Nova Institute USA Media Fellowship ($60,000 Grant)

The Nova Institute Media Fellowship program supports print, digital, and/or broadcast journalists and nonprofit newsrooms reporting on the connections between the health of people, places, and the planet. Nova provides funding to encourage journalists to pursue stories that are timely, comprehensive, and impactful, and that translate research findings and analyses for a range of audiences.

The fellowship is aimed at full-time journalists with established records of publication or broadcast in local, regional, or national markets, and it also invites local, community, nonprofit, and/or student-led newsrooms. Proposals may highlight international issues and/or involve international travel, but Media Fellows themselves must be based in the United States for the entire cohort period.

A committee of Nova Institute staff, Nova Scholars, Nova Fellows, and Media Advisory Council members selects finalists and schedules virtual interviews. Finalists selected for interviews are asked to provide one to two professional letters of recommendation (one page maximum). Media Fellows have full editorial control and are expected to conduct their work independently with science-based reporting.

Media Fellows receive $60,000 disbursed over 12 months, and they may receive up to an additional $7,500 reimbursed for expenses such as travel and conference fees. Nova covers all additional costs associated with attending Nova in-person meetings, workshops, or events. The fellowship does not fund enrollment for degree or non-degree study at academic institutions, and it requires crediting Nova Institute for Health support in funded work and Nova affiliation in other stories published during the cohort period.

• Applicant type: full-time journalists with established records of publication or broadcast in local, regional, or national markets; or local, community, nonprofit and/or student-led newsrooms.
• International scope: proposals may highlight international issues and/or involve international travel, but Media Fellows must be based in the United States for the entire 12-month cohort term.
• Encouragement: the Nova Institute strongly encourages applications from people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people, Native and Indigenous peoples, and members of other historically marginalized communities.
• Support limitations: the fellowship does not fund enrollment for degree or non-degree study at academic institutions.
• Prohibited proposal types: the Nova Media Fellowship cannot support book proposals, visual/mixed media art, poetry, or theater arts submissions.
• Time commitment: bi-monthly virtual check-ins and attendance at key in-person meetings (including one scheduled for an October set of dates in Baltimore, Maryland); participation in monthly online Nova Scholars and Fellows meetings and other virtual Nova events, trainings, and professional development opportunities is encouraged.
• Project deliverables: applicants must outline deliverables reflecting a year’s worth of ambitious work, including a plan for publication; the fellowship does not support research-only projects without a plan for publication.
• Editorial and reporting requirements: stories must be science-based and report accurately on pertinent ideas, questions, and debates.
• Attribution and affiliation requirements: Media Fellows must include crediting for Nova Institute for Health support in all published work related to the funded proposal, and must include their Nova affiliation in additional stories published during the 12-month cohort period that are unrelated to the funded proposal.

• $60,000 disbursed over 12 months.
• Up to an additional $7,500 reimbursed for expenses such as travel and conference fees.
• Nova covers all additional costs associated with attending Nova in-person meetings, workshops, or events.

1. Ensure you meet the eligibility criteria listed in the eligibility section.
2. Submit an application that consists of a written proposal, résumé, and work samples as detailed in the application section.
3. If applying as a newsroom, designate a representative (managing editor or similar) to complete the application.
4. If applying as a newsroom, provide an additional text field instead of a résumé outlining the organization’s structure, editorial focus areas, and current reporting resources.
5. A committee selects finalists and schedules virtual interviews.
6. Finalists selected for interviews provide one to two professional letters of recommendation (one page maximum).

• Written proposal.
• Résumé (individual applicants) or additional text field for newsrooms describing organizational structure, editorial focus areas, and current reporting resources.
• Work samples.
• One to two professional letters of recommendation (finalists only; one page maximum).