North America / Germany Arthur F. Burns Fellowship
The Arthur F. Burns Fellowship Program gives 20 talented journalists from Germany, the United States and Canada the opportunity to gain professional and personal experience in their host country. Fellows work for two months at a host media organization of their choice, learning about news operations in a foreign setting and serving as foreign correspondents for their home media. The fellowship provides journalists the opportunity to conduct in-depth reporting and gain first-hand knowledge of politics, business, and culture in a foreign country, while becoming fully integrated into the day-to-day business of the host newsroom.
The program was initially founded in 1988 to improve understanding of U.S. politics and affairs among German journalists and to strengthen the transatlantic relationship. In 1990, the program became a true exchange between the two countries. In 2013, it was expanded to include Canadian journalists.
Its aim is to support talented journalists and improve news coverage of transatlantic issues.
Timeline
The programme begins each year in the end of July with a one-week introductory event in Washington DC. Following this, the German fellows begin their placements in a North American host newsroom. The Canadian and American fellows first travel to Berlin for a two-week German course and then begin their guest residencies in the German editorial offices.
Application
German participants are requested to send to IJP a Curriculum Vitae in English or German, a passport picture, a short summary of their professional objectives in the host country and a letter of recommendation from their supervising editor. The letter of recommendation should support the application as proof of journalistic work and at the same time guarantee that the applicant can be released from his/her commitments for the duration of the program.
U.S. and Canadian applicants please contact the International Center for Journalists at the above address for further details on the application process.
Scholarship
The German participants of the Arthur F. Burns Fellowship receive a budget of 4,000 Euro plus 1,500 Euro travel allowance. North American fellows receive 5,500 US$. This covers their transatlantic flight and a portion of the fellows’ travel and basic living expenses. There will be no payment for the work in the host organization.
“As a Burns Fellow, I had a chance to challenge assumptions that, at home, I take for granted—to reconceive of what is ordinary and what is newsworthy, informed by a worldview bigger than just Washington, or even the United States…. Personally and professionally, I feel richer, smarter and better equipped to interrogate the world, having spent two months in Germany.”
Shefali Luthra, Alumna 2019
