The Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship is run by the International Women’s Media Foundation, which has selected one fellow every year since 2005. It was created in memory of Elizabeth Neuffer, a Boston Globe correspondent and 1998 IWMF Courage in Journalism Award winner, who died while reporting in Iraq in 2003. The fellow spends the spring semester at the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, auditing classes, attending seminars, pursuing independent research and working in the Boston Globe newsroom. From June to July the fellow moves to New York City for a full-time internship at the New York Times. Fellows then return to journalism in their home countries with stronger reporting skills on human rights and social justice. Applications for the 2027 fellowship are closed, and the IWMF says every applicant will hear back by the end of July 2026.
Benefits & funding
- A fixed monthly stipend to cover living costs. The fellowship pays no salary.
- Housing in Cambridge and in New York City, arranged and paid for by the IWMF.
- Round-trip economy airfare from the fellow’s place of residence to the United States, plus travel between the two fellowship cities.
- Health insurance for the length of the programme.
- The cost of applying for and obtaining a US visa, for fellows living outside the United States.
- A semester at MIT’s Center for International Studies, with the option to audit classes there and at other local universities including Harvard.
- Newsroom time at the Boston Globe and a full-time reporting internship at the New York Times, with bylines on published work.
- Incidental and other personal costs are not covered. Family members may accompany the fellow, but the IWMF arranges and funds nothing for them.
Eligibility
- Women, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming journalists.
- Work focused on human rights and social justice issues.
- At least three years of full-time professional journalism experience. Internships and journalism work done as a university student do not count.
- Staff journalists and freelancers in print, broadcast or digital media.
- Journalists of any nationality, from any country.
- Fluent spoken, written and read English, enough to take part fully in classes and newsroom work.
- Availability for the whole six-month programme.
Can you apply?
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Experience required
≥ 3 yrs
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Gender requirement
Female
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We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.
Application process
- 1Watch for the application window to open. The IWMF announces it through its mailing list and social channels.
- 2Apply through Submittable. Candidates nominate themselves.
- 3Submit a biography, a current résumé or CV, a statement of interest, fellowship goals, two work samples covering human rights or social justice, and two letters of recommendation in English.
- 4Supply an English translation plus a professional assessment of its accuracy for any work sample not in English.
- 5Interview with the IWMF and members of the Neuffer committee if shortlisted.
- 6Receive a decision once selection concludes. The IWMF then announces the fellow publicly.
Program timeline
March
Application opens (4 March in the most recent cycle timeline the IWMF has published)
April
Application closes (21 April in that same published timeline)
Selection concludes; applicants are notified shortly after
June
End of July 2026
Every 2027-cycle applicant receives a decision
Fellowship begins at MIT’s Center for International Studies
February
Coursework, research and Boston Globe newsroom time in Cambridge
February to May
Full-time internship at the New York Times in New York City
June to July
Fellowship concludes
July