Winning an OPC Foundation scholarship or fellowship is more than a cash award. Winners are invited to join the Overseas Press Club family.  They are encouraged to network and keep the organization apprised of their career moves. 

Foundation fellowships pay for travel and living expenses for awardees to intern in foreign bureaus at such leading news organization as the Associated Press, Forbes, GlobalPost, Reuters and Wall Street Journal, among others, and at foreign English-language media companies like the South China Morning Post and Cambodia Daily. In many cases, winning a prestigious OPC Foundation award has helped launch careers.

Winners will be contacted in December so arrangements can be made for them to attend the Foundation Scholarship Luncheon in February 2015 in New York City. Recipients are expected to attend. The Foundation will cover the cost of travel and hotel. 

Graduate and undergraduate students, studying at American colleges and universities, or Americans studying abroad, who aspire to become foreign correspondents, are invited to apply for one of 16 scholarships or fellowships to be awarded by the Overseas Press Club Foundation. 

• freshman
• sophomore
• junior
• senior
• graduate

• US Citizen
• Permanent Resident
• International or Other Visa Status
• Undocumented

The judges require that applicants submit a Cover Letter, Resume and Writing Sample.  The applicant’s name and school should appear at the top of each page.

COVER LETTER: The cover letter should be autobiographical in nature addressing such questions as how the applicant developed an interest in this particular part of the world or how he or she would use the scholarship to further his or her journalistic ambitions.

RESUME: The judges attempt to see a progression in an applicant’s journalistic path through college, internships and other experiences. Applicants are advised to not include activities that are far removed from their journalistic area of interest.

WRITING SAMPLE: The writing sample of approximately 500 words should concentrate on an area of the world or an international issue that is in keeping with the applicant’s interest and experience. Winners have written on such diverse topics as playing black jack on the Trans-Siberian Railroad, the Indian diaspora in South Sudan and a Taiwanese book store in mainland China. Essays that are exceedingly long may be disqualified.

The substance of the essay may have appeared in an individual's previously published work but should be reformatted to meet the requirements of the application. Do not send a clip or URL. Judges respond well to applications showing strong reporting skills, color, humor and understanding. Applicants are advised to carefully proof read their submitted materials because typos and other basic mistakes can lead to disqualification.

Print applicants may email their applications to foundation@opcofamerica.org

The Overseas Press Club Foundation is the 501 (C)(3) charitable organization affiliated with the Overseas Press Club, which was founded in New York City in 1939 by a group of foreign correspondents to improve the profession of international journalism. The Foundation has a broad mandate to improve the media's understanding of international issues and to raise the quality of news-gathering efforts in covering the world. The most tangible expression of this charter is a scholarship program for undergraduate and graduate students in American colleges and universities, who aspire to become foreign correspondents. The program began in 1992 and every year offers up to $3,000 scholarships to 17 talented student winners of a national essay competition. In 2006, the OPC Foundation began partnering with media organizations to offer internships. The Foundation pays travel and living expenses for interns in foreign bureaus. Six of this year's winners will have internships with Associated Press (Cairo, Johannesburg, and Bangkok) and Reuters (Singapore, Beijing, and Hong Kong).

The Foundation feels it is more important than ever to encourage young correspondents to travel and work abroad particularly at a time when many major news organizations have sharply reduced their networks of experienced correspondents around the world.

For more information, contact Jane Reilly, Executive Director, at foundation@opcofamerica.org or call 201-493-9087.

Mail:
Willaim J. Holstein
President
40 West 45 Street
New York, NY 10036 USA

Fax: 201-612-9915

E-mail: foundation@opcofamerica.org