Fellowships at Reuters Institute

Funding Opportunities

Journalists can provide their own funding, but study at the Reuters Institute is also supported by a wide range of Fellowships.

Thomson Reuters Foundation Fellowships

The Thomson Reuters Foundation Fellowship, founded in 1983, offers an opportunity for experienced journalists wishing to undertake research projects on a variety of subjects. Approximately 6 Thomson Reuters Fellows study each year on fully-funded Fellowships for three or six months (one or two terms). Thomson Reuters Fellows are drawn from dozens of countries around the world from both print and broadcast media. Mid-career journalists from any country in the world are eligible.

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Mona Megalli Fellowship for journalists from the Middle East

The Mona Megalli Fellowship, established in 2008, is in memory of Mona Megalli, a distinguished Egyptian-American Reuters journalist who died in 2007 after a long illness. Having worked for large parts of her career as a journalist in the Middle East, Mona made a bequest to fund activities and initiatives designed to enhance the professional ethics of journalism in the region. This six month (two term) Fellowship is one of those initiatives.
The Fellowship is open to a journalist from the Middle East region interested in researching and publishing material about professional standards and journalistic ethics in the region, how these impact on the practice of journalism there, and also what changes are needed or could be contemplated to improve the practice of journalism in the region.  Mid-career journalists from the Middle East are eligible.

Recent Fellows and their projects:

• Nagwa Abdallah (2010-11): The Role of the Media in the Democratic Transition in Egypt: a case study of the January 2011 Revolution
• Amel Al-Ariqi (2008-9): The difference in portrayal of Middle Eastern women in Arabic and English media.

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Said-Asfari Fellowship for journalists from the Levant

The Said-Asfari Fellowship, established in 2012, is a six month (two term) Fellowship supported by the Said Foundation and the Asfari Foundation. It is open to experienced journalists wishing to undertake research projects on a variety of subjects, normally related to the business, economic and/or social development of a country or of its media.
There is a minimum requirement of 5 years’ professional journalistic experience, but exceptional applicants who do not meet this requirement may be considered. Candidates should ideally be based in the Levant and intend to work there upon the completion of the Fellowship. Journalists from Lebanon, Palestine and Syria (resident in the Levant region or Egypt) are eligible.

Gerda Henkel Fellowship for journalists in the field of Humanities

Since 2005, the Gerda Henkel Foundation has awarded a six month (two term) fully-funded Fellowship to journalists who intend to carry out research in the field of Historical Humanities, particularly in Art History, Modern and Ancient History, Legal History or Islamic History. Within these areas, participants can freely choose their research topic, although it should ideally be connected with their professional activity.
One Gerda Henkel Fellow per year will join the Fellowship Programme for six months (two terms).  Mid-career journalists from any country in the world are eligible.

Recent Gerda Henkel Fellows and their projects:

• Arijit Sen (2010-11): Marginal On The Map: Hidden Wars And Hidden Media
• Abdalla Hassan (2009-10): Changing News, Changing Realities: the evolution of media censorship in Egypt
• Firas Saleh Khatib (2008-9):The depiction of the Israel-Palestine conflict in the British press in 1948 and 2008.
• John Dyer (2006-7):The effects of Balkan politics on Bulgarian self-perception.

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Wincott Fellowships for business / economic journalists from Eastern Europe

Since 1995 the Wincott Foundation has sponsored journalists from Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia for a three month (one term) fully funded Fellowship.  There are usually 2 Wincott Fellowships per year.  Preference is given to economic and business journalists whose proposed research topic is related to the business or economic development of a country or of its media. 
In 2013-14 the Wincott Fellowship will be awarded to one candidate from Russia and preference will be given to a second candidate from Bulgaria.

Recent Fellows and their projects:

• Iuliana Roibu (2011-12): The Ordinary Reader in the History of Business Newspapers: A misunderstanding
• Dmitry Denisov (2010-11): Business lobbying and government relations in Russia: the need for new principles
• Oksana Vozhdaeva (2009-10): The systemic crisis in regional and local commercial broadcasting in England - possible solutions for the future.
• Suren Musayelyan (2008-9): Armenian economic reform.

