Deadline: September 10, 2026 / October 1, 2026
Applications for the Harvard Radcliffe Institute Fellowship Program 2027-2028 are now open. The Harvard Radcliffe Institute Fellowship Program offers scientists, writers, scholars, public intellectuals, and artists a rare chance to pursue ambitious projects for a full academic year in a vibrant interdisciplinary setting amid the resources of Harvard University.
They welcome applications proposing innovative work that confronts pressing social, scientific, and policy issues and seeks to engage audiences beyond academia. Reflecting Radcliffe’s unique history and institutional legacy, they welcome—but do not limit eligibility to—proposals that focus on women, gender, and society or draw on the Schlesinger Library’s rich collections.
They also invite proposals relevant to the Institute’s multiyear focus area, which for 2024–2029 is academic freedom and connecting across difference. Proposals should address intellectual virtues, free and open inquiry, diversity of thought, political polarization, peace and conflict, inequality, religious pluralism—including religion and public and family life—and other policy issues as they relate to institutions of higher education. Within this focus area, they also welcome proposals that constructively challenge disciplinary orthodoxies or advance new and potentially transformative perspectives or approaches.
Benefits
- Fellows receive a stipend of $78,000 plus an additional $5,000 to cover project expenses. 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.
- In addition to the stipend, project expense allowance, and additional funds to aid in relocation mentioned above, fellows receive office or studio space in Byerly Hall—in Radcliffe Yard—and full-time Harvard appointments as visiting fellows, granting them access to the Harvard Library system and University athletic facilities. Fellows will also be able to participate in professional development and engagement opportunities throughout their fellowship year.
Eligibility
- They accept applications in a wide array of disciplines across the humanities, social sciences, and creative arts and applicants must meet discipline-specific eligibility criteria.
- This fellowship program is not intended to serve as a postdoctoral fellowship, and those currently enrolled in a degree program are ineligible to apply.
- They accept applications from individuals across career stages and do not require academics to have tenure to apply.
- Former Harvard Radcliffe fellows (1999-present) are ineligible.
Application
The fellowship application consists of an application form, curriculum vitae, 1,400-word project proposal (with bibliography when appropriate), a writing or work sample, and the contact information of three references who will be prompted over email to upload letters of recommendation in support of your application.
The deadline for applications in the humanities, social sciences, creative arts, and nonfiction and journalism is September 10, 2026, at 5PM ET. The deadline for applications in science, engineering, and mathematics is October 1, 2026, at 5PM ET.
For more information, visit Harvard Radcliffe Institute Fellowship.
