Radcliffe fellows are exceptional scientists, writers, scholars, public intellectuals, and artists whose work is making a difference in their professional fields and in the larger world. Fellows join a uniquely interdisciplinary and creative community.

They welcome applications from scholars and artists proposing innovative work that confronts pressing social and policy issues and seeking to engage audiences beyond academia.

Focus Areas

• They welcome proposals relevant to the Institute’s multi-year focus areas, which include the following:
  • Academic freedom and connecting across difference, especially proposals addressing issues of intellectual diversity, political polarization, peace and conflict, inequality, and other policy issues as they relate to free inquiry at higher education institutions, as well as proposals that constructively challenge disciplinary orthodoxies or advance new and potentially transformative perspectives or approaches.
  • Climate change, especially proposals addressing critical questions of impact and equity.
  • In addition, they welcome proposals in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics directly impacted by federal research funding cuts.

Funding Information

• 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.
• Duration: The fellowship runs from September 2026–May 2027.

Eligibility Criteria

• 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:
  • 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.
  • Have published a monograph or at least two articles in refereed journals or edited collections.
• Applicants in science, engineering, and mathematics must:
  • 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).
  • 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.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Former Harvard Radcliffe fellows (1999–present) are ineligible to apply.

Application Requirements

• 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.

Deadlines

• The deadline for applications in humanities, social sciences, and creative arts is September 11, 2025.
• The deadline for applications in science, engineering, and mathematics is September 30, 2025.

For more information, visit Harvard Radcliffe Institute.