Sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation, these fellowships will be awarded to print, television, radio, and online journalists to research and report on United States (US) health policy issues. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, or must work for an accredited U.S. media organisation. Up to ten stipends will be awarded based on the length of the fellowship - up to US$50,000 for a nine-month fellowship. The programme also covers expenses - such as travel costs and computer equipment - based on the needs of the project.

The programme aims to provide journalists flexibility to pursue individual in-depth research projects and features group site visits and briefings on a wide range of health policy issues. Recent site visits include a programme in Florida focused on proposed changes to the Medicaid programme, and a weeklong series of sessions looking at the health care system for veterans.

Fellowships can run for as long as nine months or as short as a few months, depending on the interest and needs of the journalists and the nature of the activities they propose.

All Fellows will be required to accomplish the following:

• Complete at least one individually designed research project or field practicum.
• Meet regularly with other Kaiser media fellows and with a range of leading experts, policymakers, journalists, and others in the health field.
• Participate in specific programme site visits.

The deadline for application is March 3 2009.

Click here to learn more about this programme and to read the full application instructions.

Click here to read about previous winners.

Kaiser Media Fellowships in Health on December 11 2007 and on February 20 2009.