Joan Shorenstein Fellowship Programme – Spring 2023 ($40,000 stipend)


Deadline: March 31, 2023

Applications are open for the Joan Shorenstein Fellowship Programme – Spring 2023. The Joan Shorenstein Fellowship Programme is designed to bring journalists, scholars, politicians and policymakers to the Shorenstein Center for a semester to work on a project with a tangible output, and engage with students, faculty, other fellows, and the broader Harvard Kennedy School community.

Fellows are expected to be fully-participating members of the Shorenstein Center community while in residence, attending and participating in Center events, social gatherings, and other activities. Alumni fellows join the Shorenstein Center’s Alumni Fellows Network, to stay connected with the Center and the large and growing group of former fellows all around the world.

Benefits

  • Fellows receive a stipend of $40,000 per semester, paid in monthly installments at the end of each month of their term. Travel, housing, and living expenses are not covered by the Shorenstein Center.
  • Fellows are provided with a desk in the Shorenstein Center offices, a Harvard email address, and a Harvard ID allowing access to libraries and other resources. 
  • Fellows are also able to select a paid Harvard Kennedy School student research assistant (eligible to work up to 10 hours per week) to help with their projects.

Eligibility

  • Open to:
    • Journalist: Reporters, editors, columnists, producers, media business executives and related, with aminimum of ten years of full-time experience either at professional news organizations or as a full-time freelancer (not including work completed as a university student).
    • Politician: Someone who has been elected to a national or high-level state office, or high-level communications professionals within politics and policy, e.g. speechwriters, press secretaries. Minimum of ten years experience (can be cumulative between elected office and other roles).
    • Scholar: Tenured or tenure-track professoremployed by a college, university or research institution in political science, political communication, journalism, technology studies, sociology, computer science, or a field relevant to the Shorenstein Center’s areas of inquiry. 
    • Policymaker: High-level official in a cabinet office, or policy adviser to a candidate for national office or high-level elected official.
    • Documentary Filmmaker: Documentary filmmakers and/or academics and practitioners with expertise in documentary filmmaking as it relates to public interest media, and/or its intersections with journalism. Minimum of 10 years experience. 
  • Applicants should not have participated in another fellowship within the two years prior to their preferred semester.
  • Applicants must be fluent in English – listening, reading, writing and speaking. Non-native English speakers must provide TOEFL or IELTS score.

Expectations

Applicants must be available to be in residence, full-time, for the duration of their fellowship (Fall Semester: September through December, Spring Semester: February through May, or Full Year: September through May) in Cambridge, MA. 

The Fellowship is a full-time appointment, and applicants are expected to commit to the work of completing their primary research project and engaging in the life of the Center, its activities and events. It is understood that busy modern professionals will have occasional essential obligations, and the Center aims to be considerate and flexible in such circumstances. However, any applicant with professional, personal or travel commitments that would require significant time away should consider applying when their schedule allows for the full commitment of a fellowship.

Application

See the timeline for the Fall Fellows:

  • March 31: Application deadline
  • April: Applicants or their references may be contacted for further information or interview. This is strictly informational; not all applicants or their references will be contacted and this should not be considered a sign of the success or otherwise of their application.
  • Early May: Applicants will be notified of their status.
  • Summer: The press release announcing the class of fellows will be posted.

Click here to apply

For more information, visit Joan Shorenstein Fellowship.