An introduction to academic writing on Medium

How academics use Medium to share research and ideas easily, connect with non-academic readers, run courses, and more

Image designed by Jason Combs

If you’re an academic interested in learning more about writing on Medium, here’s our guide to getting started — with lots of links to profiles, publications, examples, and resources.

Jump to:

· What is Medium?
· Why academics write on Medium
· Follow academics on Medium
· How schools use Medium publications and stories
· Pitch your story to a Medium publication
· Interviews and case studies from professors
· Learn more

What is Medium?

The basics: Medium is a home for human stories and ideas. We’re an open publishing platform where anyone can share their stories easily, for free. Our mission is to help people deepen their understanding of the world through writing.

The vibe: We’re ad-free and humans-first. We’re trying to build a better internet. We use a mix of algorithms and human curation to match your stories to the right readers. We’re a platform for human storytelling, not AI-generated writing, and we won’t let AI train on your writing.

The business model: Medium is member-supported, which means that instead of relying on ads, we rely on paying members who subscribe to Medium. A subscription grants members access to all stories on Medium. As a writer, you can choose to publish your story as a free story or a member-only story. If you want to monetize your writing, making it a member-only story means only Medium members can read it, and a portion of their membership will be paid directly to the writers of the stories they read.

The distribution systems: The main For You feed for readers is a curated list of stories we think readers will like, based on interests and reading habits. Stories are also organized through topic pages; when you add a topic to your story, it adds your story to that topic page. We curate stories through the Medium Newsletter and our Staff Picks list. Medium is also home to publications that are independently edited and curated by Medium members.

Why academics write on Medium

Some of the best writing on Medium comes from academics who aim to help readers deepen their understanding of the world. From tenured faculty to undergraduate students, academics turn to Medium to share insights, publish research, run courses, and connect with people both within and outside of the academic community.

Here are six reasons why academics write on Medium:

1. It’s super easy.
   You don’t have to set up a website, worry about design, do a ton of formatting, etc. Especially in contrast to the hurdles of traditional academic publishing, Medium is a quick route to getting your writing out in the world fast. (We hear this from every academic we talk to as a big motivator!)
2. There’s already a built-in audience of smart, thoughtful, and engaged readers.
   While there’s an established academic audience on Medium, we more often hear that academic writers want to translate their research and work to reach a wider non-academic audience and Medium allows them to do so.
3. Our rules are designed to foster community and promote respectful, safe, and welcoming conversation.
   We don’t allow harassment, hate speech, threats, intolerance, ableist language, intentional misgendering, or violence. This seems like table stakes for us but unfortunately, that’s not the case for some other publishing platforms around the internet. We take community safety seriously; you can read the Medium Rules to learn more.
4. You can get paid for your work through the Medium Partner Program. Or publish for free. Up to you!
5. You’ve already done the hard part: the writing.
   We often see academics adapt or repurpose research papers or abstracts into the “Medium version” of the story as a way to get started, rather than writing something totally new.
6. Writing on Medium fits into the professional goals of academics, especially if you have tenure-track goals that include community engagement.
   Writing on Medium is a way to connect with a wider audience, establish credibility in your field, and create a portfolio of work. It can also serve as a bridge to bigger publishing goals, like book deals, or direct readers to your writing elsewhere.

Follow academics on Medium

Need a quick introduction to the academic community on Medium? Here’s a starter list of folks to follow to fill your feed.

• Brent R. Stockwell, Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Biological Sciences at Columbia University
• Catherine Sanderson, Author & Psychology Professor, Poler Family Professor of Psychology, Amherst College
• Carin-Isabel Knoop (on Humans in the Digital Era), Executive Director at Harvard Business School
• Silvia PM, PhD, PhD in Ecology
• Avi Loeb, Baird Professor of Science and Institute director at Harvard University
• 𝐆𝐫𝐫𝐥𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭, scientist & journalist, PhD evolutionary ecology/ornithology
• Devon Price, professor at Loyola University of Chicago’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies, social psychologist
• F. Perry Wilson, MD MSCE, Associate Professor of Medicine (Nephrology) and Public Health (Chronic Disease Epidemiology) at Yale School of Medicine
• René F. Najera, MPH, DrPH, Public Health instructor at George Mason University and Johns Hopkins University
• Heath Brown, associate professor of public policy at City University of New York
• Damian Radcliffe, Chambers Professor in Journalism at University of Oregon
• David Bowles, associate professor at the University of Texas Río Grande Valley
• Rebecca Ruth Gould, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Comparative Poetics and Global Politics, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London
• Jeremy Caplan, Director of Teaching and Learning at Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, CUNY
• Greg Satell, lecturer at the Wharton School of Business
• Enrique Dans, Professor of Innovation at IE Business School
• Rita McGrath, professor at Columbia Business School
• Prof Bill Buchanan OBE FRSE, Professor in the School of Computing at Edinburgh Napier University

How schools use Medium publications and stories

Here are a few examples of how professors, program directors, students, and communications staff create Medium and use publications to share their writing.

