About
Want to grow as a journalist while absorbing a universe of environmental knowledge?
The Grist Fellowship Program is a paid opportunity to hone your skills at a national news outlet and deepen your understanding of environmental issues. The experience is designed to give early-career journalists with a demonstrated interest in environmental issues the experience to succeed in climate and environmental media. We offer real-world experience at a fast-paced news site, training in a variety of skills key to a journalism career, and exposure to the leading sustainability thinkers and theories of our time.
After a year of working full-time at Grist and gaining key skills in environmental journalism, fellows have gone on to outlets including The Atlantic, Capital B, Politico, Investigate Midwest, The Verge, Wirecutter, Outside, Atlas Obscura, Greentech Media, and of course, Grist.
Have a question about our fellowships? Scroll down to read our Frequently Asked Questions, and to see some of our past fellows and their work.
Applications for our 2025-2026 fellowships will open December 9. Please check back here for more information about the application cycle. The fellowship will run from May 2025 to April 2026.
Current Fellows
Taylar Dawn Stagner, Indigenous Affairs Fellow, 2024-2025
Gautama Mehta, Environmental Justice Fellow, 2024-2025
Sachi Mulkey, Climate News Fellow, 2024-2025
Past Fellows
Syris Valentine, Climate Solutions Fellow, 2024
Lyric Aquino, Indigenous Affairs Fellow, 2023-2024
Siri Chilukuri, Environmental Justice Fellow, 2023-2024
Katie Myers, Climate Solutions Fellow, 2023-2024
Max Graham, Food and Agriculture Fellow, 2023-2024
Akielly Hu, News and Politics Fellow, 2023-2024
Blanca Begert; John McCracken; Brett Marsh; Jessie Blaeser; Joseph Lee Avery Nunn;
Lina Tran; Marigo Farr; Diana Kruzman; Chad Small.; Julia Kane.
Jena Brooker; Joseph Winters; Mark Armao; Maria Paula Rubiano A.
Alexandria Herr; Adam Mahoney; Brianna Baker
Emily Pontecorvo; Myrka Moreno; Justine Calma; Rachel Ramirez; Sabrina Imbler; Raven Rakia
Molly Enking; Paola Rosa-Aquino; Angley Mercado; Greta Moran; Greta Jochem; Zoe Sayler
Vishakha Darbha; Angela Fichter; Ana Sofia Knauf; Samantha Larson; Melissa Cronin; Emma Foehringer Merchant
Clayton Aldern; Eve Andrews; Amy McDermott; Suzanne Jacobs; Madeleine Thomas; Xian Chiang-Waren
Sara Bernard; Amber Cortes; Sam Bliss
FAQ
Q: Who is the Grist Fellowship Program for?
A: Grist aims to help train the next generation of environmental journalists and storytellers. The Grist Fellowship Program is designed to provide newsroom experience for early-career journalists who have a demonstrated interest in environmental and climate journalism and media. Maybe you already have a journalism fellowship or two under your belt, and now want to pivot toward environmental reporting. Maybe you’re a scientist with strong writing chops who wants to reach new audiences. Perhaps you recently graduated from journalism school, or ran your school paper while you were in undergrad. You might even be a freelancer with several years of reporting experience, looking to learn what it’s like to work in a newsroom environment.
Regardless of what brings you to our Fellowship Program, if a Grist fellowship could benefit your environmental journalism career, we’d love to hear from you. We especially encourage applicants from underrepresented backgrounds to apply, and encourage you to be in touch with us if you have questions. (fellowships@grist.org)
Q: What types of fellowships does Grist offer?
A: Grist offers four year-long fellowships. All fellows are a part of Grist’s award-winning editorial team.
Q: When and how often does Grist hire fellows?
A: Grist yearly fellowship begins in spring (typically March) and lasts for 12 months. Applications open in October and will close in November.
Q: When is the deadline to apply?
A: The application window for Grist’s 2023-2024 fellowships opens October 26, 2023 and closes November 26, 2023. You can apply on Smart Recruiter. Please follow the instructions in the job description for each fellowship here.
Q: I’ve applied to the Grist fellowship before. Should I apply again?
A: Absolutely! If you weren’t accepted the first time you applied, it often helps to go back and get a bit more experience before applying again in a later round. We are looking for well-written cover letters, demonstrated passion for environmental journalism, sharp story ideas, familiarity with Grist’s brand of storytelling, and a desire to grow as a journalist. It’s also good to note that some folks who become Grist fellows only succeeded after their third or fourth attempt. Persistence can pay off.
Q: Can I apply to more than one Grist fellowship at the same time?
Yes. You can apply to multiple fellowships in a given cycle as long as you meet the specified qualifications for each position.
Q: How long is a fellowship at Grist?
A: We ask fellows to make a 12-month, full-time commitment.
Q: Is the fellowship compensated?
A: The annual base salary for these positions is $55,000. As limited-term employees, fellows and their eligible dependents are also eligible to participate in Grist’s health benefits programs. All fellows will receive a company laptop for the duration of their time at Grist. Other benefits include 15 PTO days, unlimited sick time, Grist official holidays, 5 floating personal days, and 3 summer days (June, July, August).
Q: Where can fellows work? Can it be outside of the United States?
A: Fellows must have a U.S. address and be eligible to work in the U.S. That being said, they can work remotely from a location of their choosing, provided they can match Grist’s core working hours. Depending on COVID-19 safety guidelines, fellows may also have the option of working in Grist’s Seattle headquarters or New York office space. Fellows are not required to relocate and remote work is always an option for fellows.
Q: What kind of work will I do during the fellowship?
A: Typically, fellows are asked to write a few short-form stories or pieces of news analysis each week, contribute regularly to Grist’s newsletter products, and also have the opportunity over the course of their fellowship to work on an enterprise or feature story. They may also be asked to assist with other reporting duties, including research, production, fact-checking, and copy-editing as needed.
Q: What concrete skills will I walk away with after completing the Grist fellowship?
A: Our biggest priority is to immerse fellows in the topics of climate, justice, and solutions while building their skills as journalists. Fellows will become fluent in the environmental news of the day; solutions being developed by governments, the private sector, and communities; and the critical role of equity in all environmental issues and potential solutions. Fellows learn how to work in a busy, distributed newsroom, and by being paired with a main editor and ancillary editors, get exposure to different editing styles. Fellows also have the opportunity to participate in weekly journalism trainings on a range of journalism skill areas, from filing FOIA requests to data visualization to cultivating relationships with sources.
Q: Where do fellows go after Grist?
A: Fellows have gone onto national outlets including The Atlantic, Capital B, CNN, Politico, The Verge, Wirecutter, The New York Times, Outside Magazine, Atlas Obscura, and Greentech Media, along with a range of more regional publications like Investigate West, Bridge Detroit, Crosscut, and the Daily Hampshire Gazette. We work with fellows over the course of their fellowship to understand their career aspirations, and make introductions and consult on next career steps in the latter months of the fellowship.
Q: Where can I learn more, and how do I apply?
A: Always visit grist.org/fellowships for the latest information on upcoming application deadlines. To apply, check out the links to all our job open positions (including fellowships) here.
Q: Who can I be in touch with, if I have questions?
A: You can write to us anytime at fellowships@grist.org if you have general questions. We’d welcome the chance to be in touch!
