• You are a working journalist. This can mean that you’re a freelancer, or employed by a newsroom. You can work in radio, print, TV, photography, digital, or any combination thereof! You can be an early-career reporter, or a veteran journalist with decades of experience. And it doesn't matter if you cover the environment, business, politics, food or the metro desk - the stories we explore touch on just about every beat in the newsroom.

• You are interested in learning more about whatever subject/issue/place we’re covering. Always wanted to know more about PFAS? Curious about ocean issues? Seeking further knowledge about wildfire, or drinking water, or environmental justice? Keep your eyes peeled for a program that floats your boat and submit an application!

• You intend to produce a story (or stories) about the information you’ve learned during our program. While we know our programs provide good background, we also hope that participating journalists will go out and put what they’ve learned to good use. If you think you might go on to write about what you’ve seen and heard with IJNR, go ahead and apply!

• You are able to commit to the full duration of the program. Workshops require a couple days of your time; institutes up to a full week. No coming late or leaving early, please. If you’re able to fit it into your schedule, we’d love to have you on board.

• You like talking shop with colleagues. One bonus to our programming is that we get journalists who cover these issues all in the same room - whether it's virtual or not. If discussing the challenges of reporting on these complicated issues with a group of fellow journalists sounds good to you, then you should definitely apply!

• You work in a PR department or communications position, or are otherwise employed by an advocacy or industry group.

• You are an undergraduate student. (We occasionally make exceptions for graduate students who are soon to enter the world of professional journalism and who have already started compiling bylines.)

• You are a working journalist, but have no intention of covering the material you learn about during the program.

No! IJNR arranges and pays for all lodging, food, and local transportation during our programs. You are only responsible for coordinating and paying for your own travel to and from the program.

Yes! We offer travel stipends for those who are coming from afar. If you’re employed by a newsroom, please consider asking if they’ll cover your travel expenses! (We realize this isn’t always possible.) Travel stipends can be used for airfare, train tickets, mileage reimbursement (we reimburse 2x the IRS charitable rate per mile,) parking (SpotHero is a good resource,) etc. We have a limited pot of money available for stipends, so it is possible we won’t be able to cover the full amount of your travel. If you would like to request a stipend, please click here.

No! We most likely will NOT be staying in the same location every night of the trip. This means even if you live in the city we start and end in, you will need to plan to travel with the group for the entire trip. You’ll also need to pack up your bag most mornings and make sure it makes it onto the bus with you!

Unless there are extenuating circumstances, we’ll be traveling in the comfort of a coach bus with a restroom. There will be snacks and beverages on board, you’ll have room to stretch out, and your luggage and gear will stay safe as we journey from place to place. Think of it as your home away from home!

Yes! Unless otherwise noted, each participant on our trip will have their own hotel room each night. We sometimes stay at places like research stations or ranches where the accommodations are more communal, but we’ll share that info with you as we prepare for our trip.

Yes! Unless we say otherwise, all sessions during IJNR programs are on the record. That said, we ask that you follow up with any sources we meet on the trip if you do decide to pursue a story from the session they presented in. We have promised “no surprises” to our speakers, meaning that if they’re going to show up in a news story, they’ll be alerted in advance!

We spend a lot of time outside at IJNR and we don't cancel programming for a little rain, snow or chilly weather. That means you should pack accordingly. How, you ask? By consulting the "What-To-Bring" checklist!

That’s it! Think of us as your tour guides on an exclusive reporting trip. Once you’re at the starting point of our adventure, your job is to simply sit back, relax, listen and learn. (And maybe make friends with your fellow journalists!).