Learn to recognize when a story should be a long‐term project, how to use data to form the backbone of a story and techniques to reporting a deep investigation. Join us July 6-24, 2026.
The Summer Investigative Reporting Course is now fully enrolled. The application is now closed.
Our goal is to return decisions regarding the Reynolds Foundation scholarships by June 10, 2026. As you can imagine, there are many applications to read, and we wish to give each the attention and the care it deserves. We will update this page if we have not returned decisions by June 10. Many thanks for your patience.
The Program
The course covers the fundamentals of investigative reporting including:
- How to develop investigative story ideas and the stages of an investigative project.
- How to develop a hypothesis and test it through reporting.
- How to find documents and data internationally to substantiate claims and support findings.
- How to understand and use financial documents to investigate companies.
- How to interview sources for stories, including those reluctant to talk.
- How to bulletproof information for an investigation, both legally and ethically.
- How to tell an investigation across media platforms.
- How to structure and write the long-form narrative.
Throughout the program, faculty provide instruction on using digital tools for researching and finding sources including:
- How to find data and acquire, clean, and analyze it.
- How to use data to build an investigative story and drive shoe-leather reporting.
- How to find the human face behind the data and connect findings to people on the ground.
- How to collect and structure data from websites, online services and social media platforms.
- How to use video, still images, audio and other open source reporting to build an investigative story.
Another critical component of the program will explore how journalists and media partners collaborate on investigative projects to produce more ambitious stories with wider impact.
Participants should arrive with ideas for stories they can start or continue when they return to the workplace, using skills they learn throughout the course lectures. Participants will also be encouraged to work with colleagues in the course on strategies for how to report their stories, find potential sources and ways to develop the project.
Who Should Apply
The Summer Investigative Reporting Course is for journalists worldwide who report stories as well as editors who manage investigative projects or teams. Workshops focus on developing a major project but lessons are intended to be used by journalists in their everyday reporting. Beat reporters from all departments are encouraged to consider attending.
Fellows from every media platform – newspapers, magazines, television, radio, wire services and digital news outlets – are encouraged to apply. Participants annually come from nations around the world and cover topics ranging from politics and the environment to sports and the arts to local and international news.
University journalism educators who wish to teach investigative reporting may apply.
A strong competence in spoken and written English is required. This workshop is not for beginners. It requires that participants have an extensive background in journalism. Participants should arrive with basic Excel skills to better utilize the data training. Application requirements include a CV, a letter of support from a direct supervisor or manager (freelancers can submit a letter from an editor with whom they have worked), a statement outlining experience and interest in the program, three (3) work samples, and a complete story pitch following the format outlined in our story memo.
Program Fees
Tuition is $8,500. This covers the cost of the course itself, as well as lunch on class days. It does not include travel, lodging, or other expenses associated with living in New York City for three full weeks.
Scholarships
TX Group, a Swiss media company, is generously supporting three scholarships to the Summer Investigative Reporting Course in summer 2026. These scholarships are open to investigative reporters and editors living and working in Africa, Latin America (Central and South America and the Caribbean), and Asia. The scholarship includes tuition and course fees, economy air fare to New York City, ground transportation, and lodging during the course.
Applications must be received by 11:59pm (NYC) on April 30, 2026, to be considered. Winners will be notified by June 10, 2026.
The Reynolds Foundation, dedicated to fostering positive change and supporting initiatives across areas such as education, democracy, and individual freedom, is generously funding eight (8) scholarships for the Summer 2026 Investigative Reporting Course. These scholarships are open to investigative reporters and editors living and working in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Reporters and editors living and working in other countries in Latin America--including Central America, South America, and the Caribbean--are also welcome to apply. Each scholarship covers full tuition and course fees, round-trip economy airfare to New York City, ground transportation, and lodging for the duration of the program
Applications must be received by 11:59pm (NYC) on May 15, 2026 to be considered.
The Faculty
Instruction is provided by professors who are part of Columbia Journalism School’s full-time and adjunct faculty and by other professional journalists around the country with extensive experience conducting investigations and teaching. Faculty members are multiple winners of the most prestigious journalism awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, Alfred I. duPont Prize, Maria Moors Cabot Prize for coverage of the Americas and many more.
They have reported for media organizations including the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, The New York Times, PBS-Frontline, and Columbia Journalism Investigations.
Contact
Questions? Email us.