25 Publications that Pay for Writing About Education

Today, for our latest roundup of publishers, we have a list of 25 publications that pay for writing about education-related topics. 

We’ve researched payment rates and found contact information for all of these publishers, to make it easy for you to connect with the right opportunity.

If you want to browse even more opportunities, be sure to check out our database of over 1,500 publishers that pay writers. It’s easily searchable, and includes thousands of listings just like the ones below.

If you’re new to freelancing, I also very much encourage you to take our course on pitching. You can get the details here.

So, without further ado, here’s today’s list…

1. Class Central is the world’s leading search engine for online courses. They’re open to receiving pitches for online education trends, news, analysis, listicles, and best courses guides. They accept pieces previously published on personal platforms. According to their pitch guide, rates start at $250 (higher for complex, research-heavy pieces). To learn more, refer to this page.

2. The Hechinger Report is an independent, nonprofit news organization that focuses on inequality and innovation in education. They provide in-depth, fact-based, and unbiased reporting on education. They look for stories that combine compelling narratives from classrooms and campuses with smart, original analyses of national education issues. Stories should consider the research and draw from the knowledge of experts and affected communities. According to their writer’s guidelines page, they pay $1.50 per word for stories that generally range from 1,000 to 2,000 words and cover travel expenses on top of the story fee.

3. The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal is a “nonprofit institute dedicated to improving higher education in North Carolina and the nation.” They are accepting unsolicited article submissions on topics including “higher education administration, finances, governance, academic standards, efficiency, enrollment, employment, pedagogy, and the curriculum, as well as exposure of bias, politicization, corruption, and poor practices.” According to their guidelines, for full-length articles (1,200-1,600 words), they pay an honorarium that starts at $200 and increases depending on the amount of web traffic. For short (500-word) reactions to breaking higher-ed developments, they pay $50. Details here.

4. College & University (C&U) is a quarterly journal by American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO). According to their guidelines, they pay an honorarium of $300 for a feature article (refereed article) and $150 for a forum, non-refereed article (commentaries, campus viewpoints, policy analyses, international observations, case studies, and book reviews). To learn more, refer to this page.

5. The Advocate is a newspaper for the students, faculty, and staff of the Graduate Center (GC), City University of New York (CUNY). They accept articles, reviews, photos, and illustrations from the students, faculty, and staff of CUNY as well as those who are not affiliated with CUNY. They accept articles on a wide range of topics including GC/CUNY issues; first-person essays; politics, culture, and art; nontechnical articles on science and technology; provocative or polemical essays on international, national, and local issues; interviews and transcribed discussions or debates; and book, film, theater, music, and art reviews. According to their guidelines, payment usually starts at $100 and caps at $300. To contribute, refer to this page.

6. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news organization that reports on education in poor communities across America. They elevate the “voices of educators, students, parents, advocates, and others on the front lines of trying to improve public education.” They are looking for personal essays (around 800 words) centered around a personal experience or observation. They publish these essays in a series called First Person. According to their guidelines, First Person pays $125 per published piece. For more information, read their first person guidelines. To pitch a national story, you can contact them here.

7. American Educator is published quarterly by the American Federation of Teachers. It addresses the state of education across the country and covers new trends in education, politics, labor issues, and more. are They are interested in a wide range of articles on curriculum and instruction; social and emotional development; the science of how students learn; the high school to college transition; history, civics, and democracy; diversifying the teaching profession and the professoriate; confronting bias in schools and on college campuses; supporting teacher professionalism and protecting academic freedom. They previously indicated to pay at least $300 for articles, which typically run 1,000 to 5,000 words, but current rates are unclear. To learn more, read their submission guidelines.

8. The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Since its founding in 1966, The Chronicle has grown to serve millions of educators, administrators, researchers, and policymakers who rely on its insights to lead, teach, learn, and innovate. They welcome pitches and submissions to their Advice and Review sections. Pieces are typically 1,000 to 1,800 words. Pay rates are not mentioned, but they state that rates are competitive, and vary depending on a piece’s length and complexity. To learn more, refer to this page.