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How to Apply for the IRP Fellowships
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Before applying, please read the following carefully:

This year we are offering two types of IRP Fellowships for the fall program.

1) IRP FELLOWSHIPS IN INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISM

The International Reporting Project will offer up to four IRP Fellowships to U.S. journalists to carry out a project reporting from any country in the world outside of the United States. One of these Fellowships will be the “IRP/Frontline World Fellowship” for video journalists, which will offer additional support through the PBS program Frontline/World and a chance for the Fellow’s story to appear on that program’s web site and broadcast. The program will begin September 1 in Washington D.C. where IRP Fellows will spend two weeks in Washington, D.C., at a program arranged at the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). IRP Fellows depart September 13 for a five-week period of individual international reporting. All IRP Fellows are required to return to Washington for a final week October 19-25. Applications will be accepted from all U.S. journalists with at least three years’ professional experience in any type of media. All applicants must complete an online IRP application form, which includes an essay of up to 1,000 words describing the proposed overseas project. A recommendation letter and work samples are also required. Deadline for applications is April 1.

2) IRP/STANLEY FOUNDATION FELLOWSHIPS

The International Reporting Project will also award up to four “IRP/Stanley Foundation Fellowships” that will run concurrently with the other fellowships from September 1 through October 25. These fellowships will be awarded to U.S. journalists of every level – including senior and highly experienced journalists – whose proposals focus on reporting projects in one of the following areas: South Africa, Russia, Japan, the European Union or any member country of the EU. All applicants must complete an online IRP application form, including an essay of up to 1,000 words describing the proposed overseas reporting topic. Applicants for the IRP/Stanley Foundation Fellowships should focus in their essay on an important topic or topics within the proposed country that explore how that country (or the EU) is challenging or shaping the global order through political, economic, military, cultural and other dimensions of power. Deadline for applications is April 1.

ELIGIBILITY:

Any U.S. journalist with at least three years of professional journalistic experience is eligible to apply for the fellowship program. The program is open to journalists from newspapers, magazines, wire services, radio, television and on-line news organizations. Freelancers are also invited to apply.

There is no minimal educational requirement for applicants, nor is there any minimum or maximum age for Fellows. Fellows are not required to have foreign-language skills or prior overseas experience, though both may be helpful. The most important criteria are an applicant's sincere interest in international issues, a curiosity about global events and a demonstrated record of journalistic ability.

CITIZENSHIP:

Applicants must be citizens of the United States or else be working as journalists in the United States as full-time employees of U.S.-based news organizations.

MATERIALS REQUIRED FOR SUBMISSION:

Applications will be considered incomplete unless all of the following materials are submitted:

1. APPLICATION FORM

All applicants must complete an application form provided by the International Reporting Project. Application forms are available by clicking the links at the top of this page. Application forms are also available by contacting the program office.

2. LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION

All applicants who are fulltime staff employees of a news organization must submit a letter of recommendation from their employer. In this letter, the employer should agree to provide a leave of absence to the journalist if chosen for a fellowship.

Freelancers must also submit a letter of recommendation. This letter should be from someone who knows their work.

All letters should be sent directly to the fellowship program office and must be postmarked, emailed or faxed by the April 1, 2008 deadline.

3. WORK SAMPLES

· Print journalists should submit a maximum of three samples of their work.
· Photojournalists may submit a maximum of seven images.
· Broadcast journalists should submit two samples of their work.
· Multimedia journalists should submit no more than three samples of their work.

Print stories should be photocopies sized 8.5 X 11 inches. Oversized copies will be discarded. Only photo prints or copies of prints will be accepted. Slides or photo CDs are not acceptable. Broadcast stories should be in either videotape, DVD, CD or audiocassette form.

Work samples cannot be returned to applicants.

4. PROJECT ESSAY

All applicants are required to submit with their application forms an essay of between 800 and 1,000 words describing in detail the international news story project they plan to focus on during the fellowship. The essay should explain why this story is important, how the applicant became interested in it and why the applicant thinks it needs journalistic attention.

Applicants interested in the IRP Fellowships in International Journalism and the IRP/FRONTLINE World Fellowship may propose to report from any country in the world outside of the United States. Some priority will be given to project topics such as international health, environment, conflict and post-conflict resolution, refugees and humanitarian assistance, press freedom, the role of women and children, cultural and religious change, Islamic world issues, economic development and social change and human rights issues.

Applicants interested in the IRP/Stanley Foundation Fellowships must propose to report from one of the following areas: South Africa, Russia, Japan, the European Union or any member country of the EU. Applicants for the IRP/Stanley Foundation Fellowships should focus in their essay on an important topic or topics within the proposed country that explore how that country (or the EU) is challenging or shaping the global order through political, economic, military, cultural and other dimensions of power.

All applicants should also provide a general outline of a work plan the journalist intends to follow during the Washington study period and during the five-week international phase of the program, giving as much detail as possible about sources to interview and destinations overseas. Finally, applicants should explain what they hope will happen to the project: will it be offered to their employer for use as a news story? Will it be offered as a story to another news organization?

It is recommended that applicants avoid proposing story projects that are similar to those done by current or recent IRP Fellows. Click here to see recent projects undertaken by the Fellows.

The program encourages applicants to submit proposals that represent a new direction for the journalist rather than a repetition of stories or experiences the candidate has already had. IRP Fellowships are all about “widening horizons,” trying something new, expanding a journalist’s knowledge and learning new things about different parts of the world.

The program discourages proposals in which applicants seek to “return to my family roots,” or that are essentially requests for funding to continue a long-term project, such as a book. While we recognize that experience in a country is a valuable tool for a journalist, the program is more likely to choose applicants whose projects represent a new experience in a region where they have not previously had an opportunity to work.

ALL MATERIALS MUST BE POSTMARKED, EMAILED OR FAXED BY APRIL 1, 2008

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