Joan Shorenstein Fellowship Program

The Joan Shorenstein Fellowship Program is designed to bring journalists, scholars, politicians and policymakers to the Shorenstein Center to engage with students, faculty, other fellows, and the broader Harvard Kennedy School community. Fellows are expected to contribute to the center by publishing original content that aligns with and further’s the center’s core mission of examining how essential information is created, conveyed and consumed.

Since the Shorenstein Center’s founding in 1986, the Fellowship Program has been central to its mission examining the intersection of media, politics and public policy. The purpose of the Joan Shorenstein Fellowship Program is to advance research in the field of media, politics and public policy and facilitate a dialogue among journalists, scholars, policymakers and students.

Funding of Shorenstein Fellowship 

• Stipends and other financial and material assistance for fellows are dependent on need, and scope of a fellow’s work and contribution to the center. You may indicate in the application whether you would require financial assistance to do your proposed project or fellowship activities. Stipend funds are limited and not guaranteed.

Eligibility for Shorenstein Fellowship

• Career professionals from a variety of related fields are welcome to apply. Past fellows include journalists from local, national and international TV, radio, print, and digital media; media and civic technology innovators; nonfiction authors; documentary filmmakers; political advisors and policymakers; leading academic scholars in fields such as media research and political science; and policy analysts.
• The Shorenstein Center is committed to diversity, and actively encourages applications from all demographic backgrounds, and across the political spectrum.

The guidelines below offer further detail on the types of experience that lead to a successful application and fellowship experience.

• Journalist: Reporters, editors, columnists, producers, media business executives and related, with a minimum of ten years of full-time experience either at professional news organizations or as a full-time freelancer (not including work completed as a university student). Non-traditional journalists and content creators with a track record of significant work in the public interest are welcome to apply.
• Politician: Someone who has been elected to a national or high-level state office, or high-level communications professionals within politics and policy, e.g. speechwriters, press secretaries. Minimum of ten years experience (can be cumulative between elected office and other roles).
• Scholar: Full faculty employed by a college, university or research institution in a field relevant to the Shorenstein Center’s areas of inquiry; or senior independent scholars affiliated with think tanks or other research institutions. Scholars should have at least 10 years experience. Post-doctoral fellows less than five years out from their PhD programs are not able to be accommodated in the Joan Shorenstein fellowship program.
• Policymaker: Cabinet members or their advisors, governmental agency or administration officials, or policy advisors to high-level elected officials.
• Documentary Filmmaker: Documentary filmmakers who are interested in a Shorenstein Center fellowship should apply to the center’s Documentary Film in the Public Interest initiative’s fellowship program.
• Applicants should not have participated in another fellowship within the two years prior to their preferred semester.
• Applicants must be fluent in English – listening, reading, writing and speaking. Non-native English speakers must provide TOEFL or IELTS score.