Apply for a Fellowship
We use SlideRoom to manage the application process. If you do not have a SlideRoom account, you will be asked to create one. There is no application fee.
Applications for the Black Film Project are to be submitted separately using Submittable, instructions for the Black Film Project Fellowship are available here.
The Fellows Program, the oldest of the W. E. B. Du Bois Research Institute’s activities, invites up to twenty scholars to be in residence each year, reflecting the interdisciplinary breadth of African and African American Studies. The Institute has appointed Fellows since its founding in 1975 and supports research at both the predoctoral and postdoctoral levels.
The aim of the fellowship program is to provide a vibrant environment in which fellows can write, study, collaborate, and thrive. Du Bois Research Institute Fellows are multidisciplinary and international. Fellowship projects span fields in the arts, humanities, and social sciences as well as African and all geographic regions connected with the African Diaspora. Applicants should demonstrate the contributions they have made to their field, innovative approaches in their projects, and how the time at the Center will support their research.
Fellows will be expected to participate in person in the weekly colloquium series and attend workshops, lecture series, and social functions that embody the collaborative and community-focused core of the fellowship.
Fellows will have office space in the Center, a Harvard email address, and an ID that provides access to all University resources.
Stipends range from $70,000 to $75,000 for the ten-month academic year, with adjustments made for one-semester fellowships.
Health insurance is not provided with the fellowship.
Applications are accepted from people at different points in their career and should demonstrate a record of accomplishments commensurate with stage of career. Fellowships are available for the academic year or fall and spring term.
If you are applying as a graduate student, you must be enrolled in a doctoral program at Harvard University. Graduate students from other universities are not eligible.
Non-native English speakers must demonstrate proficiency by providing TOEFL or IELTS scores OR through conversations via Zoom (audio and visual) with Hutchins Center administrators.
The application is open to candidates of all nationalities. The Hutchins Center, with the Harvard International Office (HIO), supports the visa application process for international scholars.
Applicants use SlideRoom to submit their materials.
- Project Description (five pages in length, double-spaced. This excludes bibliographic information)
- Curriculum Vitae
- Sample of Work - Scholarship (approximately 20 pages) or Creative
- Three Letters of Recommendation
Applications for the Black Film Project are to be submitted separately using a specific format. Visit hutchinscenter.fas.harvard.edu/black-film-project for details.
The deadline for applications is December 14th with letters of recommendation on December 21st, 2026.
For questions related to the fellowship program or application process, please contact Dr. Lori De Lucia at loridelucia@fas.harvard.edu