Apply for Health Journalism Fellowship (US)

Funding Information

• Selected fellows receive $4,000 to cover project-related time and expenses, along with mentoring by an experienced health journalist.
• The fellowship covers a one-year membership to JAWS (a $75 value) and registration and travel expenses to the 2025 CAMP (a $3,500 value).
• Fellows will have seven months (January–July 2025) to work on an in-depth reporting project and one shorter-form story.

Fellowship Deliverables

• Long-form story: Selected applicants will write/produce a multi-part series, or long-form story (min 2,000 words or comparable air time) based on original research and reporting. Applicants will submit a proposal outlining their project along with a proposed timeline.
• Short-form story: Fellows must also publish/produce a short-form story related to their project or on any health-related topic listed above, of approximately 750 words (or comparable airtime), no later than April 15, 2025. This story does not have to appear in the same media outlet as the long-form piece.

Eligibility Criteria

• The fellowship is open to U.S.-based women and individuals who identify as women with two to seven years of professional reporting experience. They encourage staff reporters and freelance journalists to apply. Personal blogging, academic writing, public relations, or marketing writing do not count toward journalism experience.

Selection Criteria

• Clarity and originality of the proposed in-depth story projects.
• Quality of samples of published or produced work.
• Potential impact of the proposal geographically and across different ethnic or racial populations.

Application Requirements

• The application requires:
  • A detailed 1 or 2-page proposal describing the reporting project you wish to undertake and why. Please include sufficient sourcing/links to indicate that you have done some homework on the topic.
  • A proposed project timeline, including projected publication/broadcast dates.
  • Current resume (1-2 pages max).
  • A cover letter containing:
  • Applicant name.
  • Mailing address.
  • Mobile phone.
  • E-mail.
  • Employer (Freelance journalists should specify their length of affiliation with the outlet that will publish or broadcast the story.)
  • Employer address and phone number.
  • Employer’s circulation and audience demographic (Please indicate whether this media outlet serves a general audience or a specific ethnic or other minority community.)
  • Direct editor contact – email and phone.

For more information, visit JAWS.