Deadline: February 1, 2025
Applications are open for the Higher Ed Media Fellowship 2025. Journalists and the media play a critical role in shaping public understanding of the role of higher education in shaping the next generation of citizens. However, the resources needed to produce high-quality reporting on pressing education issues have been declining for years. Higher Ed Media Fellows are journalists interested in diving deeper into underreported issues in higher education.
The Fellowship currently focuses on issues related to postsecondary Career and Technical Education (CTE), with topics including data sourcing and analysis, best practices for covering underrepresented communities, and the intersection of postsecondary education and civic learning. The Fellowship is funded by the ECMC Foundation. Funding is awarded every year to early and mid-career journalists completing CTE reporting projects. As part of the program, Fellows will attend a symposium to build their knowledge and further develop their craft.
Fellowship
- Each ECMC Foundation Fellow in the Higher Education Fellowship program will be awarded $10,000—$5,000 as a stipend and $5,000 towards the reporting project.
- The six-month, non-residential program begins with an expense-paid postsecondary career and technical education (CTE) symposium.
- The Spring 2025 Symposium will be hosted in Durham, NC on April 28-30 for selected Fellows.
- Following the symposium, Fellows must complete a reporting project, such as a special report or series.
- Fellows will also attend a CTE Collaborative Convening hosted by the ECMC Foundation on October 7-9, 2025 in Austin, TX.
Eligibility
- Open to U.S.-based journalists who are education beat reporters or those whose work experience includes reporting on education and associated workforce development, social, or public policy issues.
- Potential Fellows will be early- and mid-career journalists interested in deepening and expanding their understanding of postsecondary education with a specific emphasis on CTE.
- Print, radio, TV, multimedia, and online editors and journalists from local and national publications and digital-only news platforms are eligible, as are freelancers who target mainstream/corporate and independent media outlets.
Application
A complete Higher Education Media Fellowship application consists of these required components:
- a submitted online application;
- one letter of recommendation; and
- a supplemental items PDF including a résumé and full work samples. Do NOT upload PDF in portfolio format.
For more information, visit Higher Ed Media Fellowship.
