USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism 2023 Data Fellowship, USA

Our Data Fellowship offers journalists an opportunity to transform their reporting by training them to “interview the data” as if it were a human source. Equipped with the tools to find original sources of information and perform data analysis, Fellows graduate from this hands-on training program prepared to produce a major investigative or explanatory health reporting project in the months that follow. 

This program offers training on data acquisition, cleaning, analysis and visualization led by some of the nation’s most skilled data reporters and journalism practitioners. They teach journalists how to “bulletproof” their data, ensuring accuracy in reporting. Whether you are new to data reporting or you want to master more advanced techniques such as the "R" programming environment, our personalized program — with its three skills tracks — will equip you with tools and techniques to produce major investigative and explanatory health reporting projects. 

Following the training week, Senior Fellows mentor reporters as they pair original data analysis with compelling narratives culminating in a groundbreaking Fellowship project focusing on an overlooked health issue in their community.

• Table of Content
• About USC Annenberg
• USC Annenberg Data Fellowship
• Aim and Benefits of USC Annenberg Data Fellowship
• USC Annenberg Data Fellowship Courses
• Requirements for USC Annenberg Data Fellowship Qualification
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About USC Annenberg

We are living at a time of transformative change, an era of profound disruption and extraordinary opportunity. Communication and its related disciplines are at the center of these seismic shifts. At USC Annenberg, we use journalism, communication, public diplomacy and public relations to deepen our understanding of these changes, to reinvent how we engage with our community and to advance the future of our fields. With this enduring purpose at the heart of USC Annenberg, there is no place better equipped to prepare the most promising minds to inquire, innovate and lead at the global cros... continue reading

USC Annenberg Data Fellowship

Aim and Benefits of USC Annenberg Data Fellowship

• A $2,000 stipend to defray reporting costs

• A four-day in-person, hands-on training in beginner, intermediate or advanced Excel or R-Studio

• Five months of professional mentorship, including skills-building workshops and ongoing learning

Fellows also are eligible to apply for five months of professional mentorship in engaged journalism and $1,000-$2,000 to support those creative efforts.

USC Annenberg Data Fellowship Courses

• Journalism

Requirements for USC Annenberg Data Fellowship Qualification

• Open only to professional journalists. Full-time students are not eligible to apply. 
• They welcome freelancers to apply, but they must earn the bulk of their income from journalism and have a confirmed assignment with an outlet to be considered. This includes a signed editor checklist and letter of recommendation. 
• They welcome journalists from newsrooms both large and small. They have admitted reporters to the Fellowships from national outlets with hundreds of staff members and from local newsrooms where there are just a few reporters on staff. 

Application Deadline

How to Apply

The deadline to apply is July 17, 2023. The 2023 Data Fellowship Week will take place at the University of Southern California campus in Los Angeles from October 16 – 19, 2023.

The application asks you to write or upload the following components:

• Personal Statement
• Project Proposal
• Deliverables Statement
• Resume
• Three Work Samples
• Biography and Photo
• Letter of Reference from an Editor (former or current)
• Editor Checklist (download from link and have editor sign)

For more details visit: USC Annenberg website. Also see  FAQ