Harvard Academy Scholars Program for International and Area Studies

The Academy Scholars Program of The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies identifies and supports outstanding scholars 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 and/or Canada. Their scholarship should span traditional disciplinary divisions and elucidate comparative, transnational, or domestic issues, past or present.

The Academy Scholars are a select community of individuals with resourcefulness, initiative, and originality whose work shows promise as a foundation for careers in research universities or international institutions. 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 Academy Senior Scholars, a cohort of faculty members who act as a selection committee, participate in Academy events, and are committed to supporting the Academy Scholars as they work to achieve their potential.

The Harvard Academy is dedicated to building an inclusive community of scholars with an array of experiences, perspectives, and methods and welcomes a diverse pool of applicants.

Eligibility

These awards are open to recipients of PhD or comparable doctoral degree (within two years of the August 1, 2023, 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, 2023, for an August 1, 2023, start date. Individuals who hold or have completed another Harvard postdoctoral fellowship are not eligible to apply.

Terms

Each year, five or six Academy Scholars are named for two-year appointments with an annual stipend of $75,000, 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 twelve months), either to accept or to continue with a tenure-track teaching appointment but for no other 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 23, 2022. We do not accept late applications.

The completed application will include:

• Curriculum vitae (CV) or resume; 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 peer-reviewed academic journal article); only ONE sample may be submitted, fifty pages maximum, and it must be in English
• A copy of your PhD program transcript
• Three letters of recommendation (uploaded through the online application)

Letters of recommendation must be uploaded by the deadline of September 23, 2022.

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.

The online application is accessed through the homepage of The Harvard Academy’s website. To access the application, click on the APPLY ONLINE button. 

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.

Deadline

September 23, 2022

Related Links

The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies

See also: Graduate Student Grants