Awards/Fellowships: Rules and Eligibility

All CASW Awards/Fellowships:

• Applications open annually on or around January 1.
• Science writing includes, but is not limited to, writing in the biological, physical, environmental, computer, and space sciences, along with technology, mathematics, health, and science policy.
• Board and staff: Current CASW board members, staff and contractors, as well as members of their households, are ineligible to apply for or receive CASW awards or fellowships. Board members who leave the board, or staff members who leave their employment by CASW, can become eligible after a one-year waiting period. Former contractors can become eligible after a period of time equivalent to the length of their longest contract, capped at one year.
• Judges: Members of a judging panel for a given award are not eligible for that award in the same year. Current judges are eligible for CASW awards/fellowships other than the award that they’re judging; and former judges are eligible to apply for the award they judged in subsequent years.
• Applicants may not submit works funded fully or partially by CASW.
• Bylines: CASW strongly prefers single-byline stories in support of applications. Judges may decide not to consider multiple-byline stories submitted as part of an application.
• Members of groups historically underrepresented in science and media professions are encouraged to apply.

Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award

• Applicants: Applicants must be age 30 or younger. The 2026 award will be limited to those applicants whose 31st birthday is July 1, 2026 or later.  Both freelancers and staff writers are eligible.
• Who can submit: Applications may be submitted by the author or on the author’s behalf. 
• Submitted works: Applicants may submit a single article or series, or up to four individual pieces. Articles must be published between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026, but an entire series will be accepted if most parts are published between those dates.
  • The award is limited to non-technical, print and online journalism in any format. Articles, videos, and audio published in newspapers (including college newspapers), magazines, newsletters, and websites or via broadcast are eligible.
  • Books, as well as technical articles in scholarly journals and trade association publications, are not eligible; however, science news articles that are geared toward general audiences would be eligible, even if they are published by associations or societies. Examples of such publications include Science, IEEE Spectrum, C&EN and Science News.
  • Entries may be submitted from outside the United States; however, all entries must be submitted in English. 
  • Judges consider only the candidate’s submitted work when making their selection. No other materials, such as recommendations or resumes, may be submitted.

Sharon Begley Science Reporting Award

• Applicants:
  • Candidates should have been working journalists for at least 8–10 years, including significant experience in science journalism, or provide equivalent evidence of commitment to the field. Time spent as an editor counts toward eligibility.
  • Staff and independent journalists living and working anywhere in the world are eligible if they have published in news outlets that are available to international audiences.
  • Although the award can be won only once, there is no limit of the number of times one can enter.

• Submitted works:
  • The submitted body of work should include three to five published clips or other work samples that illustrate the candidate’s best work in science journalism. Eligible work includes:
    • news
    • features
    • heavily reported columns, analysis, and other commentary
    • newsletters
    • book chapters (not entire books)
    • podcasts
    • video, audio, and multimedia storytelling (must have been scripted as well as reported by the candidate)
    • data narratives and visualizations
  • If collaborative or produced work is submitted, candidates must detail their reporting and writing roles. In the case of multi-author reported features, the candidate should have done a significant portion of the reporting.
  • Submitted work should have been published in English. Self-published work is excluded.

• Supporting letters: The entry should include two or three supporting letters:
  • A letter of support or nomination from an editor or publisher who is familiar with the candidate’s work
  • One or two additional letters from senior journalists.
  • At least one letter should be written by someone who is not at the applicant’s current place of employment and who would not benefit from the proposed project.

For full submission instructions and judging criteria, see the Application Process page.

Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting

• Who can nominate: Editors, colleagues, scientists and others familiar with the candidate’s body of work may submit nominations. Individuals may nominate themselves but are encouraged to submit at least one letter of support from a knowledgeable colleague.
• Submitted works: Nominators of candidates for the 2026 prize may submit up to five examples of the candidate’s journalistic endeavors, all published or aired since January 2021.
  • Submitted works must be published in English-language media that reach a U.S. audience.
  • Eligible writing includes work appearing in digital media.
  • Books are not eligible.
• Nomination letters: Letters of nomination should include an assessment of the nominee’s body of work along with a biographical sketch.

Taylor/Blakeslee Graduate Fellowships

• Applicants:
  • Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. The funds are intended to support attendance at a U.S. institution.
  • Applicants must have an undergraduate degree and be accepted by at least one institution prior to the fellowship application deadline, unless the institution of their choice has a later date for acceptances. CASW will confirm or update applicants’ admission status before fellowship judging begins.
  • Applicants who are already enrolled should provide evidence that they have a full year of full-time study or equivalent remaining to acquire a master’s degree or graduate certificate.
  • Fellows may attend school either full-time or part-time.
  • Preference will be given to applicants aiming to pursue careers in science journalism, rather than strictly technical writing or public relations. At the same time, we recognize that many people do different kinds of science writing over the course of their careers.
  • Journalists with at least two years of mass media experience are particularly invited to apply. This can include work on a college newspaper or other journalistic experience involving reporting in any field. CASW welcomes anyone who can show good writing skills and interest in science journalism to seek these fellowships.
  • Applicants must convince the CASW selection committee of their ability and intention to pursue a career in writing about science for the general public.
• Funds:
  • Fellowship funds are to be used to enable the student to complete requirements of the graduate program. They are not to be applied to fund an internship. Past recipients have used their fellowships to help cover tuition and fees, living expenses, equipment, and travel.