LAST MINUTE! Radcliffe Fellowships 2021, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study of Harvard University

Application deadline: October 1, 2020

Radcliffe fellows are exceptional scientists, writers, scholars, public intellectuals, practitioners, and artists whose work is making a difference in their professional fields and in the larger world.

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.

Throughout the year, fellows convene regularly to share their work in progress. Coming from diverse disciplines and perspectives, they challenge each other’s ideas and support each other’s ambitions. Many say that it is the best year of their professional lives.

Our online application for the 2021–2022 fellowship year is now available.

The deadline for applications in science, engineering, and mathematics is October 1, 2020.

The Radcliffe Fellowship Program awards 50 fellowships each academic year. Applicants may apply as individuals or in a group of two to three 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.

Explore the broad range of Radcliffe fellows’ projects.

We welcome applications from a broad range of fields and perspectives. The strength of our fellowship program is its diversity.

The following areas are of particular interest:

• Radcliffe supports engaged scholarship. We welcome applications from scholars, artists, and practitioners proposing innovative work that confronts pressing social and policy issues and seeking to engage audiences beyond academia.
• We welcome proposals relevant to the Institute’s focus areas, which include:
  • Law, education, and justice
  • Youth leadership and civic engagement
  • Legacies of slavery 
• Reflecting Radcliffe’s unique history and institutional legacy, we welcome proposals that focus on women, gender, and society or draw on the Schlesinger Library’s rich collections. 
• Interdisciplinary exchange is a hallmark of the Radcliffe Fellowship, and we welcome proposals that take advantage of our uniquely diverse intellectual community by engaging with concepts and ideas that cross disciplinary boundaries.

Benefits

Radcliffe Institute fellows are in residence for a period of nine months from September 1, 2021 through May 31, 2022 and receive a stipend of $78,000 plus an additional $5,000 to cover project expenses. Fellows are expected to be free of their regular commitments so that they may fully devote themselves to the work outlined in their proposal.

As this is a residential fellowship, fellows are expected to reside in the Greater Boston area for the duration of their fellowship. Fellows may be eligible to receive additional funds for moving expenses, childcare, and housing to aid them in making a smooth transition. Healthcare options are made available as needed.

Radcliffe Fellows receive office or studio space in Byerly Hall and full-time Harvard appointments as visiting fellows, granting them access to Harvard University’s various resources, including libraries, housing, and athletic facilities. If fellows would like to hire Harvard undergraduate students as Research Partners, we will cover their hourly wages.

Application requirements

An application consists of:

• Application form
• Curriculum vitae
• Project proposal, with bibliography when appropriate
• Writing or work sample
• Three letters of recommendation

Fellows are expected to engage actively with the colleagues in their cohort and to participate fully as a member of the Radcliffe community. To this end, all fellows present their work-in-progress, either in the form of a private talk for their cohort or a public lecture, in addition to attending the presentations of all other fellows during that academic year (up to two talks per week). We offer group lunches and other opportunities to connect with members of your cohort, but attendance at these is optional.

All application materials must be submitted online.

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Quick Guide to Beginning a Radcliffe Fellowship Application

• Determine if you meet the eligibility requirements for your selected discipline.
• Make note of the application deadline above.
• Begin an application by clicking on the tab above and registering as a new user.
• Reach out to recommenders well in advance of the deadline. You will be asked to provide the contact information for three references, who will be prompted, via email, to upload a letter in support of your application.
• Consult evaluation criteria below and review the detailed application material guidelines in our FAQs.

Source / More information: Official Website.