Who is eligible to apply for the Academy Scholars Program?

The Academy Scholars Program is open to scholars from all countries and citizenships who have recently completed or are nearing completion of a PhD or equivalent doctoral program (DPhil and SJD included) in the social sciences.

The Academy Scholars...

What fields of study are eligible for the Academy Scholars Program?

The founders considered area studies expertise in parts of the world outside of the US or Canada to be a valuable addition to the social science disciplines. Accordingly, The Harvard Academy looks for outstanding applicants in PhD or equivalent programs or with PhD or equivalent degrees in disciplines normally represented as in the social sciences in research universities, where most of the Academy Scholars find employment.

Accepted Fields of Study

Eligible fields in the Social Sciences, as long as the regional focus is outside the US or Canada:

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...

Do you have any guidelines for writing the research proposal and the scholarly writing sample?

Research Proposal

Your research proposal should be no longer than 2000 words. References and citations will not count towards the word limit. The Selection Committee is most interested in the relevance and the contribution your research makes to your discipline. These should be clear in the research proposal.

The Selection Committee is also interested in how you intend to use the two years of the fellowship. In many cases, Academy Scholars intend to use the first year to prepare the dissertation for publication as a book or a series of articles and the second year...

Do you have any application and acceptance statistics from previous years?

Selection to The Harvard Academy is very competitive. We welcome applications regardless of nationality or place of graduate study (though normally the language of research is English). The number of Academy Scholars selected each year depends upon the plans of the other Academy Scholars at The Harvard Academy. Each Academy Scholar is awarded four terms of residence, with stipend, at The Harvard Academy. The four terms must be taken within three years of the fall term after the initial selection. Since patterns of attendance change, the number of Harvard Academy Scholars chosen in any...

I would like to carry out extensive fieldwork away from the Cambridge, MA, area. Would that be allowed during the fellowship?

Academy Scholars are expected to be in residence and full participants in the scholarly community during the formal programming period of The Harvard Academy (late August through the end of April), with the exception of the winter, spring, and summer breaks. You will be expected to carry out any extensive fieldwork during the winter, spring, or summer breaks. Short trips to attend conferences and other academic engagements may be permitted as long as they do not conflict with your Harvard Academy obligations.

If I am offered the fellowship, may I defer for a year or delay the start date?

No postponements or deferrals are permitted. Year 1 of the fellowship must be taken up no later than the fall immediately following the postdoctoral fellowship offer. Both Year 1 and Year 2 must be completed within the three-year window.

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