC Foundation and administered by the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, and thus far has supported six classes of 8-10 Fellows each.
Each Fellow will be awarded $10,000 — $5,000 as a stipend and $5,000 to cover the costs of their reporting project (such as travel, data collection and registration fees for additional workshops/conferences). The six-month, non-residential program has several requirements and begins with an expense-paid CTE symposium (where Fellows can dive deeper into the CTE field and start to develop an idea for a reporting project). Fellows will also get the opportunity to attend a CTE Collaborative Annual Convening hosted by the ECMC Foundation.
Following the symposium, Fellows will complete a reporting project, such as a special report or series, on a topic of their choosing related to postsecondary CTE (to be published with their home news organization or another outlet such as Education Week or the Hechinger Report). Over the course of the Fellowship period, Fellows must file brief progress reports to the CTE Media Fellowship program officers, as well as a final report survey on their Fellowship experience upon completion of their reporting project.
The Fellowship is open to U.S. journalists who are education beat reporters or those whose work experience includes reporting on education and associated workforce development, social, or public-policy issues. Potential Fellows will be interested in deepening and expanding their understanding of postsecondary education with a specific emphasis on CTE. Fellows will be staff and professional freelance journalists who are able to work independently while holding their regular jobs or commitments. Print, radio, TV, and online editors and journalists from local and national publications and digital-only news platforms are eligible, as are freelancers who target mainstream/corporate and independent media outlets.
