Applications call for O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism. O’Brien Fellows spend nine months reporting stories with the power to compel change. O’Brien Fellowship with help of Marquette University helps news professionals dig deep while mentoring student journalists.

The program honors Marquette alumni Alicia and Perry O’Brien. Their daughter, Patricia Frechette, and her husband, Peter, donated $8.3 million in 2012 to create the fellowship. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is a co-founder and partner.

A Unique Journalism Fellowship

The fellow will

• Report and produce an in-depth public service journalism project on a regional, national or international topic.
• Receive a $70,000 salary stipend and additional support.
• Fellows traditionally are in residence, but we are now taking remote or partial remote applications along with full-residency arrangements. The O’Brien newsroom is at
• Marquette University’s Diederich College of Communication near downtown Milwaukee and the Lake Michigan shore.
• Publish or broadcast the project through your home news organization or, in the case of independent journalists, another outlet.
• Integrate Marquette’s best journalism students into your projects as reporters and researchers.
• Help identify a journalism student for a university-funded summer internship at your news organization or other publishers.

Stipend and Benefits

A stipend of $70,000 for nine months for the salary, paid to sponsor organization, or directly to the fellow in the case of independent journalists.

• A residency allowance based on family requirements for fellows moving to the Milwaukee metropolitan area for the duration of the fellowship: up to $4,000 for a single, married or partnered fellow, up to $6,000 for a fellow with one child, up to $7,000 for a fellow with two children, up to $8,000 for a fellow with three or more children. Fellows submit rent receipts from the rental property owner. The allowance is paid in equal monthly installments over the course of the fellowship.
• A moving allowance based on family size and distance. The allowance, covering the move to and from Milwaukee, ranges from $2,000 to $4,000 in total. (Fellows from the Milwaukee metropolitan area are not eligible for a moving allowance.)
• A travel and research allowance up to $8,000. This covers project-related travel as well as technology, data and document costs and equipment needs.
• Employee benefits continue to be paid by the fellow’s employer, where applicable.
• Fellows and their spouses are eligible during the fellowship for tuition remission (up to seven credits) for courses offered by Marquette University.

Eligibility

Eligibilities to apply for O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism

• Staff-employed or independent journalists can apply.
• Applicants should have at least five years of professional experience and produce journalism regularly as an employee or freelancer.
• Applicants may be connected to print operations, radio, television, websites, podcasts, online publications, wire services, or magazines of general public interest. There are no academic prerequisites.
• Applications from international journalists are eligible.

official online application form for O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism.