It’s not easy to take time out of a professional career to go back to school. But every year, mid-career journalists compete for the prestigious Knight Fellowships, which offer the chance to study independently at Stanford and participate in special seminars for a year.

Last week, 12 U.S. journalists were selected as Knight Fellows for the 2005-06 academic year, the 40th year of the program. Another six to eight international fellows will be announced later this month.

The fellows will be studying a broad range of subjects. Laura Rauch, a western regional photographer for the Associated Press, said she hopes to concentrate on “how and why America goes to war.” Tom Meyer, an editorial cartoonist at the San Francisco Chronicle, is looking forward to specializing in the role of metaphoric language in culture and politics.

Each fellow proposes an individualized program of study in his or her application. In addition, weekly seminars are held for fellows and their spouses and partners.

Communications Prof. Jim Bettinger, the director of the Knight Fellowship Program, said that many fellows choose to participate in the program because it can advance their careers.

“Fellows take a year out of their careers for a fellowship because they believe it will help them improve the quality of their work by providing them with intellectual stimulation and the time to think deeply about journalism and related subjects,” he said.

According to the program brochure, Knight Fellows can audit classes in all schools at Stanford, including professional schools. They do not receive credit and are not bound to complete class assignments, but they may choose to do so if they wish.

“The Knight Fellowships bring a wealth of journalism and real-world experience to the Stanford community,” Bettinger said. “Knight Fellows speak in classes, in residence halls and in symposium panels. They can also provide real-world perspective in classes. Last year Knight Fellows made about 60 public appearances, which means that during the academic terms, Knight Fellows were speaking somewhere about twice a week.”

Bettinger said that the program also depends in part on the community’s reception.

“The success of the Knight Fellowships Program rests largely on the welcome the fellows receive from the Stanford community,” he said. “We are pleased to be so warmly received here.”

The fellows were chosen in a three-stage process. First, Bettinger, Deputy Director Dawn Garcia and an outside reader selected 38 semifinalists from a group of 107 applications. In the second stage, 28 finalists were chosen after interviews with Bettinger, Garcia and groups of three former fellows.

“[The finalists’ files] were reviewed by our program committee, which did the final evaluation and ranking of the candidates,” he said in an interview with The Daily. “When we’re considering Knight Fellows, we look for an outstanding record of accomplishment, serious ambition, the intellectual flexibility and energy to make use of a year at Stanford, and an enduring commitment to journalism.”

Applicants are required to have at least seven years of full-time professional experience as journalists. They must also agree not to do any professional work for the duration of their fellowships. The program covers Stanford tuition and includes a stipend to cover living costs.

In addiction to Rauch and Meyer, this year’s fellows are Jo-Ann Armao, assistant managing editor of metropolitan news at The Washington Post, Karen de Sa, staff writer at The San Jose Mercury News, Emily Harris, a Berlin correspondent for National Public Radio, Pam Maples, assistant managing editor of projects and investigations at The Dallas Morning News, Maria Martin, president of Gracias Vida Productions in Austin, Texas, Ivan Penn, reporter at The Baltimore Sun, Mary Pols, a movie critic at The Contra Costa Times, Janet Rae-Dupree, freelance technology writer in San Jose, Mike Swift, staff writer at the Hartford Courant and Gary Wolf, contributing editor at Wired magazine.