Harvard University Academy Scholars Program 2024 for International PhD Students

Each year, four to six Academy Scholars are named for two-year appointments at the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. 

Application Deadline: 22nd September 2023

Eligible Countries: International

To Be Taken At (Country): USA

About the Award: The Academy Scholars are a select community of individuals with resourcefulness, initiative, curiosity, and originality, whose work in cultures or regions outside of the US or Canada shows promise as a foundation for exceptional careers in major 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. They receive substantial financial and research assistance to undertake sustained projects of research and/or acquire accessory training in their chosen fields and areas. The Senior Scholars, a distinguished group of senior Harvard University faculty members, act as mentors to the Academy Scholars to help them achieve their intellectual potential.

Type: PhD, Postdoctoral

Eligibility: 

• Applications are welcome from qualified persons without regard to nationality, gender, or race.
• 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.
• The Selection Committee considers all applicants in one applicant pool.

Number of Awards: 5 to 6

Value of Award: Each year, five or six Academy Scholars are named for two-year in-residence 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 12 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.

Duration of Programme: 2 years

How to Apply: 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) 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 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 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.

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.

Visit Programme Webpage for Details