FASPE Journalism is a two-week study program in professional ethics run by Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics, a non-profit based in New York. Each year it selects 13 to 16 journalism students and early-career journalists, who spend the two weeks in Berlin and Poland visiting key sites of Nazi history and taking part in daily seminars led by specialist faculty. The starting point is the conduct of professionals in Germany and elsewhere between 1933 and 1945, used as a lens on the ethical choices journalists face today. Journalism is one of six FASPE tracks, alongside business, clergy and religious leaders, design and technology, law, and medicine, and fellows also join interdisciplinary sessions with the other groups. Fellows enter an alumni network of more than 900 people and complete a capstone project after the program. The 2026 round has closed; applications for the 2027 fellowship open on 31 August.
Benefits & funding
- All program costs and related travel are covered, so that financial ability does not affect participation.
- Round-trip economy-class airfare from the United States to Europe; travel to Berlin from other points of origin and the return flight are covered as well.
- All transport costs for group travel and activities in Germany and Poland, plus all admission fees.
- All hotel costs, all group meals, and pocket money for meals taken outside the group.
- All program materials.
- A place in the FASPE alumni network of more than 900 fellows across the six professional tracks.
Eligibility
- Applicants fit one of three profiles: some journalistic experience while enrolled in any graduate program and planning a journalism career; a completed bachelor’s degree while working as a journalist; or a completed graduate degree while working as a journalist.
- Professional experience generally does not exceed 10 years.
- Open to candidates of any citizenship or residency.
- A high level of fluency in written and spoken English is required. All programming is in English, and no German or Polish is needed.
- Published or aired work at recognised news organisations is looked on favourably, as are openness, self-reflection and leadership potential.
- Fellows arrange their own visas. FASPE provides supporting documentation but cannot arrange visas.
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Application process
- 1Wait for the application to open on 31 August, then apply through the Submittable portal linked from the FASPE how-to-apply page.
- 2Complete the online form with contact details and recommender information.
- 3Upload a CV covering education, employment, honours and publications.
- 4Upload transcripts from every institution where you spent significant time; unofficial copies are accepted, screenshots are not.
- 5Write the short essay responses set for the journalism track.
- 6Ask two academic or professional referees to send letters of recommendation directly to FASPE.
- 7Await the decision. FASPE aims to inform all fellows of their acceptance by early-to-mid March.
- 8Work through the pre-program reading packet and writing assignments before travelling, and complete a capstone project afterwards.
Program timeline
9 January 2026
Recommendation letters due in the 2026 round, the last date the site still publishes for that closed cycle
31 August 2026
Applications open for the 2027 fellowship
Fellows informed of acceptance
Early-to-mid March 2027
The two-week program runs in Berlin and Poland
18 June 2027 to 2 July 2027