Harvard Radcliffe Fellowship Program 2026-2027

The Radcliffe Fellowship Program supports 50 scholars, artists, and public intellectuals who have demonstrated records of achievement in their respective fields and show great promise for future contributions.

Throughout the year, fellows convene regularly to share their work in progress, supporting one another in various intellectual groups and building connections through social events. They benefit from access to Harvard’s libraries and archives, to professional development opportunities, and to Harvard college students through participating in the Radcliffe Research Partnership Program. In this program, students intellectually engage with fellows and their projects by researching sources, reviewing book chapters, discussing new approaches to projects, and more.

• Table of Content
• About Harvard Radcliffe Institute
• Harvard Fellowship Program
• Aim and Benefits of Harvard Fellowship Program
• Requirements for Harvard Fellowship Program Qualification
• Documents Required for Application
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About Harvard Radcliffe Institute

Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University—known as Harvard Radcliffe Institute—is?one of the world’s leading centers for interdisciplinary exploration. We bring students, scholars, artists, and practitioners together to pursue curiosity-driven research, expand human understanding, and grapple with questions that demand insight from across disciplines.... continue reading

Harvard Fellowship Program

Application Deadline	30 Sep 2025
Country to study	United States
School to study	Harvard University
Type	PhD
Sponsor	Harvard Radcliffe Institute
Gender	Men and Women

Aim and Benefits of Harvard Fellowship Program

Fellows receive a stipend of $78,000 plus an additional $5,000 to cover project expenses. Please note that if you are a US citizen or permanent resident coming from a home institution based in the US, you can opt to have your stipend paid through your home institution or to you directly.

Harvard Radcliffe Fellows may also be eligible to receive relocation, housing, and childcare funds to aid them in making a smooth transition to Radcliffe. Healthcare support is made available as needed. If fellows would like to hire Harvard undergraduate students as Research Partners, we will cover their hourly wages.
 

Requirements for Harvard Fellowship Program Qualification

Harvard Radcliffe Fellows demonstrate an extraordinary level of accomplishment. This is not intended to serve as a post-doctoral fellowship. Applicants must demonstrate a strong body of independent research and writing.

Applicants in the humanities and social sciences must:
1. Have received their doctorate (or appropriate terminal degree) in the area of their proposed project at least four years prior to their appointment as a fellow (December 2022 for the 2026-27 fellowship year). Appropriate terminal degrees include PhD, MD, and JD.
2. Have published a monograph or at least two articles in refereed journals or edited collections.

Applicants in science, engineering, and mathematics must:
1. Have received their doctorate in the area of the proposed project at least four years prior to their appointment as a fellow (December 2022 for the 2026-27 fellowship year).
2. Have published at least five articles in refereed journals. Most science, engineering, and math fellows have published dozens of articles.

Applicants in the creative arts must meet discipline-specific eligibility requirements, as outlined below:

• Film and Video: Applicants in this discipline must have a body of independent work of significant achievement. Such work will typically have been exhibited in galleries or museums, shown in film or video festivals, or broadcast on television.
• Visual Arts: Applicants in this discipline must show strong evidence of achievement, with a record of at least five years of work as a professional artist, including participation in several curated group shows and at least two professional solo exhibitions.
• Fiction and Nonfiction: Applicants in these disciplines must have one of the following:
  • one or more published books;
  • a contract for the publication of a book-length manuscript; or
  • at least three shorter works (longer than newspaper articles) published.
• Poetry: Applicants in this discipline must have had at least 20 poems or a book of poetry published in the last five years, and must be in the process of completing a manuscript.
• Journalism: Applicants in this discipline are required to have worked professionally as a journalist for at least five years.
• Playwriting: Applicants in this discipline must have a significant body of independent work in the form. This will include, most typically, plays produced or under option.
• Music Composition: It is desirable, but not required, for applicants in music composition to have a PhD or DMA. Most importantly, the applicant must show strong evidence of achievement as a professional artist, with a record of recent performances.

Documents Required for Application

The application consists of an application form, curriculum vitae, project proposal (with bibliography when appropriate), a writing or work sample, and the contact information of three references who will be prompted, via email, to upload letters of recommendation in support of your application. 

Application Deadline

September 30, 2025

How to Apply

Interested and qualified? Go to Harvard Radcliffe Institute on radcliffe.onlineapplicationportal.com to apply

• Register as a new user by entering your name, email address, and password responses on the New User Registration page of the online application.
• Once you have registered, you may log in to the portal here and select an application area: Humanities and Social Sciences, Creative Arts (including Journalists and Nonfiction writers), or Science, Engineering, and Mathematics
• All materials must be submitted via our online application portal.

For more details, visit Harvard Radcliffe Fellowship webpage