Radcliffe Fellowship 2027–2028 at Harvard University
Institution: Harvard Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University
Category: Fellowship
Fellowship Year: 2027–2028
Location: Cambridge/Boston area
Deadlines: 10 September 2026 and 1 October 2026, depending on field
Funding: $78,000 stipend plus $5,000 for project expenses
The Radcliffe Fellowship 2027–2028 offers scientists, writers, scholars, public intellectuals, and artists the chance to pursue ambitious projects for a full academic year at Harvard University. Fellows join an interdisciplinary setting and use Harvard resources while developing work with social, scientific, policy, creative, or scholarly significance.
Radcliffe Fellowship 2027–2028 Overview
The Harvard Radcliffe Institute Fellowship Program welcomes innovative projects that address pressing social, scientific, and policy issues. It also welcomes work that seeks to engage audiences beyond academia.
The Institute welcomes, but does not limit eligibility to, proposals focused on women, gender, and society. It also welcomes projects that draw on the Schlesinger Library’s collections. In addition, Radcliffe invites proposals linked to its 2024–2029 focus area: academic freedom and connecting across difference.
Fellowship Benefits
Radcliffe fellows receive financial, academic, and institutional support during the fellowship year.
✓ $78,000 stipend
✓ Additional $5,000 for project expenses
✓ Possible relocation, housing, and childcare funds
✓ Healthcare support as needed
✓ Office or studio space in Byerly Hall in Radcliffe Yard
✓ Full-time Harvard appointment as a visiting fellow
✓ Access to the Harvard Library system
✓ Access to University athletic facilities
✓ Professional development and engagement opportunities
Residency Requirement
Fellows must live in the Cambridge/Boston area for the duration of the fellowship from September through May. Therefore, applicants should be ready to participate actively in the fellowship community.
Fellows also take part in weekly talks, professional development workshops, and social events during the fellowship year.
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must meet the eligibility requirements for their selected program area. The fellowship is not intended as a postdoctoral fellowship. Also, people currently enrolled in a degree program cannot apply.
• Applicants may apply across career stages
• Academics do not need tenure to apply
• Former Harvard Radcliffe fellows from 1999 to the present are ineligible
• Applicants must meet discipline-specific eligibility criteria
Discipline-Specific Requirements
Applicants in humanities and social sciences must have received a doctorate or equivalent in the proposed project area at least four years before the appointment as a fellow. For the 2027–2028 fellowship year, this means December 2023. They must also have published a monograph or at least two articles in refereed journals or edited collections.
Applicants in science, engineering, and mathematics must have received a doctorate in the proposed project area at least four years before the appointment. They must also have published at least five articles in refereed journals.
Applicants in journalism must have worked professionally as journalists for at least five years. Meanwhile, applicants in nonfiction must have one or more published books, a contract for a book-length manuscript, or at least three shorter published works longer than newspaper articles.
For creative arts, requirements vary by discipline:
• Film and video applicants must have a body of independent work of significant achievement
• Visual arts applicants must show at least five years of professional work, several curated group shows, and at least two professional solo exhibitions
• Fiction applicants must have one or more published books, a book-length manuscript contract, or at least three shorter published works
• Poetry applicants must have at least 20 poems or a poetry book published in the last five years and must be completing a manuscript
• Playwriting applicants must have a significant body of independent work, typically including plays produced or under option
• Music composition applicants should show strong evidence of achievement as professional artists, with recent performances
Application Materials
Applicants must submit all materials through the online application portal.
• Application form
• Curriculum vitae
• 1,400-word project proposal, with bibliography when appropriate
• Writing or work sample
• Contact information for three references
• Reference letters uploaded by referees through email prompts
Work Sample Requirements
Work sample requirements depend on the application area. Humanities and social sciences applicants may submit completed writing related to the project or a published article or book chapter, with a maximum length of 40 pages.
Science, engineering, and mathematics applicants should submit three published articles. Nonfiction and journalism applicants generally submit around 30 pages of relevant material, while journalism applicants may also submit up to 15 minutes of work on SoundCloud, Vimeo, or YouTube.
Creative arts applicants follow discipline-specific rules. Fiction applicants submit around 30 pages, poetry applicants submit up to 10 poems, and playwriting applicants submit one play or a section of a play up to 30 pages. Visual arts applicants submit 12 images and, if applicable, up to three moving-image excerpts. Film and video applicants submit up to 15 minutes, while music composition applicants submit one to three recent composition samples with written scores, except for electronic or improvisational work.
How to Apply
Applicants must register as new users through the application portal using their name, email address, and password. Then, they can log in and choose one application area.
• Humanities and Social Sciences
• Creative Arts
• Nonfiction and Journalism
• Science, Engineering, and Mathematics
Selection Process
Each application goes through a two-tier review process. First, experts in the relevant field review the application. Then, a multidisciplinary committee selects a diverse class of fellows.
Applications are evaluated on the quality and significance of the proposed project. Reviewers also consider the applicant’s intellectual and creative capacity, achievement record, extraordinary promise, collegiality, and openness to cross-disciplinary conversation.
Deadline
• Humanities, Social Sciences, Creative Arts, Nonfiction, and Journalism: 10 September 2026 at 5 PM ET
• Science, Engineering, and Mathematics: 1 October 2026 at 5 PM ET
• Result notification: by the end of March 2027, via email
