Thank you for your interest in the Joseph Rago Memorial Fellowships for Excellence in Journalism. Applications for the 2025-26 Fellowship are closed.
The Joseph Rago Memorial Fellowships for Excellence in Journalism provide a nine-month internship with The Wall Street Journal’s editorial team. These annual Fellowships are open to recent college and journalism school graduates and journalists with less than five years’ experience.
These Fellowships are in honor and memory of Joseph Rago, a former editorial board member at The Wall Street Journal who passed away in 2017. Two Fellows are selected each year through an application process that is judged by senior editors at the Journal, senior leaders at The Fund for American Studies and the family of Joe Rago.
Rago Fellowship recipients are announced each year at the TFAS Journalism Awards Dinner. More than 200 prominent journalists and guests attend this annual event to celebrate the best in American journalism. Proceeds from the evening support the Joseph Rago Memorial Fellowship and the Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship programs.
THE OPPORTUNITY
The Rago Fellows receive a nine-month internship with the Opinion section of The Wall Street Journal, along with a salary of approximately $6,000 per month from The Fund for American Studies. The internship at The Wall Street Journal provides the opportunity for experience with many facets of the editorial craft, such as editing op-eds; writing stories under one’s own byline; writing as part of the Editorial Board; working with outside contributors at every stage of submission, from pitching to publication; contributing headlines and other story components; fact-checking and research; and more. The Fellows will write a brief report to TFAS each month describing their work and experiences.
The Rago Fellows will also take part in the annual dinner and retreat of the TFAS Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship Program and will be included in that program’s extensive alumni network.
QUALIFICATIONS
These annual Fellowships are open to recent college and journalism school graduates and journalists with less than five years of professional experience. Applicants should have a commitment to pursuing a career in journalism and should already have some experience with writing or editing in a serious journalistic context, either in school or professionally. A demonstrated ability to multi-task and meet deadlines is critical for success. Applicants should be familiar with technology as it relates to journalism.
The best applicants will have a strong record of achievement and potential for future accomplishments. In addition to illustrating these qualities, the strength and depth of character demonstrated by candidates will be a strong consideration.