The International Reporting Project (IRP) is now accepting applications for reporting fellowships on religion and health/development.
These fellowships are intended to provide in-depth coverage of important, under-covered international issues. Applications are currently open to U.S. journalists only.
Applicants may choose only one area of focus per application; if you would like to apply for all three fellowships, you must submit separate application forms for each.
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 on religion.
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.
Travel on these fellowships must take place no sooner than two months after the fellowship is awarded. For example, someone awarded a fellowship on April 30 may not begin travel before June 30. All travel must be concluded by November 1.
The religion fellowships are supported by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation.
Applications for the religion fellowship will be considered as they are submitted on a rolling basis.
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 in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
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.
Travel on these fellowships must take place no sooner than two months after the fellowship is awarded. For example, someone awarded a fellowship on March 30 may not begin travel before May 30. All travel must be concluded by November 1.
The health/development fellowships are supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Applications for the health/development fellowship will be considered as they are submitted on a rolling basis.
Eligibility
Staffers and freelancers alike are encouraged to apply, and special attention will be paid to innovative forms of storytelling and projects involving new media.
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. IRP encourages stories in a variety of media, including print, online, radio, television, photography, blog posts, social media and video.
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.
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 other expenses related to reporting internationally. We do not typically cover immunizations or travel insurance. 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.