Scripps Howard Fellowship Program 2025

APPLY FOR A FELLOWSHIP

Apply by March 1; fellowships begin in mid-August.

Thanks to a campus-wide commitment to research and teaching on the many facets of environmental problems, the university provides Scripps fellows with a wide range of intellectual resources. This flexible, non-degree program allows fellows to tailor these resources to meet their needs and interests. The two-semester program begins in mid-August and continues through mid-May. During this period, fellows deepen their knowledge of the environment through courses, weekly seminars, and field trips. They also engage in independent study expected to lead to a significant piece of journalistic work.

Courses

Fellows select at least three courses each semester from a broad array of offerings from individual departments. The university offers a wide range of graduate certificate programs, a number of which may have specific courses that are relevant to your particular interests. You can find a list of these programs here. Click on a certificate of interest to navigate to a listing of its courses. As auditors, fellows do not receive academic credit for courses they attend but may request a formal transcript showing their audited classes. A complete listing of courses is available through the CU course catalog, with the current class schedule here.

Weekly Seminars

Designed specifically for the Scripps Fellows, seminars address issues common to environmental reporting and engage fellows and area experts in a constructive dialogue. The seminars also acquaint participants with the extensive environmental resources available on campus and in the surrounding community.

University resources include the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science, the Environmental Studies Program, the Natural Resources Law Center, the Center of the American West, and the Natural Hazards Center. Boulder is also home to a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Field Trips

Fellows will take field trips in the Boulder/Denver area and beyond, depending on their interests. Destinations may include the University of Colorado's Mountain Research Station, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Today's fellows will be tomorrow's journalism leaders

We all know the Internet has changed journalism. And it’s not just the business models. It has also helped spawn new ways of reporting and new forms of storytelling. For journalism to flourish, the leaders of tomorrow’s newsrooms will need to understand and take advantage of the new ways of doing it all. That means data, crowdsourcing, multimedia, and no doubt forms we haven’t yet landed on. Nobody can be an expert in it all. But deep exposure to the tools is crucial. As are the management skills to meld them all together. 

That’s why we’ve created the Scripps Howard Fellowship Program. It’s an intensive, 12-month program with the goal of developing a diverse pool of talented, young journalists who will have the foundational skills for future leadership. Starting in June, fellows will work at either Scripps News Washington Bureau/Newsy or ProPublica, focusing on developing expertise in one specialty, while being exposed to all the components of the newsroom. 

The fellows will come together on three occasions for sessions on career management, leadership/collaboration and the business of journalism/entrepreneurship.