MIT's HBCU Science Journalism Fellowship Prepares Students to Pitch New Ideas in Science
Ten HBCU student journalists will take part in a year-long fellowship through The Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT. Through the program, students from five HBCUs will receive training, mentorship, and early career support in the spheres of reporting science, health, and environmental issues.
The fellowship will begin with a week-long journalism camp at the Knight Science Journalism Program in MIT’s Cambridge, MA headquarters. Fellows will work with science journalists and science publication editors to develop their journalism skills. In addition to training and networking, fellows will visit world-class science institutions and learn about careers in science journalism.
Following the summer experience at MIT, fellows will receive a year of dedicated mentorship from a professional science journalist, opportunities to pitch editors, as well as travel funding to attend a national science writers conference. The student journalists will be required to develop and pitch four story ideas during their year of mentorship. The fellows will receive a $5,000 stipend at the conclusion of the program.
The inaugural cohort hail from Florida A&M, Hampton, Howard, Morgan State, North Carolina A&T. Journalism deans and faculty from these participating HBCUs collaborated with the Knight Science Journalism Program to develop the concept and select the esteemed scholars.
“We’ve long sought to develop science and health reporting and writing in a deeper way in the School of Global Journalism and Communication (SGJC). The Knight Science Journalism Program is a critical step in that direction,” explained Jackie Jones, Morgan’s SGJC Dean.
FAMU sophomore Jonathan Charles is honored to be part of this cohort and excited about the opportunity. He said, “Since I entered SJGC (FAMU’s School of Journalism & Graphic Communication), I have been blessed to be surrounded by incredible faculty and staff as well as peers who have helped me become a better student, journalist, and artist.”
This fellowship is part of a suite of fellowships at MIT including a Fellowship for Advancing Science Journalism in Africa and the Middle East and the Sharon Begley Science Reporting Fellowship for early-career U.S. journalists from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.