The JSK Journalism Fellowships bring up to 20 journalists from around the world to Stanford University for nine months each year to work on a challenge facing journalism. Stanford has run journalism fellowships since 1966; the Knight Foundation endowed the programme in 1984, giving it its present name, and in 2008 it moved from a sabbatical model to active idea-testing. Its stated aim is to empower journalism leaders as change agents who sustain democratic communities and defend press freedom around the world.
Fellows step away from their jobs and move to the Stanford area for the academic year, supported by individual coaching, a weekly cohort and open access to Stanford courses; they commit full time, stay in residence from September through May, take biweekly coaching sessions, and share reflections publicly during the year. More than 1,000 journalists from over 80 countries have taken part. The 2026-27 class, the programme’s 60th, has 13 fellows: eight based in the United States and five internationally, from Ukraine, Kenya, Austria, Malaysia and Venezuela.
Benefits & funding
- A stipend of US$130,000 for the nine-month fellowship.
- Stanford tuition for fellows, and Stanford health insurance for fellows, spouses and children, plus a health supplement for dependents.
- Individual coaching and customised workshops on leadership, resilience and navigating change.
- A purposefully designed cohort experience built around connection, collaboration and peer learning.
- Time and freedom to use Stanford’s academic and creative offerings. The fellowship is not a degree programme and carries no grades or academic credit.
- Lifelong access to the global JSK alumni network.
- Advice on finding rental housing and practical tips on settling in. Housing itself is arranged and paid for by the fellow.
- International fellows come on J-1 visas and eligible dependents on J-2 visas sponsored through the fellowship. Spouses or partners and fellows’ children are welcome, and children may attend area public schools.
Eligibility
- Open to journalists worldwide, working either in news organisations or independently. No nationality or residency requirement applies.
- Applicants are classified as U.S. or international by whether the community their journalism primarily serves is in the United States.
- At least five years of full-time professional journalism experience is required. Internships and student work do not count toward that threshold.
- No college degree is required, and experience in a traditional newsroom is not required.
- Journalists in news organisations, independent journalists, journalism entrepreneurs, strategists and innovators are all eligible.
- Not eligible: people seeking a degree, those working in public information or public relations, in-house or industry communicators, employees of government agencies, and full-time academics.
- The fellowship does not support book or reporting projects, and it is not a start-up accelerator.
- Proficiency in written and spoken English is expected and application materials must be in English. TOEFL scores are not required. A work sample in another language may be submitted with a brief English summary.
- The fellowship cannot be taken part-time or remotely; fellows must be in residence at Stanford.
- No age limit and no gender requirement are stated.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
Experience required
≥ 5 yrs
Appears to have an age limit “up to 20”
confirm in the requirements
Circlebreaker is a free database of global fellowships, scholarships and programs — every one decoded like this.
We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.
Application process
- 1Read the criteria on the Become a fellow page, and watch the recorded application webinars the directors host each cycle.
- 2Register on the fellowship’s SurveyMonkey Apply portal and answer the profile qualification questions.
- 3Complete the online form covering career background and what the applicant wants from the fellowship year.
- 4Record a one-minute selfie video about the applicant’s three-to-five-year goals.
- 5Upload a resume and a work sample, and supply contact details for three professional references.
- 6Disclose any use of artificial intelligence tools in preparing the materials.
- 7Submit by 1:00 p.m. Pacific time on the December deadline. Late applications are not accepted.
- 8Applications go through a multi-layered review that includes JSK alumni and journalism leaders, followed by Zoom interviews in March.
Program timeline
3 December 2025, 1:00 p.m. Pacific
Application deadline for the 2026-27 fellowships
Initial evaluations completed; applicants not advancing are notified
Early March 2026
Zoom interviews
March 2026
International fellowship offers extended; finalists for U.S. fellowships notified
April 2026
U.S. fellowship offers extended; JSK International Fellows announced
May 2026
Fellows move to the Stanford area
August 2026
Fellowship orientation, and the nine-month residency begins
Early September 2026
Fall 2026
Applications open for the 2027-28 fellowships
May 2027
The 2026-27 fellowship year ends