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AMS Mass Media Fellowship

The American Mathematical Society (AMS) sponsors a Mass Media Fellow each summer through the Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellowship program organized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). This program is designed to improve public understanding of science and technology by placing advanced science, mathematics and engineering students in newsrooms nationwide.

Applicants must be a) enrolled as students (upper level undergraduate or graduate); b) be a postdoctoral trainee; or c) apply within one year of the completion of a) or b). Applicants must be in the life, physical, health, engineering, computer or social sciences or mathematics and related fields with outstanding written and oral communication skills and a strong interest in learning about the media. In its 45-year history, the program has supported over 700 fellows.

Fellows receive a stipend of US$8,000 for the summer, plus travel expenses to and from AAAS and media outlets, to work for ten weeks during the summer months as reporters, researchers, and production assistants in media organizations. They observe and participate in the process by which events and ideas become news, improve their ability to communicate about complex technical subjects in a manner understandable to the public, and increase their understanding of editorial decision making and of how information is effectively disseminated.

Apply Online Here

Next Application Deadline: January 1, 2024

Eligible candidates should review information on the application procedures and submit their application by the January 1st deadline.

 

Maxine Calle
I believe that mathematical literacy, and scientific literacy more generally, should never be a barrier to opportunity. As an AMS-AAAS Mass Media Fellow, I got to help bridge the gap between academics and the public and create an environment where science can be accessible and enjoyable for everyone.
Maxine Calle, AMS Mass Media Fellow 2023

 

Previous AMS Mass Media Fellows

  • 2014: Joshua Batson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Assigned to WIRED magazine. See article "My summer at WIRED Magazine." Notices of the AMS, January 2015.
  • 2013: Anna Haensch,Wesleyan University. Assigned to National Public Radio. See article "My summer at NPR." Notices of the AMS, December 2013
  • 2012: Evelyn Lamb, Rice University. Assigned to Scientific American. See article "My Summer at Scientific American."Notices of the AMS, January 2013
  • 2011: Melanie DeVries, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Assigned to KUNC-FM Radio in Greeley, CO.
  • 2010: Benjamin Pittman-Polleta, University of Arizona. Assigned to the Oregonian. See article "My Summer at the Oregonian." Notices of the AMS, January 2011.
  • 2009: Baldur Hedinsson, Boston University. Assigned to Milwuakee Journal Sentinel.
  • 2007: Adriana Salerno, University of Texas at Austin. Assigned to Voice of America. See article "My Summer at the Voice of America." Notices of the AMS, February 2008.
  • 2006: Brie Finegold, University of California at Santa Barbara. Assigned to the Scientific American. See article "My Summer at Scientific American." Notices of the AMS, January 2007.
  • 2005: Brent Deschamp, University of Wyoming. Assigned to WOSU-AM in Columbus, OH. See article "My Summer at National Public Radio." Notices of the AMS, January 2006.
  • 2004: Lisa DeKeukelaere, Brown University. Assigned to the Scientific American. See article "My Summer at Scientific American," Notices of the AMS, January 2005.
  • 2003: Claudia Clark, Northeastern University. Assigned to the Voice of America. See article "A Summer at Voice of America," Notices of the AMS, April 2004.
  • 2002: Kathy Paur, Harvard University. Assigned to the Chicago Tribune.
  • 2001: Rafe Jones, Brown University. Assigned to Discovery Channel Online. See article "A Summer at Discovery.com," Notices of the AMS, June/July 2002.
  • 2000: Kathryn Leonard, Brown University. Assigned to Popular Science. See article "A Summer at Popular Science Magazine", Notices of the AMS, September 2001. Mary Ann Saadi, University of Rhode Island. Assigned to Business Week.
  • 1999: Brian Allen, Purdue University. Assigned to TIME Magazine's Washington DC bureau. See article, "A Summer at Time Magazine", Notices of the AMS, October 2000.
  • 1998: Edouard Servan-Schreiber, University of California, Berkeley, spent the summer at National Geographic Television, Washington DC.Elizabeth Veomett, Oregon State University, spent her fellowship at Business Week, New York. See article "Experiences of AMS-AAAS Media Fellows", Liz Veomett and Ben Stein, Notices of the AMS, January 1998.
  • 1997: Benjamin Stein, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, spent the summer at National Geographic Television, Washington DC.

Several Mass Media Fellows contribute summaries of media coverage of mathematics in the monthly Math in the Media Digests.

For more information, contact AMS Government Relations