updated 2/19/2025
Is this right for me?
Are you interested in learning with and from your peers, exploring new modes of expression, and otherwise pushing your practice into unexpected places? We’re looking for artists, organizers, makers, storytellers, innovators, cultural strategists and others using media and technology with participatory practices to advance social progress in ways that defy easy categorization. We prioritize perspectives, voices, and issues which have been historically under-represented. Potential fellows should be at a stage where they appreciate reflecting on their practice, are open to new ways of working, and have the space to engage with other people and work, whether planned or serendipitous.
Wait, what is civic media anyway?
While the term and the field are emergent, we see civic media as the use of today’s technologies to create media that connects with communities, inspires action, and helps sustain social change efforts. More importantly, we believe that civic media isn’t a thing, but a who, how, and why, embodied by the organizers, the content creators, the artists, the storytellers, and the people in our homes and communities who craft and make media. Rather than holding a fixed definition, we’re guided by the voices and stories of the people who live, breathe, and practice through these diverse forms of media. If you’re interested in those aspects of your practice, we welcome you to this ongoing discussion!
Do I practice civic media?
Many of our Fellows did not initially identify as civic media practitioners, but as innovators and outliers within (or connecting) other fields. The Fellowship is designed for practitioners who don’t fit easily or completely into established boxes. People with a lot of hyphenates in their descriptors or career paths that look particularly twisty will find colleagues and collaborators here. People who are willing to blaze new paths, who appreciate rough edges, and who want to learn surprising new things—about themselves, others and the world—will find the program exciting and rewarding.
Do I need an advanced degree or a particular experience?
No degree is required. Fellows come from different backgrounds, modes of engagement, strengths, career stages and perspectives. While Fellows’ career stages vary widely, they typically have enough lived experience to be able to share and harness insights with the community.
Is there a *right* time to do the Fellowship?
Motivations vary widely: some may use their Fellowship time to step outside current involvements and to reflect and explore a new issue, media, technology or community. Others might have hit a proverbial wall in their own practice and need to reinvigorate themselves. Still others are undertaking a new effort and seeking fellow-travelers. The Fellowship has played a significant role in transition for many fellows. All, however, must be eager to contribute to the community and the field as we collectively develop and share a deeper understanding of Civic Media practices.
How will the fellowship contribute to my work?
Regardless of where Fellows are when they arrive, we aim to have them accelerating out of the Fellowship and on the path to their next adventure. That said, Fellows bring an infinitely wide range of interests to the group—we designed it to be be responsive to need, including providing a sounding board for working through challenges and decision points in everything from daily practice to larger project initiatives and career goals, exploring new themes and practices, and offering an accountability structure to help individual Fellows realize their goals. This blend of structure and emergence balances past lessons with the capacity to adapt to new people and context. It also means we will ask you to spend some time on things that may not feel directly related to your work, but are optimistic that your investment will be rewarded further down the line!
Can I join the Fellowship from anywhere?
Yes! Our Fellowship meets virtually and we have had Fellows participate from across the United States. However, while your physical location isn’t a restriction, we do have some expectations for participation. We run the Fellowship from Los Angeles, and we expect Fellows to be able to meet synchronously with the cohort once a week (noting a winter break). With the 2025/26 cohort, we plan to meet on Tuesdays from 1 – 2:30pm Pacific Time. Fellows should also expect to have a few one-on-one conversations with other fellows and staff each month (see “What’s the time commitment?” below for more details). If this is out of sync with your time zone, or internet connectivity, the program won’t be a good fit for you.
What’s the timeline?
Our current timeline for the 2025/26 Cohort is as follows:
March 3 – March 28, 2025: Applications Accepted
April 2025: Applications Reviewed
May 2025: Candidate Interviews
June 2025: Cohort Selected
Sept 9 – Dec 10, 2025 Fall Fellowship Program Sessions
Dec 11, 2025 – Feb 2, 2026: Winter Program Recess
Feb 3 – April 28, 2026: Spring Fellowship Program Sessions
The timing isn’t great for me this year…will there be another opportunity next year?
We hope so! Barring unforeseen circumstances, we plan to open applications again in spring 2026. In the meantime, please join our mailing list to stay updated.
What’s the experience like?
