Harvard Academy Scholars Program

The Harvard Academy Scholars Program identifies and supports outstanding scholars at the start of their careers whose work combines disciplinary excellence in the social sciences (including history and law) with a command of the language and history or culture of non-Western countries or regions. Their scholarship may elucidate domestic, comparative, or transnational issues, past or present. This program is open to all recent PhD recipients and doctoral candidates in the social sciences or law.

Eligibility

The competition for these awards is open only to recent PhD (or comparable professional school degree) recipients and doctoral candidates in the social sciences or law.

These awards are open to recipients of PhD or comparable doctoral degrees (within two years of the August 1, 2026, 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, 2026, for an August 1, 2026, 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.

How to Apply

All application materials need to be submitted by the deadline of October 1. We do not accept late applications.

The completed application will include:

1. Cover letter which succinctly states the applicant's academic field, country or region of specialization, and proposed research topic
2. Curriculum vitae (CV) or resumé; including list of publications
3. Research proposal (2500 word maximum); including intellectual objectives and planned methodological and disciplinary work
4. A copy of your PhD program transcript
5. Three letters of recommendation (uploaded through the online application)

Letters should be addressed to the "Selection Committee."
Letters of recommendation need to be uploaded by the deadline of October 1.

All parts of the application, including the three letters of recommendation, are submitted online as pdf documents. 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 2500-word maximum for the research statement.

We require no copies of published papers or abstracts as part of our application process. Do not include them in your application.

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.

Terms

Each year, five or six Academy Scholars are named for two-year in-residence appointments with an annual stipend of $80,000, 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.