High school journalism internship and research fellowship
This high school journalism internship lets students in Grades 9 to 12 report environmental stories from their own neighbourhood, with a mentor who edits each draft. You interview family, neighbours and local experts, check what you hear against field data and build a set of edited stories with your name on them.
For school students who write for a school paper or take IB English Language and Literature, Global Politics or CBSE Mass Media Studies. Online, with field work near home and a parent or guardian present at every self-guided activity. The fellowship is paid because every student receives time and attention from senior researchers and leaders.
Why journalism matters for sustainability
Many people first hear about a polluted lake or a heatwave through a news story. Reporters go and look for themselves, talk to the people affected and test official statements against the facts. Climate stories also involve numbers and science, so a reporter has to read data carefully and explain it in words any reader can follow.
Earth5R works in 150+ Indian cities and has mobilised 2.5M citizens. Its teams clean lakes and rivers in Mumbai, Pune and Delhi, survey households door to door and run street hackathons where residents suggest climate fixes. Its TERRA Score work compares what 1,200+ companies listed in India report with field data. As a fellow you report on work like this and check each story against the records behind it.
This work links to the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 13, Climate action and Goal 16, Peace, justice and strong institutions.
Available projects in this high school journalism internship
Each project fits around school work and takes place near home. Your mentor shapes the final project with you.
A story from a cleanup
Join a supervised beach or park cleanup with a parent, interview volunteers and residents, and write a short news story using the waste audit figures recorded on the day.
Fact-checking a company claim
Pick one claim about waste or water from a listed company’s sustainability report, test it against field data with the TERRA Score method and write a short explainer with the company name masked.
Where your building’s waste goes
Follow your building’s waste from the bins to the collection point, interview the staff and residents involved, and write a feature on what happens to it next.
Climate ideas from neighbours
Ask neighbours and classmates which climate problem they notice most where they live, then write a feature on one idea they suggest and what it would take to try it.
What you do in the field
- Find story ideas and pitch them to your mentor
- Interview people with their consent
- Check every fact against data or documents
- Write drafts and revise them after your mentor’s edits
- Take photos to go with your stories
- Present your strongest story in a research conversation
Skills you build
On a high school journalism internship, you collect your own data near home with a parent or guardian, using the Earth5R app and data forms. Earth5R checks the data on its platform before it goes into your project report.
How a high school journalism internship fits your school programme
For IB, IGCSE, CBSE and ICSE students. Your school decides what counts towards its own requirements.
IB CAS
Reporting on local waste or water for a school or building newsletter can form a CAS project. Your CAS coordinator decides whether it fits your plan.
Extended Essay and IA
A Language and Literature Extended Essay can study how the media report climate or waste. Your own reporting helps you read such texts closely, and your supervisor approves the topic.
MYP, IGCSE and CBSE projects
A set of local stories fits the MYP Personal Project, IGCSE Global Perspectives and project work in CBSE Mass Media Studies or English.
University applications
Edited stories from your own reporting give you writing samples and specific examples to discuss in a journalism or media personal statement.
How the high school journalism internship works
Every student moves through four phases. Your mentor checks each phase before you move on, and sessions pause during board exams.
Observe and Map
Go into the field near home, with a parent or guardian, and collect primary data for your project in Journalism.
Frame and Design
Find the root cause in your data and frame a problem worth solving, with your mentor.
Model
Build a working model, analysis or design for your solution, and test it.
Build and Deploy
Put your solution to work, measure the result and publish a verified record on earth5r.org.
Along the way you take part in research conversations with professors at MIT, Oxford, Cambridge, LSE and other universities, and ask your own questions. See how FIELDWORK works.
Where this can take you
University courses this leads to
- BA in Journalism
- BA in Journalism and Media
- BA in Communication or Media Studies
- BA in English or Politics
- BSc in Communication Science
Careers in this field
- Reporter or correspondent
- Environment and climate journalist
- Editor or sub-editor
- Fact-checker or data journalist
- Communications officer at a research organisation
Universities to aim for in Journalism
Journalism admissions tutors look for students who have found their own stories and checked the facts before writing them up. A high school journalism internship with FIELDWORK gives you edited stories from your own reporting and a verified record on earth5r.org that admissions teams can check. Students use a high school journalism internship to build a record of real work for applications to universities like these.
Northwestern University (Medill)
USA · Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications
Medill’s undergraduates take the Bachelor of Science in Journalism and can spend a Journalism Residency working full time at a media outlet. The Knight Lab lets students build technology tools for journalists, and the school’s Local News Initiative studies how audiences use local news.
USA · Missouri School of Journalism
The Missouri School of Journalism teaches undergraduate degrees in journalism and strategic communication, and students learn by working in newsrooms such as the Columbia Missourian. Its Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk works with students on reporting about water, agriculture and the environment.
