The International Center for Journalists and the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications (SHSJC) at Hampton University have forged a new partnership designed to help students succeed in international journalism careers. The new partnership, which includes an internship program, aims to provide equitable opportunities for underrepresented communities in the field.

Students will receive paid summer internships to work with ICFJ’s multilingual International Journalists’ Network (IJNet), the go-to site for journalists seeking resources, opportunities and tools to advance their careers and improve their reporting. Interns will produce multimedia stories and learn the latest tools and strategies for bolstering audience engagement. They also will produce at least one in-depth reporting project. The student interns will walk away with tangible experience, bylines, top-notch resumes, and access to a network of influential leaders in the news media. 

“This is a truly exciting initiative on many fronts,” said ICFJ President Joyce Barnathan. “It creates a unique opportunity for Hampton University students, who will gain skills and experiences that better position them for a career in journalism. At the same time, students will learn about and contribute to the work we do serving journalists across the world.”

Through SHSJC’s international journalism course, a member of ICFJ’s senior leadership will also offer virtual class sessions. Mentors from ICFJ and its network of journalists will provide feedback, help the students produce high-quality resumes and improve job interviewing skills. In addition, ICFJ will circulate its full-time job openings among the school’s graduates.

“We believe this partnership will offer our school and our students an opportunity to connect with international journalism by providing access to ICFJ’s global network of journalists and journalism organizations,” said the school’s Dean DàVida Plummer. “We hope this is the first step in our relationship with ICFJ and its mission to promote journalism and produce stories that make a difference around the world.”

ICFJ has a long-standing relationship with the SHSJC. Plummer is an alumna of our Back in the Newsroom fellowship, which connected journalism professors from Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs) with digitally savvy newsrooms, so that academics could bring cutting-edge skills to their classrooms and better support students through updated curricula.

The inaugural Hampton University intern, Jamaija Rhoades, will be supported with a grant from the Gannett Foundation. Rhoades is a 2021 graduate of SHSJC, with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and an emphasis on cinema studies.