Prize Fellowships in Economics, History, and Politics

About the Program

The purpose of the Program of Prize Fellowships in Economics, History, and Politics is to encourage outstanding scholarship within and across the disciplinary limits of economics, history, politics and related subjects. We particularly encourage the nomination of scholars whose work addresses questions of lasting importance to the understanding of economic change. Candidates should be of the highest level of intellectual achievement, having already demonstrated original work and should be comparable to those chosen for junior faculty positions at leading universities. The Prize Fellows are selected by the Senior Fellows of the Program. They receive three-year, or, if they so wish, two-year fellowships.

The Program seeks outstanding candidates early in their scholarly careers, and is looking for truly extraordinary scholars. We expect that candidates will have completed their routine training for advanced study and will be far along in the dissertation stage, able to submit samples of independent work (articles, papers, dissertation chapters) in support of their candidacies. If still pursuing the Ph.D., Prize Fellows should be prepared to finish their degrees before or within a few months of becoming fellows. If already a recipient of the Ph.D., they should not be more than two years past the degree at the time the fellowship commences.

Prize Fellows are required to be in residence in Cambridge or neighboring communities during the academic year, with the exception of periods of research, to be agreed in advance. Prize Fellows are not subject to examination, and may not be candidates for any degree other than the doctorate.

Prize Fellows are selected for their intellectual curiosity and because their work holds extraordinary promise. They should be prepared to devote their entire time to productive scholarship and may undertake sustained projects of research or other original work. If they choose, they may devote time to the acquisition of accessory disciplines so as to prepare themselves for the investigation of problems lying between conventional fields. Thus, it is very important that candidates have already proven their capacity for independent work in order to undertake the research opportunities this program offers.

Prize Fellows may, if they wish, and if invited by a department at Harvard or MIT, teach up to one course per year.

All fellows will be invited to become members of at least one of the following research groups at Harvard and MIT: the Center for History and Economics at Harvard and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at MIT. Office space will be provided in or close to the respective research groups; i.e., fellows in economics would be likely to have offices in J-PAL, and fellows in history or politics would be likely to have offices in the CGIS building at Harvard.

The administrative address for the Program of Prize Fellowships in Economics, History, and Politics is:

Jennifer Nickerson

CGIS-S417, 1727 Cambridge Street
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA 02138
USA

Tel: 617-496-4869
Fax: 617-496-0621

ehppf@fas.harvard.edu

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In accordance with Harvard University policy, the Program of Prize Fellowships in Economics, History, and Politics does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, national or ethnic origin, political beliefs, veteran status, or handicap in admission to access to, treatment in, or employment in its programs and activities. The following office has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: the Office of the Assistant to the President, 935 Holyoke Center, Cambridge, MA 02138. In addition, inquiries regarding the application of non-discrimination policies many be referred to the Regional Director, Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, 5 Post Office Square, 8th Floor, Boston, MA 02109.