Pennsylvania State University (Penn State)
USA · Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, Journalism BA
Penn State’s Journalism BA, in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, offers broadcast, digital and print, and photojournalism options. All students take news writing and reporting, media law and news media ethics, and can add a reporting internship with a news outlet.
City St George’s, University of London
UK · Department of Journalism, School of Communication & Creativity
City St George’s teaches a Journalism BA (Hons) in its Department of Journalism, part of the School of Communication & Creativity. Students train in two digital newsrooms, a television studio and radio studios, and use a multimedia suite for group projects.
UK · School of Journalism, Media and Culture
Cardiff’s School of Journalism, Media and Culture teaches undergraduate degrees such as Journalism and Communications and Journalism, Politics and International Relations. Its research themes are journalism and democracy, digital media and society, and media, culture and creativity.
Netherlands · Communication Science, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences
The University of Amsterdam offers an English-taught bachelor’s in Communication Science. Its research runs through the Amsterdam School of Communication Research, where the Political Communication and Journalism group works alongside groups on persuasive and corporate communication.
Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
Singapore · Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information (WKWSCI)
NTU’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information teaches the Bachelor of Communication Studies (Honours). Its Journalism & Media Policies track covers reporting and writing, photography, video, ethics and policy, and a module called GO-FAR sends students overseas to report as foreign correspondents.
The University of Hong Kong (HKU)
Hong Kong · Journalism and Media Studies Centre (JMSC)
HKU’s Journalism and Media Studies Centre teaches a Bachelor of Journalism, Media and Artificial Intelligence, a double-major curriculum that pairs communication with technology. The centre’s teaching covers journalism, documentary filmmaking and digital media.
Toronto Metropolitan University
Canada · School of Journalism, The Creative School, Bachelor of Journalism
Toronto Metropolitan University’s four-year Bachelor of Journalism, in The Creative School, starts with courses in reporting tools, multimedia news reporting and visualising facts. Students produce the school’s print, broadcast and online work in its newsrooms and studios, with an optional internship at a news organisation.
This list is for guidance. These universities offer undergraduate study in Journalism. Earth5R has no admissions arrangement with them, and admission decisions rest with each university. Students get help researching universities, scholarships and applications, depending on the programme.
What your fellowship fee pays for
An internship fellowship at Earth5R is time and attention from senior researchers and leaders. Each part below takes staff time and resources that we set aside for every fellow.
Live mentoring with experts
One-to-one mentoring in most fellowships, with regular check-ins on your project.
Dialogues with global researchers
Academics from international universities and renowned scientists, who answer your questions and discuss your work.
Support in the field
Guidance while you collect data and work on your project in the field.
References for your next step
References when you apply for jobs, higher studies and research programmes.
Your work, hosted for life
Your work and data stay on Earth5R’s website and servers for life, where universities and employers can check them.
Time from senior people
Each fellow receives time and attention from senior researchers and leaders, set aside for them.
Fee details available on request.
Choose your fellowship
The Multi-Year Fellowship can run from Grade 9 to Grade 12, with more scope each year.
The fee pays for live mentoring, dialogues with global researchers, support in the field, references and lifelong hosting of your work. Fee details available on request.
High school journalism internship: common questions
Can I join this high school journalism internship without any writing experience?
Yes. Your first pieces are short news reports. Your mentor edits each one with you, and you move on to features and explainers once the basics are steady.
How much time will my child spend on reporting each week?
Projects are planned with a light weekly load. Interviews take place near home, often in your child’s own building or at school, and most of the writing and fact-checking is done at home around school work.
How do I check a fact?
You trace each fact back to where it came from, such as field data, a document or the person who said it. If you can’t confirm it, it stays out of the story. Your mentor checks your sources with you.
Is the high school journalism internship paid?
Yes. FIELDWORK is a paid, mentored programme. The fee pays for live mentoring, dialogues with global researchers, support in the field, references and lifelong hosting of your work. Fee details are available on request.
Can my child do this high school journalism internship online?
Yes. Mentoring sessions run online, and field work takes place near where you live.
Is a parent or guardian present during field work?
Yes. A parent or guardian is present at every self-guided field activity. Online sessions are for students.
Does FIELDWORK pause during board exams?
Yes. Sessions pause during board exams, so the fellowship fits around school work.
What do students get at the end?
A certificate, a letter of recommendation, a project report and a verified profile on earth5r.org, where universities can check the work.
Related subjects for school students
Already at university? See the Journalism and Mass Communication internship fellowship for university students.
Apply for a FIELDWORK fellowship in Journalism
This high school journalism internship is for students in Grades 9 to 12. Work on a live Earth5R project with a mentor, take part in research conversations with global researchers, and build a verified record of your work. Fee details available on request.
