AHCJ International Health Study Fellowships
Applications are closed.
A fellowship for experienced journalists with a focus on international health.
In comparing the U.S. health care system to its global counterparts, journalists traveling to different countries as part of the AHCJ International Fellowship program can produce projects that provide valuable insights that can help inform policy decisions, improve health care outcomes and contribute to the ongoing evolution of health care systems worldwide.
Through the AHCJ International Health Study Fellowships, supported by The Commonwealth Fund, you can pursue a story or project comparing a facet of the U.S. health care system to that of another country.
For 2026, the focus will be on the U.K., Canada, Norway, Netherlands, France, New Zealand, Singapore, Australia and Japan in comparison with the U.S. health care system. You’ll pursue the projects with the support of your newsrooms or arranged outlets, which commit to publish or air the work.
This fellowship allows highly experienced journalists to maintain their regular employment while working to evaluate a key component of the health care system, a health outcome, access, performance, providers, efficiency or other focal point over a six-month period.
That period allows for preparatory time, a site visit to the chosen European country, interviews and information gathering, as well as follow-up and writing time. Guidance is provided through seminars, conference calls and consultations with AHCJ fellowship leaders, a mentor and exposure to various topic experts.
Expectations
Candidates should be U.S.-based, working journalists who qualify for AHCJ professional membership with at least 10 years’ experience as professional journalists, preferably with strong experience covering health care policy and delivery at the national or regional level. We value and celebrate diversity and the building of a more inclusive journalism landscape, and encourage journalists of all backgrounds and identities to apply.
Along with choosing working journalists who propose compelling project ideas, we pay special attention to these attributes:
- The project proposal is unique.
- The project proposal holds promise for educating the public.
- The prospective fellow has a proven track record that shows a capability of tackling the proposed project.
- The applicant is capable of completing the proposed project by the end of fellowship period.
- The applicant’s employer (or freelancer’s intended outlet) will nominate the candidate and agree to support their efforts in completing the project by the end of the fellowship period.
- Any employer agrees to provide AHCJ and The Commonwealth Fund with nonexclusive rights to reprint or make available the completed project through their websites, with appropriate credit given to the original outlet. If the fellow is a freelancer, a letter is expected from a client or assigning editor willing to provide an outlet for the final project.
- The prospective fellow and employer agree to provide a credit line or other notation mentioning the work was done under the fellowship program.
Tentative Schedule
January 2026 seminar: The first seminar — to be held in New York — will include how to find and examine reliable international health statistics and what a high-performing health care system looks like, judging access, quality and efficiency. This also presents an opportunity to begin focusing on the fellows’ chosen nations and gives fellows a head start on understanding what they will find in their travels, as well as pointing them to informative sources in those countries. The seminar also allows fellows to hone story focus with input from journalist program leaders and other fellows.
Post-seminar preparation: Following the first seminar, fellows will return home for four to six weeks of trip preparation. This includes lining up interviews and site visits in the country of their choice, as well as some preliminary reporting in the U.S. so they have a firm grasp on what they want to compare.
March 2026, overseas travel and second seminar: The overseas reporting trip will take place during the same time period for all fellows, allowing for 13 days in their study countries, about two days together (in a city to be announced) for the second seminar to debrief, and additional travel time back home. Time in the study country is to be spent conducting pre-arranged interviews, visiting clinical sites and health agencies, interviewing locals for color, observing the chosen health system in action, and writing up notes.
Publication/Airing: The fellows are expected to publish or air their reports — whether individual story or larger project — within 90 days of the trip.
What’s covered?
- Training and mentoring.
- Travel to and lodging and meals in New York for Seminar 1.
- Travel to a country from the dedicated list for the fellowship year, lodging in that country, reasonable transit focused on reporting within that country and a meal/incidental expenses stipend for the entire period.
- Travel to and lodging overseas (location to be determined) for Seminar 2 and a meal/incidental expenses stipend.
- A year’s membership in AHCJ, new or extended.
Application checklist
- Apply early! Applications for the U.S. Health System Reporting Fellowship and the International Health Study Fellowship are accepted on a rolling basis, with a deadline of Oct. 10, 2025. Once reviewed, slots will be filled — so early applications are strongly encouraged for your best chance of being selected. (Note: Journalists may apply for both fellowships but can only be selected for one. A new form and proposal need to be completed for each application.)
- A two-page project proposal outlining your topic, why it’s a good story for your audience, reporting locations, potential sources and how the topic is revelatory as a subject (or novel in its approach). We need to see some evidence of your prior reporting or research on the topic.
- Complete the application form, which will include:
- One sentence overview of your proposal.
- A paragraph on why you are applying for the fellowship and how it will help your professional development.
- A paragraph on the impact reporting on this project will have (quantitative and qualitative)
- A paragraph on the primary audience/demographic for the project (who you’re serving).
- A current resume or CV.
- A letter of recommendation from your current employer that addresses the benefits of the fellowship to you and the news organization’s audience as well as the employer’s commitment to support the project as detailed in the Expectations section above, including scheduling sufficient time for you to pursue the project. Freelance applicants should submit a letter from an assigning editor that they will provide an outlet for the final project.
- A work sample of one health policy story published or aired during the past 12 months.
Applications for the U.S. Health System Reporting Fellowship and the International Health Study Fellowship are accepted on a rolling basis, with a deadline of Oct. 10, 2025. Once reviewed, slots will be filled — so early applications are strongly encouraged for your best chance of being selected.
Applications are closed.
Questions? Contact Andrea Waner at andrea@healthjournalism.org
Current Fellows
2026
Past Fellows
2025
2024
Read the press release.