Harvard Radcliff Institute is inviting applications for the Radcliffe Fellowship Program 2025-26. The last date of application is October 3.

About the Radcliff Fellowship

Based in Radcliffe Yard—a sanctuary in the heart of Harvard University—fellows join a uniquely interdisciplinary and creative community. A fellowship at Radcliffe is an opportunity to step away from usual routines and dive deeply into a project.

With access to Harvard’s unparalleled resources, Radcliffe fellows develop new tools and methods, challenge artistic and scholarly conventions, and illuminate our past and our present.

The Radcliffe Fellowship Program awards 50 fellowships each academic year. Applicants may apply as individuals or in a group of two people working on the same project.

We seek diversity along many dimensions, including discipline, career stage, race and ethnicity, country of origin, gender and sexual orientation, and ideological perspective. Although our fellows come from many different backgrounds, they are united by their demonstrated excellence, collegiality, and creativity.

Eligibility

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 two years prior to their appointment as a fellow (December 2023 for the 2025-26 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 two years prior to their appointment as a fellow (December 2023 for the 2025-26 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:
    a) one or more published books;
    b) a contract for the publication of a book-length manuscript; or
    c) 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.

Duration

The fellowship runs from September 2025–May 2026.

Stipend

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.

How to Apply?

Interested candidates can apply online via this page.

Important dates

  • The deadline for applications in humanities, social sciences, and creative arts is September 12, 2024 (11:59 PM Eastern Time).
  • The deadline for applications in science, engineering, and mathematics is October 3, 2024 (11:59 PM Eastern Time).

Contact

If you are unable to log in or have any questions, contact HarvardRadcliffeFellowship@radcliffe.harvard.edu.

Click here for the official notification of Radcliffe Fellowship Program 2025-26.