Applications > Advanced Research Fellow Applications

Advanced Research Fellow Applications

We seek applications from outstanding scholars in the social sciences who are conducting research that illuminates Japan's relations with the rest of the world in the broadest sense. Thus, we welcome applicants from anthropology, economics, (modern) history, law, political science, public health, and sociology, among other fields. Scholars may examine domestic issues that bear on Japan's external relations or problems that it shares with other countries, and we encourage projects that compare Japan's experience cross-nationally.

The Fellowship Grant

Fellows spend a ten-month period in residence at Harvard that typically begins in September.
Depending on need, the stipend amounts to as much as: $44,000, and Harvard University Group Health Plan insurance coverage for one. Although these fellowships are normally reserved for scholars for whom the stipend represents their sole source of support, the Program will consider supplementing other grants.
Awardees must complete all requirements of their doctoral degree to receive a fellowship. If a successful applicant has not already earned a Ph.D. at the time of his or her application, the applicant's advisers must submit a formal letter to the effect that he or she "has completed all the requirements of the Ph.D." by August 1. The letter must include that precise wording, and no mitigating circumstances will be considered. Because advisers may not be prepared to confirm this until they have collectively approved the dissertation and all required changes have been made to put it in its final (deposit) form, we strongly urge you to schedule your defense, if it is still pending, by July 1. No funds can be disbursed until such a letter is received, and the fellowship will be reduced by one-tenth for each month's delay. Depending on the length of the delay, a prospective fellow may be asked to begin the Program in the second semester, and in extreme cases, the Program on U.S.-Japan Relations reserves the right to revoke the fellowship altogether.

Eligibility

Candidates must hold a doctoral or other terminal degree in a discipline bearing on the Program’s research areas. Research projects that focus on Japan or Japan’s international role from a comparative, historical, or global perspective are welcome. A knowledge of the Japanese language is not required.
Because a major aim of the fellowship is to provide talented researchers based outside Japan with an opportunity to carry on a dialogue with the Japanese scholars, officials, businesspeople, and journalists who join the Program each year, preference will be given to non-Japanese.

The Application Process

Submit a curriculum vitae and the application form along with one or two short sample publications (preferably publications relevant to the proposed research).
Submit letters of recommendation from three people, at least one of whom is based in the United States, who are knowledgeable about the applicant's scholarly work.
Complete applications must be submitted by February 1 to:
Associate Director
Program on U.S.-Japan Relations
61 Kirkland Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
U.S.A.
Awards will be announced in early April.

Responsibilities of Advanced Research Fellows

Fellows are expected to take part in all Program activities throughout the academic year.
Fellows are required to present their research findings at a Program seminar and to submit a 40- to 50-page research paper on a relevant topic for possible inclusion in the Program's Occasional Papers series. This does not preclude publication of the same research elsewhere.
Because fellows are expected to devote themselves full-time to a major research project, working elsewhere during one's tenure at Harvard (e.g., teaching part-time) is not permitted.