With an eye toward improving science journalism—and science itself—Johns Hopkins University’s MA in Science Writing program has partnered with the Good Science Project to offer four $5,000 reporting grants.
The Good Science Project–Johns Hopkins MA in Science Writing Fellowship will award grants for feature-length magazine articles on the funding and practice of science in the United States. It was developed to inspire science journalists to take on ambitious projects, says Sam Apple, Program Coordinator for the JHU Advanced Academic Programs division’s MA in Science Writing program.
“It takes journalists months to research and report a feature story, and lots of potentially important articles are never written, simply because the cost is too great for many publications,” says Apple.
Grants will support articles that reveal flaws in current science policy, practice, or funding and identify ways they might be corrected. “We focused on problems relating to the funding and practice of science because we are passionate about good science and believe that science journalists, like all journalists, can play an important role as watchdogs,” says Apple. “Great science journalism can be a pleasure in itself, but exposing flaws and exploring solutions can also lead to better science.”
Fellowships are open to students and science writers worldwide—with one of the four grants earmarked for JHU MA in Science Writing students—and applications are due Nov. 5, 2023. The fellowship is funded by the Good Science Project and administered by the MA in Science Writing program.
An advisory board of professional writers and scientists will evaluate applicants’ article pitches, “looking for reported stories that have the potential to make a real impact,” says Apple. “We hope to support work that explores both where science goes wrong and how the problems might be fixed.”