Ferris Summer Opportunities for Student Internships in Journalism
Ferris Summer Opportunities for Student Internships in Journalism are funded by the endowment of Edwin F. Ferris, Class of 1899, to support summer internships in writing, publishing and journalism, in both print and digital media. The goal is to help students acquire experience in news organizations and in companies that publish books, magazines or journals.
New Jersey-based Non-profit Internships
This summer, the Program in Journalism is partnering with two New Jersey-based non-profit news organizations to offer the following six-week research and reporting opportunities. These satisfy the fieldwork requirement for JRN minors. A stipend of $800 per week will be provided, along with a maximum expense allowance of $3,000, for six weeks of research related to the internship.
The N.J. State House News Service
Spend six weeks as a researcher and reporter with NJ State House News Service, a news cooperative working with media organizations statewide to publish the work of student journalists who report on the legislature and state government from the capital. Student journalists in the program will cover a range of news events, including legislative hearings, news conferences, political campaigns, and public meetings, as well as conducting in-depth and enterprise work.
Student journalists work with professional editors to develop, report, and edit stories in their particular areas of interest. The news service offers a unique opportunity for students interested in journalism to gain insight into policy and politics while honing the skills needed to succeed in the field.
Dates: June 2nd to July 8th, 30 hours per week
Crimes Against Democracy Podcast
In partnership with NJ Monitor, a nonprofit newsroom and led by Nancy Solomon, this is a new longform narrative series about the systemic roots of political corruption and dysfunctional democracy in New Jersey. There are three six-week fieldwork opportunities for Princeton prospective JRN minors to work as researcher and reporters on the three following projects.
Corrupt Judges: New Jersey’s judicial system is used as a reward for party bosses, where judgeships are appointed not elected. This has resulted in some very troubling behavior by some judges yet very little attention has been paid to the issue. We want to dig into this more deeply, look at specific judges and the outcomes of specific cases. This reporting will involve research, finding sources, conducting interviews, researching court documents and filing for public records. We will be working in both audio and print, and Nancy Solomon will directly supervise.
County Fiefdoms: The counties are the seat of political power in New Jersey. Political machines are organized by county, and county contracts and budgets are the prize. Yet there is scant coverage of county governments and the pot of money they control. This reporting will involve scrutinizing public budgets, filing public record requests for government contracts, researching campaign fund contributions and cross referencing those contributions with government contracts, and finding and interviewing sources. This is a collaborative project with Jersey Vindicator and the intern will work directly with the Vindicator editor, Krystal Knapp, with guidance from Nancy Solomon.
The Concealed State Budget: May and June are the peak months of activity on the $56 billion state budget, which must be passed by midnight on June 31 to avoid a state shutdown. Perennially, the budget details are not made public until a few days before the deadline, leaving reporters, advocates and citizens unable to take action or counter what is being proposed. This is a systemic problem that builds secrecy and a lack of transparency into the process. Our coverage plan for 2025 is to chronicle this process by trying to watchdog the budget proposals in real time. The reporting will involve attending state legislative hearings in Trenton, filing public documents requests, interviewing legislators, and covering the attempts by advocates to obtain information and lobby legislators. This intern will work directly under the supervision of Nancy Solomon.
Dates: First week of June; with six weeks of remote work
Student Initiated Summer Internships
The Program in Journalism will consider funding requests for up to $3,000 for expenses associated with a summer internship in journalism, publishing, and editing, in both print and digital media. Internships must take place in a recognized organization for six to eight weeks.
Internship opportunities must be conducted in accordance with the University’s Permitted Travel Policy. Review this policy carefully to determine any requirements you need to fulfill before or during University-related travel.
Eligibility
All Princeton first-year students, sophomores and juniors may apply. Requests from the journalism program’s minor students will be prioritized.
How to Apply
Submit an application through the Student Activities Funding Engine (SAFE).
Students applying for New Jersey-based Non-profit Internships will need to provide a resume/CV and a letter of interest.
Students applying for Student Initiated Summer Internships should upload their offer letter from the organization providing the internship in the documents section of their application. The offer letter should include details of the internship and the amount of financial support, if any, the organization will provide.
Deadline
The deadline to apply is May 31, 2025. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis by a committee of faculty and journalists from the Humanities Council.
Post-Project Requirement
Grant recipients are required to submit a two-page report after their internship. The grants are paid in two installments: 90% upon notification of funding, and the 10% balance in September, after submission of the report about the internship.
