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General Policy for Visiting Scholars

All appointments are residential fellowships; visitors are expected to be in residence at Weatherhead 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

Please note
Applicants to SCANCOR at the Weatherhead Center must be tenure-track or tenured, full-time faculty members, at eligible institutions.

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.

Read our FAQ's

Application Deadlines for Harvard

  • May 1 for the Spring semester of the following year (January-May)
  • December 1 for the Fall semester of the following year (August-December)

The application portal will open two months before each deadline.

Application types

Visiting Scholar

Applications for Fall 2025
due on Sunday, December 1st 2024

Decisions sent by February 2025

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Application Information

SCANCOR welcomes visiting scholars to Harvard University. Scholars may stay for one semester or one full academic year. Formal applications are required (see application section below).

  • Access to on campus libraries
  • Participation in seminars
  • Applicants are advised to plan their arrivals in advance of the start of the semester
Points of contact
Application and Review Processes

Persons wishing to apply to visit SCANCOR at Weatherhead must submit an online application.

U.S. 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.

Review of Applications

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/