50 Harvard Radcliffe Fellowships of $78000 Stipend Announced for 2027-2028 Entry
For scholars, artists and scientists who feel time itself has become the scarcest resource, the Harvard Radcliffe Fellowship remains one of the few programmes that treats uninterrupted thinking as a public good.
What the Radcliffe Fellowship Actually Solves?
The problem the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study addresses is not simply money. It is the near-impossibility, in modern academia and the arts, of stepping away from teaching loads, grant cycles and studio rent long enough to finish a serious project. Radcliffe answers that with a nine-month residency in Cambridge, Massachusetts, running September 2026 to May 2027 for the current cohort, and a comparable window the year after.
Funding: Stipend, Project Budget and Relocation
Selected fellows receive a stipend of $78,000, plus an additional $5,000 to cover project expenses. Relocation, housing and childcare support are available where needed, and healthcare assistance is provided as required. Fellows also receive office or studio space in Byerly Hall inside Radcliffe Yard, a full Harvard visiting-fellow appointment, and access to the university’s libraries and athletic facilities. Those who wish to hire Harvard undergraduates as Research Partners have those wages covered by the Institute.
Who Radcliffe is looking for?
The programme supports 50 fellows each year across the sciences, humanities, social sciences and the arts (Ref). Applicants are expected to show a strong record of achievement and clear promise for future work. Radcliffe has signaled particular interest in projects on academic freedom, connecting across difference, climate change and equity, work drawing on the Schlesinger Library’s collections on women and gender, and proposals in STEM fields affected by recent federal research funding cuts in the United States.
Reputation and global standing
Since its transition from Radcliffe College into Harvard’s institute for advanced study in 1999, the fellowship has built a reputation as one of the most intellectually eclectic residencies in the world. Alumni span Pulitzer winners, MacArthur Fellows and leading scientists, and the Institute sits inside a university consistently ranked among the top three globally. For international applicants, the draw is less prestige for its own sake than access to a cohort that cuts across silos few other programmes manage to bridge.
Deadline and final reflection
The 2026–2027 application window for the Harvard Radcliffe Fellowships of 2027–2028 cycle is expected to open in spring 2026, with the Institute inviting prospective applicants to register for a one-time notification. For serious candidates, the coming months are best spent sharpening the project proposal rather than waiting for the portal. A Radcliffe year is not a prize for past work. It is a wager the Institute places on what an applicant might do next, given time, space and $78,000 to think.