Harvard University 2023-2024 Academy Scholars Program for Recent PhD Recipients and Doctoral Candidates in the Social Sciences, USA: (Deadline 22 September 2023)

This program is open to recent PhD recipients and doctoral candidates in the social sciences.

The Academy Scholars Program of The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies identifies and supports outstanding scholars at the start of their academic careers whose work combines excellence in a social science discipline with a command of the language and knowledge or expertise of countries or regions outside of the United States or Canada. Their scholarship should span traditional disciplinary divisions and elucidate comparative, transnational, or domestic issues, past or present.

The Academy Scholars are a select community of individuals with resourcefulness, initiative, and originality whose work shows promise as a foundation for careers in research 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, USA. They receive substantial financial and research assistance which permits them to undertake robust research projects and skills development in their chosen fields and areas. They meet at dinners, seminars, and informal get-togethers in order to pursue innovative interdisciplinary approaches to their work. They are mentored by the Harvard Academy Senior Scholars, a cohort of faculty members who act as a selection committee, participate in Harvard Academy events, and are committed to supporting the Academy Scholars as they work to achieve their potential.

The Harvard Academy is dedicated to building an inclusive community of scholars with an array of experiences, perspectives, and methods and welcomes a diverse pool of applicants.

About Harvard University

Harvard is the oldest institution of higher education in the United States, established in 1636 by vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was named after the College’s first benefactor, the young minister John Harvard of Charlestown, who upon his death in 1638 left his library and half his estate to the institution. A statue of John Harvard stands today in front of University Hall in Harvard Yard, and is perhaps the University’s best known landmark. Harvard University has 12 degree-granting Schools in addition to the Radcliffe Institute.

Harvard University Academy Scholars Program

• Type Fellowship
• Organisation Harvard University
• Country to study United States
• School to study Harvard University
• Course to study View courses
• State of Origin
• Gender Men and Women
• Application Deadline September 22, 2023

Aim and Benefits of Harvard University Academy Scholars Program

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.

Harvard University Academy Scholars Program Courses

• Social Science

Requirements for Harvard University Academy Scholars Program Qualification

These awards are open to recipients of PhD or comparable doctoral degrees (within two years of the August 1, 2024, 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, 2024, for an August 1, 2024, start date. Individuals who hold or have completed another Harvard postdoctoral fellowship are not eligible to apply.

Application Deadline

September 22, 2023

How to Apply

Interested and qualified? Go to Harvard University on harvardacademystudies.communityforce.com to applyAll 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); 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 single-authored peer-reviewed academic journal article; 50 pages maximum; in English)
• A copy of your PhD program transcript
• Three letters of recommendation (uploaded to the online application directly and confidentially by the recommender by September 22, 2023)

All parts of the application, including the three letters of recommendation, are submitted online as pdf documents. Access the online application through the homepage of The Harvard Academy’s website by clicking on the APPLY ONLINE button.

All materials must be received by September 22, 2023. The selection process begins immediately thereafter. Applicants whose materials are incomplete are at a disadvantage when considered by the Selection Committee. Announcement of the awards will be made in December 2023.

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.

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