Visiting Fellows

The SNF Agora 2026-2027 Visiting Fellow application cycle closed March 2, 2026.  Applicants selected for the 2026-2027 Visiting Fellows cohort will be notified by early May.  Watch this page for announcements!

The SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University seeks applications for Visiting Fellows for the 2026-2027 academic year. By enabling the Institute to integrate a broader range of people into our work, the SNF Agora Visiting Fellows program supports the institute’s overall mission of strengthening global democracy through powerful civic engagement and informed, inclusive dialogue. The program recruits a cohort of fellows from diverse sectors, disciplines, backgrounds, and ideologies to join the institute for a year to work with our permanent faculty, researchers, and students. We welcome applicants from civil society, government, industry, media, academia, the arts, and other fields.

We ask fellowship candidates to propose specific fellowship projects they want to pursue. These projects may be undertaken at any time within the fellowship year (July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027).

While this is a non-residential fellowship, to support a vibrant and collaborative community, SNF Agora Visiting Fellows are expected to come to JHU’s campus in Baltimore to meet the terms of their project. Visiting Fellows also participate – in person to the extent possible – in regular workshops, seminars, and other programs at the institute, in the larger Johns Hopkins community, and beyond.

Each year, we recruit fellows through a general call for proposals, and a specific focus area. For the 2026-27 cycle, we invite proposals in this focus area: Democracy and the Media. Learn more about this focus area below.

We also invite proposals for projects on other topics; for these we strongly recommend identifying a connection to ongoing areas of scholarship at the institute. Learn more about our work and scholarly projects here.

FOCUS AREA: DEMOCRACY AND THE MEDIA

The role of the media in global democracy is evolving, and boundaries are becoming more blurred with increasing overlap between journalism, influencers, and other forms of informal media.  The institute seeks fellows interested in how these evolving media forms relate to and shape democracy, including: how they may promote or dissuade free speech, as well as burgeoning structural and financial pressures on journalistic norms and reporting standards.  Potential fellows may be practitioners from old and new media, the public and non-profit sectors, artists, and researchers.

General Call: Collaborations with institute faculty
The institute welcomes applications from practitioners whose work would benefit from collaboration with our faculty –advancing their scholarly projects and our mission. In your fellowship proposal, please indicate which faculty member(s) you would like to work with and elaborate on the project.

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

The Artist in Residence participates fully in the SNF Agora Visiting Fellows cohort. Applications are submitted through the standard Visiting Fellows application process.  Applicants with expertise in the arts will be considered with the general and themed groups, as well as for the Artist in Residence designation. To learn more about our inaugural Artist in Residence, please visit this link. 

QUALIFICATIONS

Applicants from a variety of backgrounds are encouraged to apply. The institute is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and reiterates its full support of Johns Hopkins’s policies and statements in this regard. We add to these policies our own commitment to selecting visiting fellows without regard for political preference or educational background.

BENEFITS

SNF Agora Visiting Fellows participate fully in the life of the SNF Agora Institute. The fellowship includes dedicated programming for Visiting Fellows, such as workshops and social gatherings, convenings with SNF Agora faculty and senior fellows, and inclusion in all invitation-only SNF Agora programming. Visiting Fellows also have the opportunity to meet with senior university leadership and faculty in disciplines related to their area of inquiry. They also have access to the Johns Hopkins Sheridan Libraries and associated electronic resources available to the university for their research. Becoming a Visiting Fellow also means joining a growing community of practitioners and scholars committed to strengthening democracy.

The SNF Agora Institute provides Visiting Fellows with a modest stipend to help defray the costs of their time with the institute. The stipend is pro-rated based on the time the fellow spends with the institute, the extent of their housing needs in Baltimore, and other factors. The stipend only rarely reaches $25,000 in a given academic year. (Please note that this limited-term position does not include benefits.) Fellows who have independent funding that would allow them to extend their time with SNF Agora should contact us. The institute provides all fellows with shared office space, some administrative and marketing support, and research support from students when available. The institute also offers help locating short-term housing, when applicable.

ELIGIBILITY

We encourage applicants from a variety of backgrounds to apply. Prospective Visiting Fellows should have a clear idea of what they would like to contribute to the institute and the JHU community during their fellowship. They should plan to engage in their proposed project(s) for a predetermined period during the academic year. We will discuss the specific time commitment and expected workload in detail before making an official offer. Please see our FAQs at the bottom of this page for more information.

The institute supports diversity, equity, and inclusion and upholds the policies and statements of Johns Hopkins University. We also commit to selecting Visiting Fellows without regard for political preference or educational background.

HOW TO APPLY

The SNF Agora 2026-2027 Visiting Fellow application cycle closed March 2, 2026.

SELECTION CRITERIA

In general, we consider SNF Agora Visiting Fellow applicants based on the following criteria:

Relevance of Project to SNF Agora: The applicant’s proposed project must relate to and/or complement the work of SNF Agora and its fellowship focus areas. Ideal Visiting Fellows draw a clear line from their proposal to the SNF Agora mission.

Capacity: The applicant must have time in their schedule to organize and lead the activities they propose and to participate in institute programming. We will determine an agenda of commitments before the Visiting Fellow’s start date. Applicants should indicate their availability and their willingness to take part in a variety of engagements throughout the fellowship.

