Applications are Now Open for the 2020-2021 McLaughlin Centre Science Journalism Fellowship

TORONTO, Jan. 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Applications are now open for the 2020-2021 McLaughlin Centre Fellowship for Science Journalists. For more information and to apply please visit: http://www.masseycollege.ca/fellowships-and-programs/journalism-fellows/. Application deadline is March 2, 2020.

The McLaughlin Centre Science Journalism Fellowship is one of the William Southam Journalism Fellowships awarded to outstanding Canadian journalists in mid-career. Successful candidates are invited to spend eight months at Massey College, the graduate college within the University of Toronto. The objective of the fellowship program is to encourage improvement in journalism, offering journalists an opportunity to broaden their horizons by studying in a university setting.

Four fellowships for Canadian journalists are awarded annually, tenable for one academic year, September to May. The fellowships available are as follows: St. Clair Balfour Fellowship, Webster/McConnell Fellowship, CBC/Radio-Canada Fellowship, and the McLaughlin Centre Fellowship. The McLaughlin Centre Fellowship is open to experienced science journalists who have worked in the fields of science, medicine and/or health for at least five years. Interest in the McLaughlin Centre Fellowship should be indicated in the applicant’s statement of intent.

The fellowship selection committee is appointed by the President of the University and the Principal of Massey College. Fellows are chosen for professional competence and future potential as effective and responsible journalists.

Applicants must be full-time news or editorial employees with Canadian newspapers, news services, radio, television, or magazines, with at least five years’ experience. Freelance journalists working consistently in the media over a five-year period are also eligible.

Fellows are free to enroll in any graduate or undergraduate courses and use the full facilities of the University. There are no educational prerequisites for a Fellowship. Fellows receive no credits or degrees for work done during the year.

In a parallel, extra-curricular program, the Journalism Fellows meet regularly for informal seminars to discuss contemporary issues with guests invited from a wide variety of professions.

To obtain the maximum benefit from the program, successful candidates agree to refrain from professional work, including writing and broadcasting, during the period of the Fellowship. Personal holidays or travel is restricted to University holiday periods. Those selected are appointed Fellows-at-Large at the University of Toronto, with all the privileges of a Senior Resident at Massey College. Fellows are invited, throughout the fellowship, to create a piece of reportage (in the format of their choice) that reflects Massey’s academic pursuits. Fellows will be expected to share their work through publication on the Massey College website.

The Fellowships underwrite: (1) Eight months of the Fellow’s regular gross annual salary at the time of selection, but limited to $4,900 per month (a rate equivalent to $58,800 gross per year). Monthly instalments, for the eight-month university year, commence with an end-September payment and conclude with an end-April payment; (2) All university fees; (3) Travel expenses up to the cost of economy air fare to and from Toronto for the Fellow and family;  (4) Travel expenses for organized trips during the program.

For more information contact:
Emily Mockler
Massey College
4 Devonshire Place, Toronto ON M5S 2E1
[email protected]