Missouri School of Journalism’s 2021 Smith/Patterson Fellowship will provide two $2,500 domestic grants
Armaja LaRue-Hill, 2020 Smith/Patterson Science Journalism Fellow, plans to document the lack of emergency medical services in Nigeria. Her travel had to be postponed due to the pandemic. Still a student at the J-School, she is working with Pulitzer to travel as soon as it’s safe.
For 2021, the program will award two $2,500 fellowships to cover a science, health or environmental story inside the United States.
Columbia, Mo. (March 9, 2021) — Throughout the pandemic, the Missouri School of Journalism has adapted so students and faculty can continue their work safely.
That applies to the Smith/Patterson Science Journalism Fellowship as well. Since 2017, the fellowship has provided a $5,000 stipend each year for a student to cover a science, health or environmental story anywhere in the world outside the United States.
“With COVID-19 still creating uncertainty around travel, we thought it best to switch to a domestic grant this year,” said associate professor Sara Shipley Hiles, who directs the Smith/Patterson Science Journalism Fellowship and Lecture Series.
For 2021, the program will award two $2,500 fellowships to cover a science, health or environmental story inside the United States. Students may apply individually, or two students could apply as partners. Journalism students from all interest areas may apply, including those who are graduating.
“This opens up some opportunities for a writer and a visual journalist to work together, for example,” Hiles said.
The deadline for applications is Friday, April 9. Mizzou students may download the application materials at this link: http://bit.ly/MUPulitzerapp2021.
Mizzou’s fellows are part of the Pulitzer Center’s Campus Consortium Reporting Fellows program, which draws students from colleges across the country to tell important international stories. Students receive coaching, mentoring and assistance in developing and placing their stories.
Past fellows are:
2017 – Neeta Satam photographed the threatened floating islands of Loktak Lake, India. She is now a freelance photojournalist in St. Louis.
2018 – Meg Vatterott created a documentary film about the battle for water rights between the Mexican government and an indigenous group. She now works for BuzzFeed.
2019 – Dan Schwartz traveled to Peru to show highland communities’ efforts to build lakes and combat climate change. He is now an independent journalist in Colorado.
2020 – Armaja LaRue-Hill plans to document the lack of emergency medical services in Nigeria. Her travel had to be postponed due to the pandemic. Still a student at the J-School, she is working with Pulitzer to travel as soon as it’s safe.
“Mizzou’s Fellows have always been exceptional and I’m very much looking forward to working with this year’s candidate,” said Kem Sawyer, who directs the Pulitzer Center’s reporting fellow program. “Despite the pandemic, students are finding creative ways to do their reporting and get their stories out.”
Updated: June 15, 2021