• The Conversation, an independent news source with a goal of unlocking the research of academic experts available to the public, uses a Medium publication to share stories from academics.
• The Agora Journalism Center at the University of Oregon created the Commonplace Forum: “The place to share and discuss what we’re thinking, doing, and learning at the Agora Journalism Center.”
• The University of Leeds uses their Medium publication to share research, news, and student stories from campus.
• In Journalism Innovation, students in the Journalism Creators Program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY publish stories and reflections on their program experience.
• Professor John Surico’s Journalistic Inquiry undergraduate class at NYU publishes words, photos and stories from the reporting of students.
• The Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies publication shares guest posts from students.
• The University of Oxford uses their Medium publication to spotlight scholars, share research, and publish long reads.
• The Herald at Southern Virginia University is student journalism powered by Medium.
• The Purdue University College of Engineering publishes new ideas and technology on the Purdue Engineering Review.
• Daniel Dissinger, Associate Professor (Teaching) Writing at the University of Southern California, uses Medium to run his Writing 150 course.
• Jeremy Littau, Journalism professor at Lehigh University, published a Medium post with Notes and questions about “Her” for his first-year seminar on AI and society.

Pitch your story to a Medium publication

Publications are independently operated communities within Medium, run by Medium members. They’re usually run by people who are experts in a topic area, have some publishing experience, and/or are passionate about building community in a field or interest area. You can pitch your story to publications to reach a more targeted audience.

Each publication has their own submission guidelines and process, which you can usually find on the publication’s home page. To submit a story to a publication, you have to be added as a writer for that publication. Once you’re added, here’s how to submit a story.

Where to find publications:

• To find a publication connected to a topic, search for that topic in Medium search field, then click on the Publications tab. Here’s an example of results for a search for journalism publications.
• The website Chill Subs has a searchable directory of Medium publications, and we keep a big list of publications here.
• Check out our list of great publications for academic writing
• If you don’t find the right fit, you can also start your own publication.

Here’s a quick list of publications that have a more academic focus:

• 3Streams — a blog about politics, policy, and ideas
• Wise & Well — science-backed insights for better health
• Cantor’s Paradise — a Medium publication of math-, science- and technology-related essays.
• I Taught the Law — a collection of essays, reflections, interviews, and stories written by lawyers, law professors, law students, and law-adjacent folks
• The New Climate — a publication on climate action, covering the environment, biodiversity, net zero, renewable energy and regenerative approaches.
• UX Collective — curated stories on UX, Visual & Product Design
• Lessons from History — a platform for writers who share ideas and inspirational stories from world history.
• An Injustice! — speaks to the intersectionality of identity and shares the stories of those who bring all their selves into all their spaces.
• Global Literary Theory — brings world literatures into comparison through translation and original analysis.
• Science Spectrum — makes science and mathematics accessible to all.
• Policy Panorama — a place to discuss the laws, systems, and norms that impact our lives and the planet.
• History of Women — a publication that looks at both women’s history and how it continues to affect the lives of women today.

Interviews and case studies from professors

Read these interviews from faculty about why they publish on Medium.

Catherine Sanderson, Psychology Professor at Amherst College

I like the immediacy of [publishing on Medium]. I can see something, observe something, or be thinking about something, and I can sit down and write about it and right away, there it is, it’s published. Writing a book or getting published in a newspaper or academic journal can take months or years. You have to pitch ideas, get them approved, go through multiple rounds of editing, wait for editors to get back to you.

I also like the immediate feedback I get from my Medium pieces. When you write a book, you honestly have no idea if anyone is reading it, let alone what they think of it. With Medium, you get that feedback right away. People will clap or they’ll comment, “This was really helpful” or “I needed to hear this today,” or whatever. And their comments are generally thoughtful. I also like that Medium promotes your writing.

Full interview: How one psychology professor uses Medium to share complex research and ideas with a broad audience

How one psychology professor uses Medium to share complex research and ideas with a broad audience

Brent R. Stockwell, Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Biological Sciences at Columbia University:

“When I heard about Medium, I thought it was perfect because I could tell my story directly to people… It’s very intuitive and simple. I also like that people are really engaged, and It’s a good community. Rarely do I get vitriolic comments or haters or out-of-left field things. Even the negative feedback I’ve gotten has been respectful. I didn’t feel attacked or threatened.

Among the community, you find people who are interested in academic information, research, and scholarship, and non-academic people, too. You can choose the level you want to tell a story at. You can tell it at a very technical level, you can tell it at a level that anyone can understand, or anything in-between, whatever you think is appropriate. If you’re writing for Scientific American, they’re going to tell you it has to be at a certain level and you might not be happy with the way the story comes out. But you can control that on Medium. You can also publish whatever you like, and the editing is up to you.

Full interview: How one biology professor uses Medium to reach a broad audience with his research and ideas

How one biology professor uses Medium to reach a broad audience with his research and ideas

Enrique Dans, Professor of Innovation at IE Business School

[Medium] doesn’t take your attention away from what you’re writing. It allows you to focus. I also enjoy having the freedom to say what I want to say.

Full interview: How one business school professor and AI expert uses Medium to share his ideas, build a following, and raise his professional profile

How one business school professor and AI expert uses Medium to share his ideas, build a following…

Video from Medium Day 2023: How To Succeed as an Academic on Medium

Learn more

Thanks for getting this far. If you want to learn more, here are a few options:

• Email academics@medium.com to chat with someone on our team.
• If you want to jump into Medium and check it out yourself, here’s how to sign up. I also recommend subscribing to our daily newsletter; it’s a great window into the best stories on Medium.
• We’re planning a virtual Academics Hour event early next year. If you’d like to be notified about that event, and any future events for academic writers, sign up here to get an invite.