Blog Archives

Highly Recommended, Paid Summer Opportunity – AAAS Mass Media Fellowship

I was an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellow in 1995 (during medical school). The program was truly fantastic and life-altering.

The 10-week summer program places science, engineering, and mathematics students at media organizations around the country, including National Public Radio, the Los Angeles Times, and WIRED. Fellows learn to communicate complex scientific issues for the lay public. They are provided a stipend of $8000 for the summer, plus travel expenses to and from AAAS and their media sites.

I worked at the Oregonian in Portland and had a tremendous time learning how to write and edit effectively. I also gained an appreciation for the impactful influence journalists can have on medical and public health topics. The Mass Media Fellowship is really an amazing program.

Applications for this year’s AAAS Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellowship just opened on October 1 and will remain available through January 1, 2024. Check eligibility requirements and apply here.

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Highly Recommended Paid Summer Opportunity

I was an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Mass Media Science Fellow in 1995 (during medical school). The program was truly fantastic and life-altering.

Applications for this year’s AAAS Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellowship just opened on October 1 and will remain available through January 2, 2023. The scholarship is a 10-week summer program that places science, engineering, and math undergraduate and graduate students at media organizations across the nation – outlets like NPR, the Los Angeles Times, and WIRED. I worked at the Oregonian in Portland and had a tremendous time, learning how to write effectively and edit. I also gained an appreciation for the amazing public health influence journalists can have. It’s really an amazing program. 

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Awesome Paid Summer Opportunity

I was an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Mass Media Science Fellow in 1995. The program was truly fantastic and life-altering.

Applications for this year’s AAAS Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellowship just opened on October 1 and will remain available through January 1, 2021. This cycle’s fellowship dates are June 2 through August 17, 2021. Here’s the link to application information. The scholarship is a 10-week summer program that places science, engineering, and math undergraduate and graduate students at media organizations across the nation – outlets like NPR, the Los Angeles Times, and WIRED. I worked at the Oregonian in Portland and had a tremendous time, learning how to write effectively and edit. I also gained an appreciation for the amazing public health opportunities journalists have.

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Bad Advice Turned on Its Head

The end of the year is a time for reflection and a time to consider what will make you happy in the upcoming twelve months – and beyond.

When I was a medical student applying for emergency medicine residency programs, a well-meaning dean gave me some bad advice: I was determining the order of my rank list and was particularly concerned about one program that had an excellent reputation but was in a city I didn’t like. The dean told me, “You’ll be so busy during residency it won’t matter where you live.” Luckily, the advice rubbed me the wrong way, and I wholeheartedly disregarded it. Where you live for your medical training – medical school, residency, or fellowship – is as important as the quality of your training program! The reasons are several-fold:

1. Medical training is time-consuming, and you want to be in a city you can enjoy fully when you have a few moments to blow off steam.
2. Medical training is extremely stressful, and you want to be in a city where you have social support.
3. Medical training is not completed in a vacuum. Your personal life continues. If you’re single you may meet someone and end up staying in the city where you have trained for the rest of your life (gasp). If you’re in a long-term relationship you may decide to have children or may already have them. Down the road you may not want to relocate your family.

Not everyone gets the opportunity to go to medical school or train in residency and fellowship programs in a city s/he likes. But you can make choices that will increase your chances. Consider these options – and your happiness – as you make professional decisions this coming year.

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Even More AAAS Fellowship Opportunities

Earlier this month I blogged on the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Mass Media Fellowship, which I had the benefit of during medical school. The AAAS opportunity changed my life in many positive ways. I would be remiss if I did not highlight other AAAS fellowships that science students and professionals can enjoy. If you are interested in policy, are a star student with a disability, or are a woman researcher looking to fund her studies, the AAAS has a fellowship for you to consider. These and more can be found on the AAAS fellowship page

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About Dr. Michelle Finkel

Dr. Michelle Finkel

Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to
stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital.
She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated
Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more

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