Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Korean Studies

The Korea Institute at Harvard University welcomes affiliation requests from applicants for the 2024-25 Korea Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship. This program supports post-doctoral research and teaching in the arts and humanities and the social sciences. Fellowships for postdoctoral study at the Korea Institute (KI) are funded by the Korea Foundation's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Seoul.  

Eligibility: Scholars who are not ROK citizens, who have received their Ph.D. degree in a subject related to Korea within five years of their application (2019 or later) but do not currently hold a regular faculty position, are eligible to apply. [South Korean nationals are eligible to apply only if they have permanent residency status in another country.] Also, per Korea Foundation Fellowship policy, fellowship recipients may not conduct research at the university from which they obtained their PhD degrees. Thus, Harvard Ph.D. applicants are ineligible to apply for Korea Foundation fellowships that provide affiliation with Harvard.  

Confirmation of Degree Conferral: Applicants must have received their Ph.D. degree within five years of the postdoctoral appointment year (i.e., 2019 or later). The applicant who is offered the fellowship must have  a registrar certified Ph.D. degree by June 30, 2024. All applicants should possess a high level of proficiency in Korean.  

Stipend: The KF-KI post-doctoral appointment at Harvard runs from August 1, 2024 to July 31, 2025. The post-doctoral stipend for the 12-month period is determined by the Korea Foundation. The KF-KI fellowship cannot be combined with other sources of support, including other fellowships and grants. 

Application Process:  To apply you must submit separate applications to the Korea Foundation and to the Korea Institute at Harvard University as described below. Please note the important information about their respective deadlines. An application will not be considered complete until both institutions have received your application.  

• Application to the Korea Foundation (KF): Please complete and submit the Korea Foundation application via the KF online portal (http://apply.kf.or.kr) by the Korea Foundation deadline, which can be found on the Korea Foundation website: http://www.kf.or.kr/  
• Application to the Korea Institute (KI) at Harvard University: Please submit the following items to the Korea Institute by our deadline, Monday, January 8, 2024, clearly marking all items for the KF-KI Postdoctoral Fellowship. Applicants may either email one complete, collated, single PDF file to kipostdoc@fas.harvard.edu or send the complete file via WE TRANSFER  (https://www.wetransfer.com/ a free file transfer platform) to kipostdoc@fas.harvard.edu   When sending an email, please put “Korea Foundation-Korea Institute Postdoc Application” and your name in the subject line. 

Application Components: For the Korea Institute application, each of the following items must be included in the order listed below to be considered complete:

• Fillable KF-KI Coversheet: If you choose to use the fillable PDF form, download a copy here to your computer before filling it in, then re-name it. Please note, if you complete the form in a browser, the data will NOT be saved, and it will be blank.   FILLABLE KI KF COVERSHEET  
• Cover Letter
• Curriculum vitae: Please include your *citizenship*, current and permanent addresses, telephone number(s) email address; academic degrees with dates of conferral, discipline and institution
• Dissertation Abstract and Table of Contents (up to 3 pages)
• Plan of Research (up to 2 pages)
• Writing Sample: Include either a dissertation chapter in English and less than 40 pages, double-spaced or a journal article in English and published within the last two years.
• Scan of Official University-issued Transcript: Please retain the hard copy original for verification if needed.
• Brief Statement of Teaching Interests: In a statement of no more than one page, briefly describe your teaching philosophy/methodologies and interests, plus one undergraduate course you would be interested in teaching. Teaching is neither required nor guaranteed, and final decisions on any prospective course to be taught by the KF Postdoctoral Fellow will be made in conjunction with the KI faculty committee and the relevant department.

Two Letters of Recommendation:  The Korea Institute will only accept emailed letters of recommendation sent directly by the recommenders to kipostdoc@fas.harvard.edu by the application deadline, indicating that this letter of recommendation is for the KF-KI Postdoctoral Fellowship.  

Application Deadline: Completed applications must be received by the Korea Institute by Monday, January 8, 2024, 5:00 p.m. EST.  

Fellowship Notification: Applicants should be notified of the Korea Institute's decision in March 2024 (subject to change). All affiliations will be contingent on the applicant being awarded a Korea Foundation Fellowship. As soon as the KF announces their selection decisions, the successful applicant must notify the Korea Institute as soon as possible whether they will be accepting the invitation to the Korea Institute at Harvard.