2024 Recipients
In 2024, Ferris Summer Grants for Student Internships in Journalism were awarded to seven Princeton undergraduates:
- Lia Opperman, Class of 2025, C-SPAN
- Charlie Roth, Class of 2025, CNBC Investigative Unit
- Annie Rupertus, Class of 2025, Sothern California Radio
- Kayra Sener, Class of 2025, Times Media Group
- Julie Stern, Class of 2025, Cyprus Mail
- Eden Teshome, Class of 2025, The Hill
- Isabel Yip, Class of 2025, NBC Editorial Diversity Verticals
John McPhee ’53 Awards for Summer Projects in Independent Journalism
John McPhee ’53 Awards for Summer Projects in Independent Journalism are meant to recognize promising student journalists and to help underwrite the cost of long-form, nonfiction writing projects of at least six weeks in duration.
In Summer 2025, this funding will be awarded only for independent projects that will be conducted in accordance with the University’s Permitted Travel Policy. Review this policy carefully to determine any requirements you need to fulfill before or during University-related travel.
The Program in Journalism will consider funding requests for up to $3,000 for expenses associated with a proposed independent project.
Independent projects must take place in consultation with an advisor and for at least six weeks (typically eight weeks).
Eligibility
All Princeton first-year students, sophomores and juniors who have completed at least one journalism course at Princeton may apply. Requests from the journalism program’s minor students will be prioritized.
How to Apply
Submit an application through the Student Activities Funding Engine (SAFE).
In the documents section of the application, upload the following:
- An official transcript confirming that the applicant has completed at least one journalism course at Princeton;
- A résumé or CV;
- Two journalism writing samples (published or class work);
- A proposed budget outlining specifically how the applicant would expect to spend the award funds (include living expenses, if appropriate);
- The name of one (or more) reference;
- The name of at least one member of the Princeton faculty who will advise the applicant on the project from inception to completion;
- A letter of commitment from the applicant’s faculty advisor, confirming that the advisor will regularly video conference with the applicant during the reporting and writing of the project;
- A proposal letter of no more than 1,000 words. Subjects that would be appropriate to touch on in the letter include:
—The general topic matter the proposed article would cover, and why the subject would be of interest to readers and of importance to society;
—The maximum story that reasonably could result from the applicant’s efforts and, if unforeseen challenges arise, the minimum story the applicant is confident would result;
—Human sources the applicant would seek to interview, and why;
—Primary documents and data the applicant would seek to gather and review, and why; and,
—Where the resulting article might be published and the size of the publication’s readership.
Deadline
The deadline to apply is May 31, 2025. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis by a committee of faculty and journalists from the Humanities Council.
Post-Project Requirement
Award recipients are required to submit a two-page report on their project and a copy of the resulting article(s). The awards are paid in two installments: 90% upon notification of funding, and the 10% balance in September, after submission of the report and article(s).
2024 Recipients
In 2024, four undergraduates received John McPhee ’53 Award for Summer Projects in Independent Journalism:
- Pia Bhatia, Class of 2025, “Boys will be Boys: Consent Education in India’s Urban Slums”
- Thomas Earl, Class of 2025, “Final Stop or Safe Passage: Migration in Morocco”
- Liam Foldi, Class of 2026, “A story of persecution, perseverance and hope; from Chin State, Myanmar to Melbourne, Australia”
- Anna Salvatore, Class of 2025, “Racism At Bat: The Story of the Wichita Monrovians and the KKK”
Ferris Prizes for Outstanding Undergraduate Projects in Journalism
Ferris Prizes for Outstanding Undergraduate Projects in Journalism are awards of $250 that recognize excellent projects submitted by students in journalism seminars during the academic year, on any topic and in any medium of journalism, including audio and video presentations.
Journalism professors are invited to nominate the best papers or other work produced in their courses. The selection committee consists of faculty members and journalists. The prizes will be awarded during the summer to projects nominated in the previous fall and spring semesters.
Criteria for Judgment
- Originality
- Depth of insight
- Skill of presentation
- Contribution to a reader’s understanding of the topic
- Short pieces receive equal consideration with longer ones
Visiting Lecturer in the Humanities/Ferris Professor of Journalism/McGraw Professor of Writing
More information on the call for applications will be posted here and is typically announced in early fall.