While each Fellow’s experience is singular, there are also some constants: fellows meet together on Zoom once a week to share their experiences, to get and give feedback on work, and to learn new skills and perspectives.
Generally, Fellows will spend their fellowship reflecting on their practice and working on public-interest and civic-oriented media, technologies, and acts. Exploration and creation are encouraged and may be individual or collaborative, short term or longer, fun or serious. In getting to know each other and each other’s work deeply, Fellows form lasting bonds and work with each other and others in guiding, joining and generating projects. Enthusiasm, empathy, patience, and commitment to working through ideas together are essential virtues!
While Fellows may come together over a shared passion for their work, they often find themselves needing space to pause and attend to their own well-being and the larger picture of their life. Taking a moment to return to center, to luxuriate in learning, and (figuratively) travel with people of other backgrounds and disciplines on analogous paths are key components of the program. We invite fellows to challenge themselves to stick to their goals while looking deeper within, quieting the noise and amplifying their intuition. We encourage fellows to set boundaries and say no to things while also getting out of their comfort zones to have hard conversations or participate in learning activities that they might not normally engage in.
In every part of the experience, we aim to make new connections and forge new collaborations, cultivating mentorship as a give-and-get exchange. Bringing varied expertise to the space, fellows are both teacher and student, sharing and completing projects together. Our hope (and experience so far) is that Fellows become vibrant members of a greater community, and expand their networks across new practices and disciplines.
Activities will include:
- Regular check-in calls to share updates, blockers and plans with each other.
- Presenting and participating in fellow-led deep dives on your ideas/projects.
- Getting to know each other and the larger community of senior fellows.
- Based on demand and capacity, we may add extra optional activities.
What’s the time commitment?
The fellowship is a 8-month part-time commitment (approximately 6 hours per week, except for winter break). This time is largely spent in collaboration and exchange (once weekly video calls, one-on-one check-ins, etc.) with fellowship peers as well as others on staff and in the community.
What is the duration?
The fellowship spans the academic year, about 8 months. Our 2025/26 cohort will run from September 9, 2025 through April 28, 2026, with a 7-week recess over the winter. After successfully completing the fellowship year, participants continue as Senior Fellows for three years (with possibility of extension) affording them a title, community, access to USC resources and the like, albeit with no ongoing financial support.
How will I spend my time?
We see your time broken up roughly into three blocks with varying degrees of flexibility:
- Synchronously meeting online with other Fellows: Taking Zoom fatigue into account, our weekly calls are typically Tuesdays from 1 – 2:30pm Pacific Time (1.5 hours)
- One-on-one with other members of the cohort and or staff to complement group time, self-scheduled (~1.5 hours)
- Your own personal time thinking / dreaming / in practice about fellowship stuff! (~3 hours or more if you like)
Is there financial support provided with the fellowship?
The 2025/26 cohort will receive a monthly stipend of $2000 for 8 months ($16,000 total).
Are healthcare or other benefits offered to Fellows through USC?
The Fellowship is not a faculty, staff, or student appointment and does not offer any additional benefits (healthcare, insurance, retirement, tuition assistance, etc.).
What other USC resources are available? Can I take classes at USC as part of the fellowship?
Fellows have access to distance resources at USC, such as digital library resources.
Fellows are not able to officially enroll in classes (either for credit or for audit) as part of the program. However, many classes have welcomed fellows to “sit in” informally and participate in this way. This is entirely at the discretion of the faculty and department for each class and arranged on a case by case basis. With most instruction happening in-person on the USC campus, this is primarily an option for LA-based fellows.
Will the 2025/26 cohort meet in person, or be able to come to the USC campus?
The Fellowship is not a place-based experience, but we look for opportunities to bring fellows together in real life when possible. For example, we’re planning events in a few locations across the country in 2025-26 to celebrate the launch of our book, We Are Civic Media, Fellows often organize to meet each other independently, and we are always excited to have folks visit us at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. While we’re not currently planning any in-person gatherings specifically for the 2025/26 cohort at USC and the Fellowship does not provide office space for Fellows, all Fellows are most welcome to visit us on campus!
How many fellows are there?
We anticipate approximately eight new fellows in our 2025/26 cohort. They are joined by about 80 Senior Fellows, who are primarily alumni of the fellowship program along with other illustrious and engaged community members.
