Institute for Human Sciences Milena Jesenská Fellowship for Journalists 2024

The Milena Jesenská Fellowship Program, named after the Czech journalist, writer, and translator Milena Jesenská (1896–1944), offers European journalists (including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey) time off from their professional duties in order to pursue in-depth research on a topic of their choice.

Milena Jesenská Fellowships are intended as an award for excellence and are directed towards cultural journalists, with the term “cultural” being interpreted in a broad sense to encompass a wide variety of intellectual and artistic fields. However, applicants' work may also be related to one of the IWM's main research fields.

Milena Jesenská (1896–1944) was an outstanding journalist and mediator between the Czech and German cultures in Bohemia as well as an astute political commentator. She was detained in the Nazi concentration camp in Ravensbrück for her political involvement and resistance, losing her life there in 1944. She is widely known for her famous correspondence with Franz Kafka.

• Table of Content
• About Institute for Human Sciences (IWM)
• Institute for Human Sciences Milena Jesenská Fellowship for Journalists
• Aim and Benefits of Institute for Human Sciences Milena Jesenská Fellowship for Journalists
• Institute for Human Sciences Milena Jesenská Fellowship for Journalists Courses
• Requirements for Institute for Human Sciences Milena Jesenská Fellowship for Journalists Qualification
• Interview date, Process and Venue for Institute for Human Sciences Milena Jesenská Fellowship for Journalists
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About Institute for Human Sciences (IWM)

The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) is an institute of advanced studies in the humanities and social sciences. Founded as a place of encounter in 1982 by a young Polish philosopher, Krzysztof Michalski, and two German colleagues in neutral Austria, its initial mission was to create a meeting place for dissenting thinkers of Eastern Europe and prominent scholars from the West. Since then it has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions that now embrace the Global South and North. The IWM is an independent and non... continue reading

Institute for Human Sciences Milena Jesenská Fellowship for Journalists

Aim and Benefits of Institute for Human Sciences Milena Jesenská Fellowship for Journalists

During the next Fellowship term (September 2024–June 2025), four Fellows are invited to spend three months each at the IWM in Vienna, Austria.

They will receive a stipend of EUR 3,000 per month.

In addition, the IWM provides them with an office including access to the internet, administrative and research facilities as well as other services free of charge. Generally, fellowships start on the first day of the month and end on the last day of the month.

Institute for Human Sciences Milena Jesenská Fellowship for Journalists Courses

• Journalism

Requirements for Institute for Human Sciences Milena Jesenská Fellowship for Journalists Qualification

Applicants must have worked in print, broadcast or online journalism for several years and must have an outstanding professional record. Applications by entry-level journalists or students will be rejected.

Interview date, Process and Venue for Institute for Human Sciences Milena Jesenská Fellowship for Journalists

A jury of experts will evaluate the applications and select the finalists. Applicants will be notified of the jury’s decision in the spring semester of 2024. 

The jury is not required to publicly justify its decisions, nor to provide applicants individual feedback on their applications.

Application Deadline

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted through the IWM's online application form; we will be unable to consider applications sent via email.

Application materials consist of the following:

• a brief letter of motivation that addresses how the project would benefit from time at the IWM, the connection to the IWM’s mission and research, and concrete research/writing goals during the fellowship
• a project description (max. 550 characters)
• a project proposal (max. 7,500 characters incl. spaces) containing a description of the project’s a) objectives, b) the state of the art, c) methods, and d) a work plan
• a curriculum vitae including a list of publications
• two letters of recommendation are required: At least one from an editors, fellow journalist, or publisher. If applicable, one recommendation letter can also be provided by a scholar familiar with the applicant's work

All application materials should be in English.

Important! Attached documents must be combined into a single PDF, as the online submission form only allows for one attachment. File names of attachments must use Latin characters. 

For more details visit: IWM website.