Harvard Visiting Scholar
application

Application period
Fall 2025
Application deadline
Sunday, December 1st 2024
Decisions sent by
February 2025

All visiting scholar appointments are residential fellowships; visitors are expected to be in residence at Harvard and to be active participants in the intellectual life of the Weatherhead Center. Visiting Scholar appointments do not provide stipends.

Harvard operates on a semester system and appointments are for one or two Harvard semesters. Please plan to visit for one or two full semesters (late August to early December in the fall, and late January to early May in the spring).

Applicants are advised to arrive before the start of the Harvard academic semester. Consult the Harvard website for the appropriate academic calendars. https://registrar.fas.harvard.edu/ten-year-calendar

Application and Review Process
Persons wishing to apply to visit SCANCOR at the Weatherhead Center must submit an online application.

US federal government regulations require Visiting Scholars to obtain J1 visas for the period of residence at SCANCOR at the Weatherhead Center.  Federal regulations require proof of funding for the time of the visit and proof of English language proficiency, such as a TOEFL score or documentation from an academic institution or English language school.

Appointments are made by the Weatherhead Executive Committee, in consultation with the SCANCOR Board of Directors. Applications from institutions in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden always receive an in-country review in advance of evaluation by the Weatherhead Executive Committee.

Selection is based on a judgment of the likely contribution that a stay at SCANCOR at the Weatherhead Center will make to the production of high-quality research. This judgment is based primarily on the quality and relevance of the research abilities of the applicant. We are particularly interested in applications from scholars who have made plans to pursue research topics or collaborations that could not be pursued in their home countries.

We strive for parity in regard to nationality and seek a viable mix in terms of academic rank and gender. We also consider whether the proposed research contributes to the Weatherhead project of international research. These factors help us select scholars who will be able to make the best use of Harvard and the Weatherhead community.

If you are planning to collect data on living human subjects while you are in residence at Weatherhead, you will be expected to comply with University rules regarding what in the U.S. is referred to as “human-subjects research,” including an institutional review board (IRB) evaluation of your proposed inquiry. Harvard’s IRB process is detailed here: http://cuhs.harvard.edu/

Application

Application notices
Privacy Notice for Admissions

For information about how we collect and use your personal information online, as well as a description of the rights and choices you have with regard to this personal information, please review Harvard University’s Privacy Statement

Consent for Admissions

By submitting this SCANCOR application, I hereby consent to Harvard University’s collection and processing of any sensitive personal data contained in my application to evaluate my application for the other purposes described in Harvard University’s International Data Privacy Policy.

Application Eligibility

Applicants to SCANCOR at the Weatherhead Center must be tenure-track or tenured, full-time faculty members, at eligible institutions. Please refer to the Funders section to determine if your university is a SCANCOR member.

Applications from non-SCANCOR-affiliated institutions: SCANCOR at the Weatherhead Center endeavors to include visitors from institutions in the Global South through a fee waiver program. Applicants should indicate that they seek fee waiver. Please write to the program coordinator for further information.

Confirm eligibility to continue
Personal details
Application details

Check all of these that apply to you:

Select the number of semesters you would like to stay for.

Required documents

All files should be PDF format and all required information must be attached at the same time.

A successful submission will generate an auto-reply.


(e.g., paper, article, chapter)*

Please be sure to explain the international component to your reasearch
Complete

Clicking the submit button below will send your application to SCANCOR.

You will be redirected to a confirmation page and an email receipt will be emailed to you.