How are fellows selected?
We have an open application process. All applicants must 1) complete the application, 2) submit contact info for two references, and 3) have one reference complete a recommendation form (a link to the recommendation form is included on the application and may be forwarded to the recommender of the applicant’s choice). The application for the 2025/26 program is open from 3/3/25 to 3/28/25.
We designed the application to be a non-burdensome way for applicants to reflect on why they and the fellowship are a fit and what they hope to get from the experience (and the next chapter of their life). Some Senior Fellows report having found working on the application to be an excellent foundation for other solicitations.
Applications are reviewed by a team of senior fellows and staff, with a small subset selected for an interview process, from which our cohort is assembled. Interviews are conducted jointly by staff and senior fellows over Zoom. While we review applicants individually, final decisions are informed by fit within the cohort as a whole.
How has all this changed from previous cohorts?
This program was conceived to be—and will remain—dynamic and iterative. It is a work in progress that evolves based on Fellows’ experience, inputs and needs in conjunction with developments in the world around us.
We began by offering both a residential and remote program, becoming entirely remote during the pandemic. We appreciated the increased accessibility, flexibility, and geographic diversity and stuck with a remote program. We are considering different modalities for the Fellowship, including re-incorporating the fellowship into the on-campus community, but as yet uncertain about future forms.
While previous cohorts had twice weekly Zoom meetings, it was a scheduling challenge for many Fellows, so we’re experimenting with a reduction on that synchronous time. This new approach requires consistent attendance and being even more intentional about our time together, while focusing on the elements of programming that have been the most impactful for our community.
Early cohorts were given a reimbursement stipend for materials and professional development, but this proved ill-suited for many of the expenses fellows found most helpful, leading us to include all funding in the cash stipend, so fellows can choose how to best equip themselves for their journey.
Why were there no cohorts in 2023/24 and 2024/25?
After five incredible cohorts and pandemic-driven program reinvention, we needed to turn our attention to cultivating our community of amazing Senior Fellows while reflecting more deeply on the future of the program.
How does the Civic Media Fellowship embrace diversity?
Diversity is a super-power—a resource to be leveraged, not a problem to be managed—and attention to it runs through everything we do. As part of learning with and from each other, the work and well-being of our community are profoundly strengthened by the differences among us, education, geography, culture, lived experience, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, race, ethnicity, age, ability, and much more. We actively seek and welcome people from across these and other spectra. Recognizing that it is a work forever in progress, we are committed to harnessing—and demonstrating—the dynamism, joy and strength of an inclusive and empowered community.
We’ve learned a lot so far and are committed to continuing that journey and manifesting those lessons in program improvements. We apply an inclusive lens to every corner of the program, recognizing that there is hard work to do every day to ensure we truly and unreservedly welcome the whole person into our shared space.
When did the Civic Media Fellowship start?
Our founding cohort began in January 2019 with four Residential Fellows, who were joined by five Remote Fellows in March 2019. You can meet the full founding cohort here.
Why did you create the Civic Media Fellowship?
We were inspired to launch this fellowship because while there is tremendous innovation, progress and commitment among civic media practitioners, there are altogether too few supports for them to push boundaries, develop new approaches, and engage across contexts, communities, and disciplines and sectors. Their path is difficult not simply due to the subject matter, long hours or scarce resources, but because it is untrodden and their destination is emergent.
They know the danger of the bleeding edge, the challenge of learning how to actually do the work well, the frustration of not fitting into existing offerings neatly, and life between the rock and hard place of great expectations and neverending need. Painfully aware that these realities are exacerbated due to the relatively few communities working in these ways, we aim to support them directly and through engagement with a participatory civic media network.
What’s the network behind this?
Founding sponsorship and support of this program come from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, with inspiration, knowledge and camaraderie shared by a tremendous network of MacArthur’s grantees and other collaborating organizations, our Senior Fellows and other leaders, and the AnnLab team.
How can I ask more questions?
During the application period (March 3 – March 28, 2025) you can schedule a 20-minute, one-on-one Zoom session with us for application questions (info coming soon).
We continue to amend and expand the FAQ thanks to your questions and our learning, so feel free to check back periodically and or email questions to annlab@usc.edu