Deadline: April 19, 2026
Applications are open for the IWMF Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship 2026. The Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship is a unique, transformative learning opportunity open to women and nonbinary journalists from every country around the world. Since 2005, the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) has selected one Neuffer Fellow each year to complete a six-month Fellowship focused on human rights and social justice issues. The Fellowship was created in memory of The Boston Globe correspondent and IWMF Courage in Journalism Award (1998) winner Elizabeth Neuffer, who died while reporting in Iraq on May 9, 2003.
Those selected for the Fellowship spend a semester at the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and The Boston Globe. During their time in Cambridge, Neuffer Fellows audit a variety of classes, attend seminars and events, pursue independent research and gain newsroom experience. Neuffer Fellows are also able to audit classes at other local universities including Harvard. After the semester, those selected for the Fellowship spend two months in New York City interning for the The New York Times. With the knowledge they gain from these academic and professional opportunities, fellows return to work as journalists in their home countries where they advance Elizabeth Neuffer’s work in the fields of human rights and social justice.
Benefits
- Neuffer Fellows receive a fixed monthly stipend to cover their living costs. The IWMF also arranges and covers the cost of housing in Cambridge and New York City for the fellow.
- The IWMF purchases round-trip economy airfare from the fellow’s place of residence to the United States, as well as transportation between the Fellowship cities.
- The fellow receives health insurance during the program. The Fellowship does not include a salary. For fellows residing outside of the United States, the Fellowship also covers the costs of applying for and obtaining a U.S. visa. The fellow is fully responsible for any additional incidental expenses and other costs.
Eligibility
- Open to women, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming journalists whose work focuses on human rights and social justice issues.
- All applicants for the Neuffer Fellowship must be working journalists with at least three years of full-time, professional journalism experience. Internships and journalism-related work completed as a university student do not count as professional experience. Applicants may be staff or freelance journalists.
- Journalists from any country around the world are eligible to apply. However, applicants must speak, read and write English fluently in order to fully participate in and benefit from the Fellowship.
Application
A complete application will include the following information:
- Biography
- Current résumé or CV
- Statement of interest
- Fellowship goals
- Two work samples covering human rights or social justice issues (links preferred)
- If work samples are not in English, applicants must upload their own translations along with a professional translator’s assessment of their accuracy. Alternatively, applicants may have their work samples translated professionally.
- Two letters of recommendation (in English)
For more information, visit IWMF Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship.
