This program is open to all recent Ph.D. recipients and doctoral candidates in the social sciences or law.

The Academy Scholars Program identifies and supports outstanding scholars at the start of their careers whose work combines disciplinary excellence in the social sciences or law with a command of the language and history or culture of countries or regions outside of the United States or Canada. Their scholarship may elucidate domestic, comparative, or transnational issues, past or present.

The Academy Scholars are a select community of individuals with resourcefulness, initiative, curiosity, and originality, whose work in cultures or regions outside of the United States 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.

Eligibility

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

Those still pursuing a Ph.D. should have completed their routine training and be well along in the writing of their theses before applying to become Academy Scholars. If you have completed a Ph.D. program, the Ph.D. completion date must be within three years of the October 1 application deadline. For applicants applying for the October 1, 2018 deadline, you must have completed your Ph.D. or equivalent after September 30, 2015.

The Selection Committee considers all applicants in one applicant pool.

Terms

Each year, four to five Academy Scholars are named for two-year appointments. Academy Scholars are expected to reside in the Cambridge/Boston area for the duration of their appointments unless traveling for pre-approved research purposes.

Postdoctoral Academy Scholars will receive an annual stipend of $67,000. If selected before earning the Ph.D., the Scholars will receive an annual stipend of $31,000 until awarded the Ph.D. This stipend is supplemented by funding for conference and research travel, research assistants, and health insurance coverage. Some teaching is permitted but not required.

Questions should be emailed to [email protected].

The application deadline to is October 1, 2018. For more information and to apply, visit the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies Scholarships website.