So You Want to Write for The Scientist ?
Apply for an internship
Note: The Scientist is pausing its internship for the immediate future. We look forward to reviewing your applications when the program restarts.
The Scientist offers three full-time (40 hours/week) internships each year. Successful applicants start writing on day one, quickly becoming integral members of our staff. Interns work from home on their own computers and must keep US East Coast business hours. As an intern, you will cover breaking news for our website, produce a variety of articles for the print magazine, help manage The Scientist’s social media presence, scan the literature for upcoming studies of interest, and proofread articles. If there are additional skills you would like to develop, we can certainly work with you. For our part, we’re looking for candidates who have some experience in science journalism, including at least one previously published clip that required interviewing scientists about their work and including those comments in the story. Successful interns are comfortable digesting primary scientific literature, complete assignments on deadline, work collaboratively with editors, are able to manage multiple articles simultaneously, and can work independently in a virtual office. You must be a college graduate. If you’re interested, please send your cover letter, resume, and up to three relevant writing samples to interns@the-scientist.com. The position pays $2,500/month and typically lasts for four months.
Deadlines
Spring: December 1st (internship runs approximately February – June)
Summer: April 1st (internship runs approximately June – October)
Winter: August 1st (internship runs approximately October – February)
How to pitch us stories
The Scientist’s editors are always looking for writers who can contribute enterprising reporting to tell the stories of life science around the world. Online News stories and pieces for the Notebook (which appear in print) are generally the best places to break in as a freelance journalist. If you are an active researcher who would like to reach our tens of thousands of scientist readers, we welcome your Opinion or Feature article ideas; send your pitch via this form.
News
News stories cover the latest and greatest in life science research. For stories about new scientific findings, studies that are still under embargo are preferred. The Scientist staff monitors embargoed releases from most major journals and press wires, so we prefer that freelance journalists pitch us stories that we might otherwise miss. And we always welcome pitches concerning trends in a particular field or industry. If you have an idea for a news story, send your pitch via this form.
Scientist-authored Opinion or Feature articles
We welcome Opinion and Feature article ideas from those working in life science. Online opinions typically run about 700 words, whereas Critic At Large articles (opinions which appear in print) can run anywhere from 700-1,200 words, or more. Feature articles typically run about 2,500-3,000 words, and tell critically important or otherwise compelling stories about advances in life science research.
If you have an idea for an Opinion, send your pitch via this form. If you are an active researcher and would like to work with our editors and illustrators to develop a Feature article, e-mail your ideas to features@the-scientist.com.