Apply! World Conference of Science Journalists (WCSJ) 2017 Travel Fellowships

All applications Due March 15, 2017

Thanks to generous support from foundations, science and media organizations, and individual donors, the World Conference of Science Journalists 2017 is excited to offer travel fellowships for professional and student attendees from the U.S. and abroad. These fellowships are intended to enable those who otherwise could not attend to join us for the conference in San Francisco, October 26-30, 2017. The grants will provide full or partial support to cover economy airfare, accommodation for the duration of the conference, and reasonable ground transport, up to a maximum amount based on the traveler’s location and circumstances. Fellowship recipients will receive complimentary meeting registration.

WCSJ2017 is grateful to the William K. Bowes, Jr. Foundation, donors to the David Perlman fund, the Rutter Foundation, the National Association of Science Writers, AAAS/EurekAlert!, Nature, Annual Reviews, the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing, Fundación Ealy Ortiz, Research Councils UK, Taylor & Francis, the Waterloo Global Science Initiative, and Newswise for supporting these travel grants.

Applications will be accepted until March 15, 2017. Successful applicants will be notified by April 15 to allow for plenty of time to plan travel and acquire any necessary visas. Selected fellows will be informed of the exact amount of funding offered at the time of notification.

Please see below for details on each type of fellowship and a link to apply. Please choose the fellowship application that best fits your circumstances. Do not apply for more than one.

GENERAL TRAVEL FELLOWSHIPS

Eligibility: You may apply for a General Travel Fellowship if you write, edit, or produce science news, information, or commentary for the public; teach science journalism; or are a member of a WFSJ member association, and would not be able to attend the conference without financial assistance.

What’s Provided: The grants will provide full or partial support to cover economy airfare, accommodation for the duration of the conference, and reasonable ground transport, up to a maximum amount based on the traveler’s location and circumstances. Fellowship recipients will receive complimentary basic meeting registration. An additional subsidy for meals, incidentals, and registration for ancillary conference events may be provided depending on demonstrated need. Fellowship recipients selected for participation in pre-conference events will receive a subsidy for an additional hotel night.

Deadline: March 15, 2017

General Travel Fellowship Details: The power of the World Conference of Science Journalists to enrich science coverage and bring people together depends on global representation. The goal of the WCSJ2017 Travel Fellowship program is provide assistance to as many attendees as possible and support the global diversity of the conference by enabling representation from all regions.

In addition to conference-only fellowships, a limited number of participants will be awarded fellowships that guarantee seats in preconference workshops in addition to generous travel funding. Each will require early arrival. Fellowship applicants can register their interest in:

• A general training and networking workshop for science journalists working in Latin America and the Caribbean, sponsored by Fundación Ealy Ortiz A. C.
• A workshop on covering emerging infectious diseases, also for Latin American journalists, sponsored by Research Councils UK
• A workshop on agriculture and innovation for reporters from Anglophone Africa and Asia, sponsored by Research Councils UK

Brief descriptions of workshops may be found here.

Successful applications will make a clear and convincing case for how attending WCSJ2017 will benefit the applicant. Special consideration will be given to applications submitted from developing countries or those historically underrepresented at World Conferences.

Applicants will be asked to upload a resumé and a statement of interest, and to provide the name of a reference whom you will ask to send a letter of recommendation. We recommend that applicants read through the application online to prepare materials requested before applying. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Link to Apply: nasw.submittable.com All materials submitted must be in English.

STUDENT TRAVEL FELLOWSHIPS

Eligibility: WCSJ2017 will provide special training, mentoring, editing, and publication opportunities for students interested in writing, editing, or producing science news, information, or commentary for the public as a career. Priority for these fellowships will be given to U.S. and international students at the undergraduate level, although graduate students in the sciences or early-career writers without access to formal training programs in journalism also are welcome to apply.

What’s Provided: The grants will provide full or partial support to cover economy airfare, accommodation for the duration of the conference, and reasonable ground transport, up to a maximum amount based on the traveler’s location and circumstances. Fellowship recipients will receive complimentary basic meeting registration. An additional subsidy for meals, incidentals, and registration for ancillary conference events may be provided depending on demonstrated need. Fellowship recipients selected for participation in pre-conference events will receive subsidy of an additional hotel night.

Deadline: March 15, 2017

Student Travel Fellowship Details: An important component of the WCSJ2017 Student Fellowship program will be training and real-time writing and editing during the conference. All student fellows will be required to attend a pre-conference training workshop beginning Wednesday, October 25 with veteran science journalists to discuss the basics of covering science news. Each fellow will write two articles about sessions during the conference: one on a science session and one on a science writing panel discussion. Volunteer editors will work with each student fellow on revisions.

The training workshop and all meeting sessions will be conducted in English, and all stories will be written in English. The WCSJ2017 news site will publish articles by the travel fellows, including their bylines, in English and translated into Spanish.

This program provides travel and meeting expenses for student science journalists from the U.S. and any other country, as well as for new writers who have taken their own steps to begin working in science journalism or to study the field.

Successful applications will make a clear and convincing case for how attending WCSJ2017 will help the applicant achieve career goals in journalism. Special consideration will be given to applications submitted from developing countries or those historically underrepresented at World Conferences.

Applicants will be asked to upload a resumé and a statement of interest, and to provide the name of a reference whom you will ask to send a letter of recommendation. We recommend that applicants read thru the application online to prepare materials requested before applying. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Link to Apply: nasw.submittable.com All materials submitted must be in English.