Since 1999, USA TODAY has offered its editorial staff a mini-sabbatical through the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at UNC-CH. 

Applicants must develop a proposal outlining what they intend to do while on sabbatical and how USA TODAY readers will benefit from it. 

Three times a year, one person is selected for the sabbatical, the length of which typically corresponds to UNC-CH's fall, spring and summer sessions. (There may be transition periods between sabbaticals when no one is on campus.)

Most USA TODAY fellows do not write stories while on sabbatical. Instead, they use the time to pursue in depth the kinds of things that daily deadlines don't allow. 

Participants are registered on campus as Visiting Scholars, and are issued a UNC One Card. If they want to sit in on a course, they are asked to seek approval from the professor. A USA TODAY Visiting Scholar might also seek a consultation with a faculty member whose research or expertise matches the goals of his or her sabbatical. 

In return, USA TODAY Visiting Scholars are available to speak or offer other assistance to interested students, faculty and staff. 

For a description of the work of past USA TODAY scholars, click here.

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