Application Procedures — Knight-Bagehot Fellowship

Application deadline is March 1.
Awards are announced by May 1.

Submit a completed application form along with:

• A professional resume
  
• An autobiographical essay describing your journalistic accomplishments and your future plans
  
• An essay of less than 1,000 words on a business or economic trend
  
• Four original samples of work produced during the last five years
  
• College or university transcript(s)
  
• Three letters of reference from persons in a position to comment on your professional performance and potential for covering business and economic news

Eligibility requirements

The fellowship is open to full-time editorial employees of newspapers, magazines, wire services, and broadcast news organizations as well as to freelance journalists. Applicants must have at least four years’ experience. There are no academic prerequisites. Though some attempt is made to achieve a diversity of backgrounds, the affiliation of applicants is not a factor in the selection process. Journalists from nationally known organizations are not given preference over those from smaller regional media.

The chief criterion for selection is demonstrated journalistic excellence. While essays and letters of recommendation are important parts of the application, the greatest weight is given to work samples. Clippings and tapes need not cover business subjects, and applicants do not have to be business specialists. Nonetheless, applicants should explain in the biographical essay how a broader grounding in business would materially enhance their careers in journalism. Letters of reference must come directly from the writer.

The program permits fellows to make whatever arrangements are deemed appropriate. Though applicants’ employers, except under unusual circumstances, should submit a letter supporting the application, applicants are not required to obtain formal employer approval. Typically, however, fellows arrange a leave of absence from employers, who make up the difference between fellows’ salaries and the fellowship stipend. While the program recognizes fellows’ desire to advance their careers, it urges them to return to their current employers at the end of their year at Columbia.

Fellowships are announced by May 1. The number of fellowships awarded each year, as well as the level of the living-expenses stipend, is determined by the program's financial resources.