Collaboration: The applicant should show openness to collaborate with other SNF Agora fellows, faculty, staff, students, and the broader JHU community. Since communication and open dialogue are core to our mission, we design our programming around these values.

Cohort Coherence: We aim to build a cohort with a strong mix of expertise, backgrounds, and interests. Each year, we select a group of fellows whose work complements one another and aligns with the institute’s work and any stated thematic focus area.

FAQs

Who is eligible to apply to the fellowship?
The institute welcomes applicants from around the world and from a variety of fields such as academia, civil society, government, industry, media, the performing arts, and other fields. Applicants must be present in the United States during their fellowship project (see Question 4 for more info).

How many fellows are selected each cycle?
The exact number of Visiting Fellows selected each cycle varies based on the application pool, cohort theme(s), and anticipated budgets, but it is generally around 10 individuals per academic year. You can learn about our 2025-2026 cohort here: SNF Agora Institute announces 2025–26 visiting fellows | Hub 

What is the typical length of this fellowship?
The term of each fellowship is one academic year, though Visiting Fellows may and typically do complete their projects in less time. The Institute expects all Visiting Fellows to participate in regular programming throughout the academic year, though, about one event per month. While in-person participation is preferred, these monthly events offer virtual options for participation.

Are Visiting Fellows required to live in Baltimore during their fellowship?
To support a vibrant and collaborative community, Visiting Fellows are expected to spend time in Baltimore to meet the terms of their project or themed engagement. The Institute is open to a variety of arrangements – an intensive month or weeks in residence, weeks in residence spread out over the course of a semester or year, weekly one-day visits over a semester to teach a class, or other proposed alternatives.

What are the general participation expectations for Visiting Fellows, beyond their project?
During their fellowship year, Visiting Fellows are expected to participate in all programming offered for fellows – in person whenever possible. We also offer a variety of signature programs – debates, conferences, and more – throughout the year, and Visiting Fellows are welcome and encouraged to participate in those. Visiting Fellows may also be called upon to be speakers or panelists for SNF Agora programs.

Does the institute provide housing?
The institute does not provide housing, however, the university has resources that may be helpful to a fellow’s housing search. There are university-operated residential properties among other options in the nearby vicinity. A visiting fellow’s stipend is expected to cover all housing costs throughout the duration of the fellowship.

Does the stipend include funding for travel?
Travel to and from the institute is expected to be covered entirely by the stipend awarded to the individual fellow. A fellow should budget for their stipend amount to cover the costs of all travel expenses incurred during their time with the institute.

Does the stipend include funding for conferences & gatherings that I would like to host as a Visiting Fellow?
The stipend is meant to support each Visiting Fellow’s time with the institute and can therefore be used for conference expenses if the Visiting Fellow so chooses (in accordance with university rules for reimbursable expenses). The institute also provides limited staff and marketing support for events and conferences.

Do Visiting Fellows receive health insurance?
The fellowship is benefits-eligible; however, fellows bear the full cost of any benefits they elect, including full health insurance premiums. More information is available on the JHU benefits website.  

What teaching opportunities are available to Visiting Fellows?
Opportunities to teach may be available on a case-by-case basis. Applicants intending to teach should say so in their proposals and include information about their qualifications to teach.

Can I apply as part of a team?
Yes, you can apply as part of a team, with the understanding that each team member would occupy one of our fellowship slots. We ask that each team member complete an individual application for administrative purposes, but the proposal language can be identical across applications. For these proposals, please indicate in the body of the proposal who the other teammates would be.

Ideally, projects of this sort would be linked to the work of an SNF Agora faculty member or other work at the institute, including the year’s articulated focus area(s), but we are open to mission consistent proposals that are carried out by a team who need space to work together on a shared problem. Regarding teamwork and timelines, sequenced visits to the institute over the course of the academic year are possible if needed for the sake of project work.

Will applicants receive feedback on their applications once submitted and before selections are made?
Unfortunately, to maintain equity in our selection process, we cannot allow for custom consultations once applications are submitted. Prospective applicants are welcome to contact the institute with general questions about the fellowship program by emailing [email protected].

How are applicants selected?
Once the application portal is closed, applications are first reviewed for feasibility, ensuring that a proposed project is reasonable within the scope of SNF Agora resources. Applications that move forward are reviewed by a committee of faculty, based on the stated criteria of Relevance, Capacity, Collaboration and Cohort Coherence. Awardees are notified as soon as possible, ideally by late April. At that time a meeting is scheduled for the Fellow with SNF Agora staff to answer any questions and discuss any administrative issues relevant to the project proposal.

What kinds of things have Fellows done in the past?
Visiting Fellows’ projects could include, but are not limited to:

• • Partnering with SNF Agora Institute faculty on research related to the focus areas.
  • Developing and hosting a community of practice around one of the focus areas (examples of institute-supported communities of practice are here).
  • Designing and developing a symposium, performance, or other public engagement.
  • Developing other content or strategic opportunities for the institute – either related to the focus areas or related to the institute’s mission.
  • Teaching a course or other training to students or the wider JHU community.

Each Visiting Fellow’s project is unique, so while theme and participation can be a throughline, timeline, budget, and workplan are specific to that individual based on their proposal. SNF Agora’s aim is to support each proposal equitably, but direct project comparisons are not applicable.

Feel free to check out our past Fellows here.