# Academy Scholars Program **This program is open to recent PhD recipients and doctoral candidates in the social sciences.** [The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies](https://academy.wcfia.harvard.edu/) is dedicated to promoting innovative social science hand-in-hand with deepening our shared knowledge of the experiences and practices of the worlds’ regions and countries. The Academy Scholars Program identifies and supports outstanding researchers at the start of their academic careers whose work combines excellence in a social science discipline with a command of the language and knowledge or expertise of countries or regions outside of the United States or Canada. The scholarship of the group spans traditional disciplinary divisions and elucidates comparative, transnational, and domestic issues, past or present. The Academy Scholars are a select community of individuals possessed of resourcefulness, initiative, and originality whose work shows promise as a foundation for careers in research universities or international institutions. Academy Scholars are appointed for a two-year, in-residence, postdoctoral fellowship at The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. They receive substantial financial and research assistance which permits them to undertake robust research projects and skills development in their chosen fields and areas. They meet at dinners, seminars, and informal get-togethers in order to pursue innovative interdisciplinary approaches to their work. They are mentored by the Harvard Academy Senior Scholars, a cohort of faculty members who act as a selection committee, participate in Harvard Academy events, and are committed to supporting the Academy Scholars as they work to achieve their potential. ## Eligibility These awards are open to recipients of PhD or equivalent degrees granted within two years of the August 1, 2026, start date and advanced doctoral candidates in the social sciences. Scholars nearing dissertation completion must be able to submit degree conferral documentation issued by their university registrar’s office by June 30, 2026, for an August 1, 2026, start date. **Individuals who hold or have completed another postdoctoral fellowship are not eligible to apply.** ## Terms Each year, five to six Academy Scholars are named for two-year in-residence appointments with an annual stipend of $80,000 (annual research support of $5,000 is also provided), with the two years to be completed within a three-year window. Year 1 of the fellowship must be taken up no later than the fall immediately following the postdoctoral fellowship offer. Delays or deferrals in the start of Year 1 are not permitted. Between Years 1 and 2, Academy Scholars may apply for a one-time leave (up to 12 months), either to accept or to continue with a tenure-track teaching appointment but for no other professional reason. Academy Scholars may not accept other sources of funding, awards, or obligations during their appointment. ## How to Apply All application materials must be submitted by the deadline of **September 19, 2025**. 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; fifty pages maximum; in English) - A copy of your PhD program transcript - Three letters of recommendation (uploaded directly and confidentially by the recommender through the online application—please note you will need to submit your application before an upload link is sent to your recommender) All parts of the application, including the three letters of recommendation, are submitted online as .pdf documents. Access the online application through The Harvard Academy’s website by clicking on the APPLY ONLINE button. **All materials except for letters of recommendation must be received by September 19, 2025 (ensure letters of recommendation arrive no later than September 29, 2025).** 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 2025. **Questions should be emailed to:** **.** 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. ## Academy Scholars Program Application FAQs Open all sections Close all sections ### Who is eligible to apply for the Academy Scholars Program? expand\_more 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 degree program (DPhil and SJD included) in the [social sciences](/faq/what-fields-study-are-eligible-academy-scholars-program). The Academy Scholars Program is not a degree-granting program. If you have not recently completed or are not currently enrolled in a PhD or equivalent degree program in the social sciences, you are not eligible to apply for the Academy Scholars Program. If you have completed a PhD program, the PhD completion date must be within two years of the August 1, 2026, start date. For applicants applying for the September 19, 2025, deadline, you must have completed your PhD on or after August 1, 2024. PhD candidates nearing dissertation completion must be able to submit degree conferral documentation issued by their university registrar’s office by June 30, 2026, for an August 1, 2026, start date. No postponements or deferrals of the August 1, 2026, start date will be allowed. Individuals who hold or have completed another postdoctoral fellowship are not eligible to apply. Finalists must be available for a personal interview on our December 4, 2025, interview date. The Harvard Academy will make all