Harvard Environmental Fellows 2027: $92,000 Salary, Eligibility & Deadline

Harvard Environmental Fellows Program 2027 at a Glance

The Harvard University Center for the Environment created the Environmental Fellows Program to support recent doctorate recipients pursuing innovative research on complex environmental problems while building new intellectual connections across Harvard.

Fellows work for two years with Harvard faculty hosts in any school or department and participate in a broader interdisciplinary cohort.

Who Can Apply?

Terminal-degree window

Applicants for the 2027 cohort should have received their terminal degree between May 2023 and August 2027.

Applicants whose fields use a terminal professional or scholarly degree other than a PhD may also be eligible.

Degree not yet formally awarded

Applicants can apply before formal graduation, but they must complete all degree requirements before beginning the fellowship.

Any discipline

The fellowship is open across disciplines provided the proposed research addresses an environmental issue.

Eligible backgrounds can include:

• natural and physical sciences;
• engineering;
• economics;
• law;
• government and public policy;
• public health and medicine;
• design;
• humanities; and
• other relevant fields.

International applicants

Candidates may have received their degree at any university worldwide. Foreign nationals are eligible, subject to Harvard’s immigration requirements and adequate English proficiency.

Salary and Fellowship Benefits

The professional allowance can support appropriate travel and other fellowship-related professional expenses.

Harvard Faculty Host Requirement

Every applicant must secure a commitment from one or more Harvard faculty members who will serve as research mentor and provide office or laboratory space.

Any Harvard faculty member from any discipline may potentially serve as host, subject to the current programme’s host-eligibility rules.

Host support letter

The Harvard host must submit a support letter of no more than two pages describing:

• commitment to the applicant;
• commitment to the proposed research;
• mentoring arrangements; and
• availability of office or laboratory space.

A Harvard faculty member may host only one Environmental Fellow at a time.

What Makes a Strong Research Proposal?

Harvard expects the proposed project to represent an independent line of inquiry.

The project should clearly extend beyond both:

• the applicant’s doctoral research; and
• the Harvard host’s existing research programme.

Applicants should explain why Harvard’s intellectual environment and the proposed host relationship are necessary to advance the project.

Interdisciplinary research

Interdisciplinary projects are encouraged but not required. Strong single-discipline proposals can also compete successfully if their environmental relevance and intellectual merit are clear.

Harvard applicants and current Harvard postdocs

Harvard degree recipients and current Harvard postdocs can apply, but the new project and host arrangement must create a substantially new research direction.

Candidates should not continue with the same professor, laboratory group or thesis adviser in essentially the same research programme.

2027 Application Documents

The current Harvard application requires:

• curriculum vitae including publication list;
• research proposal of no more than 5 pages, with references counted separately;
• up to 3 publications or writing samples;
• proposed research title;
• abstract of no more than 175 words;
• exactly 3 recommendation letters;
• one recommendation normally from the dissertation adviser; and
• Harvard faculty host support letter.

Recommendation letters

Harvard’s application system sends referee requests only after the applicant has formally submitted the application.

Applicants should therefore alert referees well in advance so letters can be uploaded promptly once the automated request arrives.

Residency and Start Date

Environmental Fellows are expected to work at Harvard for the full two-year appointment and reside in the Cambridge area.

Fieldwork should normally be scheduled during the summer or January recess rather than during the core residential periods.

Fellows can begin as early as July 1. Harvard’s goal is to have the new cohort in Cambridge by the beginning of September 2027, although a limited delay may occasionally be approved.

Fellowship community

Fellows participate in a co-curricular programme that includes biweekly dinners with other fellows, Harvard faculty and invited speakers.

How Harvard Selects Environmental Fellows

The selection committee considers:

• prior academic and professional achievement;
• potential contribution to scholarship or practice;
• intellectual strength of the proposed project;
• environmental significance;
• research independence;
• potential for future intellectual achievement;
• complementarity with the rest of the Environmental Fellows cohort;
• strength of host support; and
• quality of the proposed mentoring environment.

A select group of applicants may be invited to discuss the proposal by video with the selection committee.

Harvard expects to notify applicants of final decisions by late January 2027.

How to Apply for the 2027 Cohort

1. Confirm that your terminal-degree date falls within the May 2023–August 2027 eligibility window.
2. Develop an environmental research question that clearly moves beyond your dissertation.
3. Identify a suitable Harvard faculty host.
4. Confirm that the faculty member is eligible and available to host a 2027 fellow.
5. Discuss the project and research environment with the prospective host.
6. Prepare the maximum five-page research proposal.
7. Update your CV and publication list.
8. Select up to three publications or writing samples.
9. Prepare the 175-word project abstract.
10. Identify three referees, including the dissertation adviser where applicable.
11. Submit the online application by 1 December 2026 at 5:00 p.m. EST.
12. Ensure all three recommendation letters and the Harvard host letter arrive by 11 December 2026 at 5:00 p.m. EST.

CareerAidHub Applicant Guidance

Find the host early

The host is not an administrative formality. Harvard evaluates the host’s enthusiasm, mentoring capacity and ability to provide an appropriate research environment.

Do not submit a dissertation extension

Explicitly show what is scientifically new relative to your doctoral work. The fellowship is designed to launch an independent research direction rather than fund a continuation of the PhD.

Show independence from the host as well

The project should also extend beyond the host’s existing programme. Explain what intellectual contribution will be uniquely yours.

Use Harvard’s breadth strategically

Because fellows may work with faculty in any Harvard school or department, the strongest host is the person who materially strengthens the research question, methods, data or intellectual framework—not simply the most famous professor.

Researchers comparing related opportunities can review CareerAidHub’s current postdoctoral fellowships, Postdoctoral Fellowships, and research jobs.