The Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship provides academic and professional opportunities for women and nonbinary journalists focusing on human rights and social justice to enhance their reporting abilities. The Fellowship was established in memory of The Boston Globe journalist and IWMF Courage in Journalism Award (1998) recipient Elizabeth Neuffer, who died on May 9, 2003, while reporting in Iraq. The IWMF established this initiative in partnership with Neuffer’s family and friends to celebrate Neuffer’s legacy while expanding her work in the domains of human rights and social justice.
The Neuffer Fellowship is intended for women and nonbinary journalists having at least three years of professional experience in journalism, either as a staff journalist or as a freelancer, in print, broadcast, or digital media. Any countries are invited to apply, but in order to fully participate in and benefit from the program, non-native English speakers must have outstanding writing and spoken English abilities. The Fellow will do research and courses at MIT’s Center for International Studies, as well as intern at The Boston Globe and The New York Times. The program’s flexible format allows the fellow to pursue academic studies and polish their reporting abilities. Previous fellows have taken advantage of chances to publish work under their byline in a variety of venues.
Eligibility:
- The Neuffer Fellowship is 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.
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.
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)
Timeline:
- April 23, 2023: Applications due
- June 2023: Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow will be selected
- January 2024: Fellowship begins in Boston with an internship at the Boston Globe and research/coursework at MIT’s Center for International Studies
- May 2024: Fellow moves to New York for internship at The New York Times
- June 2024: Fellowship ends
