Journalists who make the cut arrive at Lippmann House in Harvard University in the Fall to start their extraordinary Nieman Fellowship year.

Are you a business journalist who wants to get a solid academic grounding in macroeconomics? Would you like to explore new revenue streams to fund journalism? Then a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard might be for you.

Listen up: candidates for the 2016 calendar year can start applying right now. The application deadline for international journalists is 1 Dec. 2014. For over 70 years, the Nieman has given mid-career journalists the opportunity to step away from deadlines, and spend a year studying at Harvard. You can take classes in any of the schools, including the Harvard Business School, Harvard Law School, Harvard Kennedy School of Government or Harvard Graduate School of Education. It is a chance to experience an “extraordinary Nieman year.”

Each year 12 U.S citizens and 12 international journalists are selected as Nieman Fellows. As part of each class, the Nieman Foundation also selects three specialized fellowships:

• Reynolds Fellowship in Community Journalism
• Reynolds Fellowship in Business Journalism
• Nieman-Berkman Fellowship in Journalism Innovation

Am I Eligible?

Nieman Fellowships are awarded to print, broadcast and online reporters, editors, photographers, TV and radio producers, editorial writers and cartoonists with at least five years of full-time, professional experience.

The applicant’s employer should approve a leave of absence for the academic year (mid-August through May).

Duration 

The Nieman Fellowship program runs for the full academic year (10 months).

Value

US Nieman Fellows receive a stipend of $65,000 paid over a 10-month period. The foundation also provides housing, child-care, and health insurance. Costs for attending classes at Harvard are covered for fellows and spouses. Funds from the original Nieman bequest are restricted to U.S. citizens but the Nieman Foundation assists international Nieman Fellows to secure funds to come to Harvard.

Essays

All candidates must submit two essays which are a personal statement and a proposal for study at Harvard:

1. Personal Statement
   
   A summary of 1,000 words or less that describes your journalistic experience, career plans and goals.


2. Proposal for Study at Harvard
   
   You will have to submit a summary of 500 words that describes how you plan to spend a year at Harvard. What will you study during the fellowship year? It is not necessary to specify course titles, but you have to identify the resources at Harvard and in the Cambridge area that will serve your goals in journalism.

Method of Application

Click here to find out about the work samples, letters of recommendation and summaries that are required with the application and to apply online.

What is the deadline for applications?

To apply online, create an account using your preferred email address and then choose the type of fellowship you would like to receive. You may save your information and return as many times as you like prior to the application deadline. Here are the application deadlines:

• International Fellowships for the Nieman class of 2016: Dec 1, 2014   
• Nieman-Berkman Fellowships in Journalism Innovation: Dec. 1, 2014
• U.S. Fellowships: Jan 31, 2015.

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