USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism California Health Equity Fellowship, USA for 2023

Application is now open for the California Health Equity Fellowship at the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism. Interested candidates are encouraged to send their applications in before the deadline date.

About USC Annenberg and Fellowship

This is a moment of profound turmoil, amazing potential, and revolutionary transformation for USC Annenberg. These profound changes are centered on the fields of communication and associated ones. To improve their awareness of these shifts, reimagine their community engagement, and promote their professions’ futures, the staff at USC Annenberg uses public relations, journalism, communication, and public diplomacy.

The goal of the California Health Equity Fellowship is to assist Golden State journalists who are pursuing bold, innovative stories on underappreciated health and equity issues. To enhance health outcomes and the work that supports you, you determine what stories your community should hear. Participants in the program begin a rigorous week of in-person instruction and dialogue on the USC Annenberg campus. There, they will gain knowledge from prominent health professionals, policy analysts, and community health leaders around the country, as well as from esteemed journalists in the field and one another. Subsequently, Fellows receive continuous coaching and participate in online conferences to help them reach their goals. 

How the community and surroundings might affect our lifespan and quality of life are heavily emphasized in their curriculum. The program offers fellows practical advice on how to land large-scale projects that have the greatest possible impact on community health and well-being, as well as assistance in creating initiatives that involve communities from the outset.

Details about California Health Equity Fellowship at USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism:

Scholarship Sponsor: USC Annenberg

Scholarship Value: Up to $10,000

Number of awards: N/A

Study level: Fellowship

Host Institution(s): USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism, USA

Courses: Journalism

Benefits:

Admitted Fellows receive:

• A $2,000-$10,000 grant to assist with reporting costs
• A week of in-person intensive training
• Five months of professional mentorship

Fellows are also qualified to apply for a $1,000–$2,000 stipend to assist their creative endeavors as well as a five-month professional mentoring program in involved journalism.

Eligibility Criteria for California Health Equity Fellowship

Applicants are advised to meet the following requirements to be qualified for California Health Equity Fellowship at USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism:

• Professionals in journalism with a concentration on California, as well as freelancers and national reporters based in the state. Reporters from tiny rural newspapers to major national publications have all been admitted to the course in the past. 

Reporting themes the school support

They have an expansive perspective on health, which extends beyond medical offices and hospitals. The surroundings, including towns, schools, and neighborhoods, have an impact on health. The college makes an effort to admit Fellows whose work demonstrates that.

They endorse the following general reporting topics in fellowship proposals:

• Systemic racism and the underlying causes of disparities in health
• How addressing basic requirements, economic stability, and food insecurity may affect a family’s or a community’s health and well-being
• How well families and communities are served by the legal, educational, and health systems; who is left out or suffers disproportionately as a result
• California’s housing insecurity: the extent of the issue and possible remedies
• Investigative reporting on whether social assistance and healthcare programs are meeting the needs of underprivileged communities

Selection Criteria

• Candidates with at least three years of experience in professional journalism
• Journalists working on joint projects with mainstream and ethnic news organizations

Application Procedure for California Health Equity Fellowship

Interested and qualified applicants for the fellowship should fill out the online application form. The application should include:

• In your statement, describe yourself and your motivations for wanting to be a part of the program for the school.
• Project Concept: Give a brief overview of the project you are working on. Think about these inquiries: What is the project’s long-term objective? In what way do you hope this effort will assist the community or policy? Why is this reporting significant or novel?
• Deliverables Statement: The number of tales you will cover, your first ideas for the stories’ topics or focal points, and any multimedia components you want to use (pictures, videos, music, graphics, etc.).
• Budget Suggestion: Kindly provide the desired grant amount together with a general explanation of your intended use of the money. 
• Three examples of your latest creations
• Editor’s letter of recommendation and filled-out editor checklist
• Resume

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS. Don’t see your question answered there? Reach out to the school at editor@centerforhealthjournalism.org 

The Submission Deadline is: December 10, 2023

Upcoming Fellowship Dates: Fellowship week: March 11-14, 2024

Not interested in this particular scholarship? See other USA scholarships here.