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Are you passionate about ethical journalism and eager to explore the moral responsibilities of the profession? Do you want to learn how history’s lessons can shape your role in modern journalism? The FASPE Journalism Fellowship offers students and early-career journalists a unique opportunity to explore these critical issues in an immersive, two-week program. This fellowship is designed to challenge your understanding of ethical leadership in journalism by exploring both historical examples and contemporary challenges.
Opportunity Details
FASPE is an intensive, two-week study program in professional ethics and ethical leadership. FASPE is neither a Holocaust studies course, nor a genocide prevention program. Rather, the curriculum is designed to challenge Fellows to critically examine constructs, current developments and issues that raise ethical concerns in their professions in contemporary settings in which they work.
FASPE Journalism Fellows examine the motivations and conduct of German and international journalists in promoting or misreporting Nazi policies. FASPE then draws on these historical examples to help Journalism Fellows grasp their role and responsibility as individuals with influence in their communities; and to encourage them to identify and confront the ethical issues currently facing journalists and media institutions at large.
Each year, FASPE Journalism awards fellowships to 13 to 16 journalism students and early-career journalists. Fellows spend two weeks in Berlin and Poland, where they visit key sites of Nazi history and participate in daily seminars led by specialized faculty. The program couples the power of place with academic rigor and many informal opportunities for creative exchange.
FASPE draws on a large pool of applicants, whose diverse backgrounds and interests enrich discussions both inside and outside the seminar room. Journalism Fellows travel with Medical and Clergy Fellows, allowing them to broaden their understanding of the role of professionals over shared meals and activities and in several interdisciplinary seminars. FASPE Fellowships are fully funded so that financial ability does not affect participation.
FASPE is committed to covering all program costs and related travel so that financial ability does not affect participation. Costs covered include:
FASPE Journalism applicants must fit into one of the following three categories: 1) have some, but not more than 5 years, journalistic experience (whether in a college newsroom or otherwise) and be enrolled in a graduate program of any kind and planning to work as a journalist; OR 2) have completed an undergraduate degree and be working as a journalist with a maximum of 5 years of professional experience at the time of application; OR 3) have completed a graduate degree and be working as a journalist with a maximum of 5 years of professional experience at the time of application .
Preference will be given to candidates who have journalistic work that has been published or aired by a recognized news organization.
FASPE seeks Journalism Fellows with diverse interests and backgrounds, including those pursuing careers as reporters, editors, photojournalists, documentarians, or other forms of storytelling in local, national, or international contexts.
FASPE seeks Fellows at a formative stage of their professional lives, who are open-minded and self-reflective, demonstrate leadership capabilities, and possess the potential of having influence in their fields. FASPE selects its Fellows on the basis of their academic background, personal and professional experiences, capacity for leadership, and ability to contribute to the Fellowship program and the alumni community. FASPE values and seeks to create inclusive environments, and welcomes applicants of all religious, political, and socioeconomic backgrounds as well as gender identities. FASPE seeks Fellows who are interested in engaging in discussions with their co-Fellows and faculty, and who have the intellectual and emotional maturity to discuss difficult and controversial issues responsibly and respectfully in small group settings. All applications are welcome and reviewed.
Detailed Description of Application Components
1. Online form
The online cover form on Submittable will ask for basic information about you. This will include your contact information, schools you have attended and the names and contact information for those writing letters of recommendation and those serving as references.
2. Resume
Your resume should include your educational and employment history, along with any honors, awards and/or publications.
3. Transcripts
We require transcripts from all institutions of higher education where you spent significant time. (There is no need to send transcripts from a semester abroad or for a single summer course.) You may submit electronic transcripts or scans of hard copy transcripts. Screen shots of online transcripts are not acceptable. Unofficial transcripts are accepted. If you are in your first year of a program and are unable to submit a transcript because your grades are not yet reported, please submit a letter from your dean confirming your enrollment in your degree program, confirming that you are a student in good standing, and, ideally, including a list of the classes you are currently taking. Please note that a school admissions letter or a letter from your registrar that does not include your degree program is not acceptable as proof of enrollment.
4. Short Essay Questions
We require responses to short essay questions. The questions depend on program; and the requested length of each essay is indicated within the questions. Please select the link below that corresponds to the FASPE program to which you are applying, to see the questions and respective word limits
FASPE Business – Short Essay Questions
Download PDF of Business Short Essay Questions
FASPE Clergy – Short Essay Questions
Download PDF of Clergy & Religious Leaders Short Essay Questions
FASPE Design & Technology – Short Essay Questions
Download PDF of Design & Technology Short Essay Questions
FASPE Journalism – Short Essay Questions
Download PDF of Journalism Short Essay Questions
FASPE Law – Short Essay Questions
Download PDF of Law Short Essay Questions
FASPE Medical – Short Essay Questions
Download PDF of Medical Short Essay Questions
5. Letters of Recommendation
Two letters of recommendation from academic faculty are required. For those applying as students, we prefer letters from academic faculty who have taught you in your current or most recent graduate program, although we will also accept letters from faculty from previous graduate education or from your undergraduate career. For early-career professionals or those with significant and relevant professional experience, letters may also come from a supervisor or other employer. All letters of recommendation must come directly from the recommenders and are due January 9, 2025. There will be further information on the Submittable form on how recommenders can send their letters directly to us through Submittable.
If your recommenders seek guidance on what to include in their letters, please convey that we are looking for the following:
Click on the link to the application website to get started.
If you have any questions regarding the application process, please contact:
Rebecca Scott
Director of Programs
+1 646 844 0151
[email protected]
Apply for FASPE Journalism Fellowship