What is the application process for the Academy Scholars Program?

All application materials must be submitted by the deadline of September 22, 2023. We do not accept late applications.

The completed application will include:

  • Curriculum vitae (CV); including list of publications
  • Research proposal (2000 words maximum); including intellectual objectives and planned methodological and disciplinary work
  • One scholarly writing sample (e.g., PhD dissertation chapter or single-authored peer-reviewed academic journal article; 50 pages maximum; in English)
  • A copy of your PhD program transcript
  • Three letters of recommendation (uploaded to the online application directly and confidentially by the recommender by September 22, 2023)

All parts of the application, including the three letters of recommendation, are submitted online as PDF documents. Please note that a full application packet must not exceed 10MB in size, so be sure to minimize the size of any large PDF files before uploading.

Access the online application through the homepage of The Harvard Academy’s website by clicking on the APPLY ONLINE button.

All materials must be received by September 22, 2023. The selection process begins immediately thereafter. Applicants whose materials are incomplete are at a disadvantage when considered by the Selection Committee. Announcement of the awards will be made in December 2023.

Questions should be emailed to: applicationinquiries@wcfia.harvard.edu.

You may include footnotes, endnotes, and/or bibliographies in your proposed research statement, but they are not required. If you do give references, they will not count towards the 2000-word maximum for the research statement.

Regarding transcripts from foreign universities: our reviewers read many applications from those at foreign universities and request as much transcript-like official documentation as the Registrar at your university can provide, for all graduate work—both for the Master's and PhD programs in which you have been or are currently enrolled. Your institution most likely gets these requests often and can provide the required paperwork to you upon request.