Harvard University 2023 Berkman Klein Fellowship Program

The Nieman Foundation for Journalism and the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard share a set of common interests around journalism, innovation, and the evolution of the digital space, and both have longstanding fellowship programs that offer a year of learning and collaboration with others in the Harvard community.

Proposals from Nieman-Berkman Klein Fellowship candidates may deal with any issue relating to journalism’s digital transformation. Examples include ideas for new revenue streams to fund journalism, the construction of new tools for reporting, or research into news consumption patterns. Candidates must explain how their proposals will benefit journalism.

On campus, Nieman-Berkman Klein Fellows draw upon the wealth of resources available at Harvard and in the surrounding area for their work. Along with the Nieman Foundation and the Berkman Klein Center, Cambridge is home to institutions such as the Harvard Business School, MIT’s Center for Civic Media, the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, the Shorenstein Center for Press, Politics and Public Policy, the Harvard Innovation Lab (i-lab) and other centers interested in journalism’s evolution.

Nieman-Berkman Klein Fellows are expected to fully participate in both the Nieman and Berkman Klein fellowship programs and serve as a bridge between them. They also are expected to share the results of their work with other fellows and through the Nieman Journalism Lab.

• Table of Content
• About Harvard University
• Berkman Klein Fellowship Program
• Aim and Benefits of Berkman Klein Fellowship Program
• Requirements for Berkman Klein Fellowship Program Qualification
• Documents Required for Application
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About Harvard University

Harvard is the oldest institution of higher education in the United States, established in 1636 by vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was named after the College’s first benefactor, the young minister John Harvard of Charlestown, who upon his death in 1638 left his library and half his estate to the institution. A statue of John Harvard stands today in front of University Hall in Harvard Yard, and is perhaps the University’s best known landmark. Harvard University has 12 degree-granting Schools in addition to the Radcliffe Institute for Advan... continue reading

Berkman Klein Fellowship Program

Aim and Benefits of Berkman Klein Fellowship Program

Stipend: There are two pathways for people to be considered for the fellowship program through the open call: those who apply for funding from the Berkman Klein Center, and those who apply supported by external funding.

• Berkman Klein Center funding: the Center has a limited pool of funding to support fellows. BKC funded fellows appointed through the open call for applications are eligible to receive stipends of $75,000 annually. The first half of the stipend is guaranteed to cover the first half of the year. We will conduct a mid-year review with fellows to share feedback, review engagement, and check in on progress on research and, provided scholars are on track, at this stage we will clear the way for funding for the second half of the year. For 2023-2024, we anticipate offering three fully-funded fellowships.
   
• External funding: these applicants bring their own funding support, through means such as a grant, a scholarship, sabbatical, or the like. The Berkman Klein Center will complement this funding with an additional stipend of $10,000 that can be used for living, travel, and research expenses. For 2023-2024, we anticipate offering at least three externally funded fellowships.

Requirements for Berkman Klein Fellowship Program Qualification

We invite applications from people whose work on Internet and society may overlap with ongoing work at the Berkman Klein Center and may expose our community to new opportunities and approaches. We welcome applications from people who feel that a year as a fellow in our variegated community would accelerate their efforts and contribute to their ongoing personal and professional development.

We encourage applications from scholars, practitioners, innovators, engineers, artists, and others committed to understanding and advancing the public interest. Fellows come from across the disciplinary spectrum and different life paths.

• Some fellows are academics. For the 2023-2024 year, we invite academics who are post-docs or professors. Please note that in the 2023-2024 academic year we are not welcoming students into our fellowship cohort. (We will spend the year focused on supporting Harvard students through other types of programming, and may solicit applications from students from other institutions through other efforts, such as our research sprints.)
• Some fellows are practitioners who have built their careers outside of academia, including technologists, entrepreneurs, lawyers, policymakers, activists, journalists, educators, and others from various sectors and callings.
• Many fellows wear multiple hats and straddle different pursuits at the intersections of their capacities. Fellows might be starting, rebooting, driving forward in, questioning, or pivoting from their established careers.
• For the 2023-2024 year, we will prioritize and select for fellows who have a demonstrated record of contributing to public and scholarly conversations in their area of study.
• Fellows are committed to spending their fellowship in concert with others, guided by a heap of kindness, a critical eye, and generosity of spirit.

The fellowship selection process is a multi-dimensional mix of art and science, based on considerations that are specific to each applicant and to the composition of the full fellowship class. Please visit our FAQ to learn more about our selection criteria and considerations.

International applicants: We work with the Harvard International Office (HIO) to sponsor immigration paperwork for our eligible international fellows. An outline of the visa application process and requirements may be found on the HIO website at: http://hio.harvard.edu/scholar-visa-process.

Documents Required for Application

PDF attachments you will be required to upload include the following. Please consider this information carefully and ensure your attachments meet these requirements:

• A current resume or C.V.

• A personal statement that responds to the following three questions. Responses to each question should be between 250-500 words; the personal statement should not exceed 1500 words total.

  • What is the research you propose to conduct during a fellowship year? Please

    • describe the problems are you trying to solve;

    • outline the methods which might inform your research; and

    • tell us about the public interest and/or the communities you aim to serve through your work.

  • Why is the Berkman Klein Center the right place for you to do this work? Please share thoughts on:

    • how the opportunity to engage colleagues from different backgrounds -- with a range of experiences and training in disciplines unfamiliar to you -- might stimulate your work; and

    • the skills, connections, and insights you are uniquely suited to contribute to the Center’s community and activities.

  • How does your personal background inform and influence your research?
     
• A PDF of 1-3 work samples for a public audience, such as articles, op-eds, events, etc. Ideally, these should connect to the project proposal in some way, or help to demonstrate the feasibility of the project proposal. Please submit these samples as one combined PDF. Do not include more than three samples; we will only review the first three samples.

Application Deadline

How to Apply

For more details, visit Harvard University website.