arrangements for the finalists to interview with the Selection Committee. ### What fields of study are eligible for the Academy Scholars Program? expand\_more The founders considered area studies expertise in parts of the world outside of the United States or Canada to be a valuable addition to the social science disciplines. Accordingly, The Harvard Academy looks for outstanding applicants in PhD or equivalent degree 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 of the United States or Canada: - Anthropology - Economics - Ethnic Studies - Geography - Government - History - History of Science - International Relations - Law - Political Economy and Government - Political Science - Psychology - Public Policy - Social Policy - Social Studies - Sociology - Women, Gender, & Sexuality We welcome applications from the following regional studies fields, as long as the applicant's research is clearly designed in terms of one or more of the above social science fields: - Africa Studies - Asia Studies - Central Asia Studies - East Asian Languages and Civilizations - Eastern Europe Studies - Inner Asian and Altaic Studies - Latin American and Iberian Studies - Middle East Studies - Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations - Russia Studies - Slavic Languages and Civilization - South Asia Studies - Southeast Asia Studies - Ukraine Studies - Western Europe Studies ## Fields of Study That Are Not Accepted ***Please note that this list is not exhaustive.*** - Anything related to the United States or Canada - Archeology - Architecture - Art History - Business - Classics - Global Health - Linguistics - Literature - Management - Medieval Studies - Musicology - Philosophy - Public Administration - Religion - Sanskrit and Indian Studies - Social Work - Urban Studies ### What is the application process for the Academy Scholars Program? expand\_more All application materials must be submitted by the deadline of **September 19, 2025**. 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; fifty pages maximum; in English) - A copy of your PhD program transcript - Three letters of recommendation (uploaded directly and confidentially by the recommender through the online application—please note you will need to submit your application before an upload link is sent to your recommender) All parts of the application, including the three letters of recommendation, are submitted online as .pdf documents. Access the online application through the homepage of The Harvard Academy’s website by clicking on the APPLY ONLINE button. **All materials except for letters of recommendation must be received by September 19, 2025 (ensure letters of recommendation arrive no later than September 29, 2025).** 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 2025. **Questions should be emailed to:** [**applicationinquiries@wcfia.harvard.edu**](mailto: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. ### Do you have any guidelines for writing the research proposal and the scholarly writing sample? expand\_more ## 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 for a new research project. If applicable, scholars should summarize their publication plans and future research plans. If you expect to begin a new research project that is significantly different than your PhD dissertation, you should introduce the topic and perhaps explain how your new research continues/expands your doctoral research or takes you in a different direction. Applicants may wish to consult the essay ["On the Art of Writing Proposals"](http://www.ssrc.org/publications/view/the-art-of-writing-proposals/) (.pdf) by Przeworski and Salomon on the SSRC website. Note, however, that this essay is written with specific proposals in mind, rather than The Harvard Academy's broader interest in an applicant's research and her or his plans beyond the first project. ## Scholarly Writing Sample The size of the writing sample should be equivalent to a single PhD dissertation chapter or single-authored peer-reviewed academic journal article. It may be published or unpublished but must be in English. The maximum page length is fifty pages (references, citations, formulas, and graphs do not count toward the page limit). **Only one writing sample may be submitted.** Any .pdf files with multiple writing samples will not be considered. ### Do you have any application and acceptance statistics from previous years? expand\_more 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 selection cohort varies. ### Acceptance Numbers from AY2007–2025 Sort **Number of Completed Applications** **Number Selected** **Fall 2007** 246 4 **Fall 2008** 301 4 **Fall 2009** 346 5 **Fall 2010** 329 4 **Fall 2011** 344 4 **Fall 2012** 356 5 **Fall 2013** 512 4 **Fall 2014** 467 5 **Fall 2015** 488 5 **Fall 2016** 716 4 **Fall 2017** 581 6 **Fall 2018** 497 6 **Fall 2019** 585 5 **Fall 2020** 503 5 **Fall 2021** 431 5 **Fall 2022** 350 5 **Fall 2023** 442 5 **Fall 2024** 533 6 ### Citizenship of the AY2007–2025 Academy Scholars Sort **Total** **US Citizens** 63 **Non-US Citizens** 56 ### I would like to carry out extensive fieldwork away from the Cambridge, MA, area. Would that be allowed during the fellowship? expand\_more 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? expand\_more 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.