The opportunity to apply for a John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship will open in Fall 2014. For the lucky journalist who wins one, a John S. Knight Fellowship is a respite from deadlines, and allows you to test ideas to improve the quality of news and create new media products.

The John S. Knight Fellowships offer over 20 American and international fellows the amazing resources of Stanford University in California to work on niche journalistic projects for 10 months.

Before applying it’s a good idea to look at what some of the past Knight Fellows have done during their sabbatical year at Stanford. A recent Knight Fellow focused on a subscription and ad-based niche journalistic project to help fund investigative journalism. Another fellow explored options for mining news organizations' archives as a revenue source.

“You can dig deeply and widely into the resources of a great university, not to mention Silicon Valley, and acquire skills and tools that you will be using for years. And you will have the chance — and the responsibility — to create something of value for other journalists,” says Stanford University’s John S. Knight Fellowships Program Director James R. Bettinger.

The program focuses on innovation and leadership and puts an emphasis on developing press freedom. John S Knight fellows have gone on to win 26 Pulitzer Prizes and other major print and broadcast awards.

Value

Fellows receive a stipend of $65,000 paid in 10 monthly installments, September through June.

The program pays Stanford University tuition for each Fellow plus supplemental allowances for housing, childcare and health insurance. It also provides $4,000 for laptops, digital cameras, books and $3,000 to $6,000 to international fellows for moving to Stanford.

Eligibility & Criteria

The John S. Knight Fellowships usually fund 12 US and 8 international editors, print and online journalists, photographers, radio and television broadcasters and producers. International journalists need to have worked full-time for a minimum of five years to apply while US journalists need to have seven years on their resume.

The program considers applicants who fall into these categories:

• Full-time journalists
• Journalism entrepreneurs and innovators
• Journalism business and management executives

The application, including letters of recommendation, and work samples must be submitted in English or in English translation.

The program encourages journalists to pursue courses in all university departments, including professional schools like Law, Medicine and Business.

Duration

Knight Fellows spend the academic year at Stanford from early-September to June.

Closing Date and Method of Application

The opportunity to apply for a John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship will open in the Fall of 2014.

Stanford University only accepts online applications. Visit the site at https://knight.stanford.edu/become-a-fellow/getting-a-fellowship/ to apply online for the 2015-16 Knight Fellowships.

Tags: John S. Knight Fellowship, Stanford University, Journalism, Scholarship