Columbia University provides the Spencer Education Fellowship program for journalists and educators in- and outside of the United States to spend an academic session at Columbia University exploring and producing journalism about an important topic in education in 2022.
Columbia Journalism School is one of the foremost journalism schools globally. They are also one of the earliest with over 100 years of experience in training journalism’s future leaders and pioneers. Their tradition is engrained in the foundation values of journalistic ethics and distinction, but they are also leaders of leading-edge journalistic novelty and media scholarship.
All fellows audit modules and work meticulously with professors in the Journalism School and also with mentors all through the university. Projects by former fellows have ended up as books, radio documentaries and main pieces in national magazines, among other platforms.
Topics have cut across a wide range, from special education to desegregating schools, culture wars, technology and the history of teaching in America. Fresh and provocative concepts are welcome.
Four fellows are chosen every year by a distinguished committee of scholars and journalists.
Worth of Spencer Education Fellowship
- The two residential fellows each obtain an $85,000 allowance for living costs and an extra $7,500 for research support.
- The two non-residential fellows get $40,000 and $7,500 for research funding.
- Both fellowship programs come with the choice of also collaborating with an academic researcher to address original research that improves the project.
Eligibility for Spencer Education Fellowship
- The Spencer Education Fellowship program is available to journalists who want to create an ambitious longform journalism project targeted for a big, general audience.
The application requires:
- A professional profile and resume Encapsulate your professional career, with your present and past roles. Specify how this fellowship program may fit into your professional ideas. Candidates with reporting experience involving education or educators who can display adeptness in journalism are preferred.
- Three samples of your work Add samples that show experience in education research and writing, like broadcasts, newspaper and magazine clips, books, films, monographs, academic reports or other forms of writing. You have to give links to any work you submit. If your work sample is not in English language, please give a translation.
- Proposal for your project Education affects almost all aspects of human life, so they encourage candidates to think lengthily about the scope of their projects. Don’t feel as if your topic has to fall within classifications of past Spencer projects. Add in your proposal the reason your topic is important for a large, general audience; how a bigger comprehension of research will improve the work; and what your expectations are for a final published project. Be as specific as you can.
- Proposal for research at Columbia Judges also give consideration to whether the topic is one that will gain from research openings at Columbia University. What kinds of bigger questions do you expect to be looking into while on campus? Which modules, professionals and professors at Columbia are on your bucket list to help your reporting and why?
- Essay on a recent policy or trend in education There is no need for this to be related to your project idea. Judges are seeking to gain understanding into your facility with education matters.
- Minimum of three letters of recommendation Usually, one should be from the publication that has displayed interest in the project and another from a present or recent employer. Judges pay attention to candidates who are most probable to be able to put out their work for a national audience.
There are no academic requirements. Fellows get a certificate of conclusion (not a credit‐bearing degree) at graduation.
How to Apply for Spencer Education Fellowship
All candidates for the Spencer Education Fellowship have to fill out an online application form.
Application Deadline
The closing date is the end of January for the following academic session, which usually runs from the end of August to mid‐June.