O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism

Benefits & funding

• US$75,000 salary stipend for the nine months.
• Residency allowance for fellows who move to Milwaukee: US$700 a month for a single fellow, rising to US$1,200 a month for a fellow with three or more children, with annual maximums of US$7,000 to US$12,000.
• Moving allowance up to US$7,000, plus up to US$750 for an apartment-hunting trip; Milwaukee-area applicants are excluded from the moving allowance.
• Reporting travel reimbursed up to US$4,500.
• A further US$4,500 per fellow for technology, research, training and equipment.
• Independent journalists may take Marquette-subsidised health insurance at employee rates; staff journalists keep their employer’s coverage.
• A private office in the O’Brien newsroom in historic Johnston Hall.
• Two to three Marquette students who assist with research and reporting through the year.

Eligibility

• Staff-employed or independent journalists residing in the United States or its territories.
• At least five years of professional journalism experience, as an employee or as a freelancer.
• Investigative and in-depth reporting experience is preferred, not required.
• Any medium qualifies: print operations, radio, television, websites, podcasts, online publications, wire services and magazines of general public interest, covering news or opinion.
• No academic prerequisites.
• The project must be reportable primarily inside the United States for a US-based news outlet, though the subject itself may be of international interest.
• Journalists who reside outside the United States are not considered at this time.
• Staff journalists need their top editors to commit to supporting and publishing the work, and to keeping them employed through the fellowship year.
• Independent journalists secure their own publishing commitment, with help from the programme.
• The nine months are treated as a full-time job and a full commitment.

Application process

1. 1
   Applications open on 1 December for the academic year that starts the following August.
2. 2
   Draft the project proposal, 1,250 to 2,000 words, answering the programme’s twelve questions: the outline of the investigation, the key research questions, why it is timely, what is innovative about it, how it addresses race, gender, class or sexual identity, how students will be built into the work, the format in which findings reach the public, how information will be gathered, the obstacles expected, the minimum deliverables, the reporting timeline, and how the project points toward solutions.
3. 3
   Assemble the rest of the file: personal statement, brief biography, résumé, three letters of recommendation and work samples.
4. 4
   Submit through the online form, linking supporting files from Dropbox, Google Drive or a personal or company website. Emailing the materials to obrienfellows@marquette.edu with the subject line O’Brien Application Materials and your name is the alternative; mailed physical copies are a last resort and are arranged by phone first, and are not returned.
5. 5
   File everything by 30 January.
6. 6
   A Selection Committee of journalists together with Marquette faculty and alumni interviews a pool of finalists in the spring.
7. 7
   The committee sends its recommended names to the Dean of the Diederich College of Communication for final review.
8. 8
   Four fellows are announced in April. The fellowship runs from mid-August to mid-May.

Program timeline

1. Applications open

   1 December

2. 30 January

   Application deadline (the most recent round closed 30 January 2026)

3. Spring

   Selection Committee interviews finalists

4. Four fellows announced for the following academic year

   April

5. Fellowship year begins

   Mid-August

6. Fellowship year ends

   Mid-May