Media Fellows
What is the program?
The Divinity Media Fellows program, an initiative of Duke Divinity School and Duke University's DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy, offers mid-career journalists covering religion a four-week opportunity to broaden their knowledge of Christian history, theology and practice.
Fellows may sit in on a variety of divinity school classes, find quiet time for reading books recommended by specialists, and attend school activities from public lectures and forums to services of worship in several different Christian traditions. They also will have opportunities for conversation with the school’s world renowned faculty.
The divinity school-sponsored fellows also are enrolled in the Media Fellows Program of the DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy. Like others in that program, they participate in a variety of lectures, classes, trips and other learning experiences.
It is a non-degree program, designed to allow fellows to follow their personal and professional interests within a structured program.
What is Duke Divinity School?
Duke Divinity School is one of seven professional schools at Duke University and one of 13 seminaries associated with the United Methodist Church. The school enrolls about 575 students in four graduate degree programs. Its primary purpose is to provide graduate professional education for the various ministries of the Christian Church. Students, who come from more than 40 states and several foreign countries, represent nearly 40 Christian traditions.
Recently expanded with a 53,000-square-foot addition and renovation, Duke Divinity School is especially strong in areas such as end-of-life care, ethics, interpretation of the Bible, pastoral excellence and leadership, racial reconciliation, church history, Wesley studies, and theology and medicine.
Who is eligible? Who are previous fellows?
Successful applicants for the divinity school-sponsored fellowships will include journalists with at least seven years of experience, though not necessarily seven years of covering religion. Previous fellows include:
- Mark Pinsky of The Orlando Sentinel (2006)
- Caroline Borge of ABC News Primetime (2007)
- Rachel Zoll of the Associated Press (2007)
When are the next fellowships available?
Applicants should contact the divinity school and the DeWitt Wallace Center to discuss availability. Applications are due three months before the start date for U.S. residents and five months before the program start date for others.
- September 15 to October 10 (2008)
- October 20 to November 7 (2008)
What is the cost?
Duke Divinity School pays for the program, $8,000 for the academic year 2007-08, including fees, housing and some transportation. Participants will incur some incidental costs.
How do I learn more and apply?
For more details about the media fellows program, including application forms, please visit the DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy.
Divinity School Contact:
Jon Goldstein
Associate Dean for Communications
Duke Divinity School
Box 90970
Duke University
Durham, NC 27708
919-660-3416
DeWitt Wallace Center Contact:
Laurie Bley
DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy
Sanford Institute of Public Policy
Box 90241
Duke University
Durham, NC 27708
919-613-7344