For more information on how to apply, please click here

Some organisations sponsor their employees to take part in the Fellowship Programme:

Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC): Donald McDonald Scholarship
Since 1999, the ABC has awarded an annual Scholarship to an experienced high-level ABC journalist to join the RISJ programme for three months (one term) via an internal selection process. It was renamed in honour of Donald McDonald AC on the occasion of his retirement in 2006 in recognition of his commitment to excellence in journalism. As ABC Chairman, Mr Donald McDonald AC was instrumental in the establishment of the Scholarship and provided ongoing encouragement and support for the programme and for the Scholars throughout the programme’s history.

Recent Fellows and their projects:

• Damien Carrick (2011-12):Privacy, regulation and the public interest: The UK experience and the lessons it might hold for Australia
• Greg Wilesmith (2010-11): Reporting Afghanistan and Iraq: Media, military and governments and how they influence each other
• Margot O'Neill (2009-10): A stormy forecast: Identifying trends in climate change reporting
• Eleanor Hall (2008-9): Politics in the YouTube age: transforming the political and media culture?

Austrian Press Agency Alfred Geiringer Fellowship

The Alfred Geiringer Foundation for the Further Education of Journalists, introduced in 2001 and sponsored by the Austrian Press Agency, aims to encourage the development of high-quality journalism in Austria. It is named in honour of Alfred Geiringer, who was forced to emigrate from Nazi-occupied Austria in 1938 but returned to Europe in 1946 as Reuters European Editor and played an instrumental role in founding APA as an independent, newspapers-owned co-operative. The Geiringer Fellowship, organised since 2002 jointly by the Thomson Reuters Foundation and APA, gives one highly-qualified journalist, selected annually from Austrian journalists at APA or its owner-media, the opportunity to spend three months (one term) studying at RISJ.

Recent Fellows and their projects:

• Monika Kalcsics (2011-12): A reporting disaster? The interdependence of media and aid agencies in a competitive compassion market
• Judith Högerl (2010-11): An agency full of citizens? How news agencies cope with citizen journalism: Their concerns and strategies
• Eva Weissenberger(2009-10): Social-media guidelines for journalists: When to blog? Whom not to be friends with? What not to tweet about?
• Alexandra Frech (2008-9): Polish migrant workers in the United Kingdom

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British Broadcasting Corporation

The BBC offers a prestigious annual one-term Fellowship to experienced mid-career journalists from across the BBC News and Journalism divisions, which will provide them with the opportunity to study and research for 3-4 months a work-related project that will broaden their academic horizons as well as being of benefit to the BBC. The BBC World Service Trust offers 2 one-term Fellowships to WST employees per year. The Fellowship can begin in October, January or April, and the successful applicant will be resident at Oxford during their period of study.
As well as being a great opportunity for an senior journalist to take time out from the day job and get new insights, the programme of research should be relevant to your work as a BBC journalist. Fellows are asked to produce a major piece of writing of between 8,000 and 10,000 words related to a specialist or topical subject or the changing nature of journalism. The programme brings together experienced journalists from around the world to study at RISJ, and Fellows will be able to use the university facilities available to them, including access to an academic advisor, seminars and other special events, to help them with their project.

Recent Fellows and their projects:

• Richard Lawson (2011-12): The Death of Osama bin Laden: Global TV News and Journalistic Detachment
• Ric Bailey (2010-11): The Prime Ministerial Debates – an improvement in democratic accountability or merely political X factor?
• Emma Jane Kirby (2009-10): The Presidential Influence on the French Media Under Nicolas Sarkozy 
• Jeremy Hayes (2008-9): Freedom of Information Act 2000 and journalism in the UK. 

Helsingin Sanomat Foundation Fellowship

The purpose of the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation is to advance and support excellence in research as a means of insuring the broad base, independence, and continuity of Finnish scientific work. The fields of particular interest for the Foundation are communications, the communications industry, and futures research. The Foundation also promotes and supports freedom of expression, including research into the history of freedom of expression, and it fosters educational and cultural activities in Finland. Since 2008-9, the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation has funded several Fellowships at RISJ as part of its annual provision of several million euros for different projects and special undertakings. 

More information on: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/fellowships/types.html