Harvard Environmental Fellows Program

The Harvard Environmental Fellows Program enables recent doctoral graduates to pursue independent, interdisciplinary research on complex environmental challenges. Fellows work for two years with Harvard faculty across any department or school, forming a vibrant community of scholars committed to advancing environmental knowledge and solutions. The program includes biweekly faculty dinners, mentorship, and access to Harvard’s extensive academic resources.

• Candidates for 2026 Environmental Fellowships should have received their terminal degree between May 2022 and August 2026. (Fellows must have filed their dissertation before starting their appointment in September 2026.)
• Candidates with a doctorate or equivalent in any field are eligible, and they may propose research projects in any discipline. Applicants without a Ph.D. may apply if they have studied in fields where the Ph.D. is not the typical terminal degree. All successful candidates will be able to demonstrate experience performing scholarly research.
• Candidates may have received their degrees at any university in the world. Foreign nationals are eligible for fellowships, though study at Harvard requires proficiency in English.
• Each candidate must secure a commitment from one or more Harvard faculty members to serve as a mentor and to provide office or lab space for the two-year fellowship.
• Candidates who received terminal degrees from Harvard, and post-docs currently working at Harvard are eligible for the fellowship provided their research and host arrangements take them in new directions and forge new connections within the University. Harvard candidates should not propose to continue to work with the same professors or lab groups with whom they are currently associated. No candidate should propose to work extensively with his or her thesis advisor.
• Successful candidates should be prepared to commit to work at Harvard for the full two years of the fellowship. This fellowship requires residency in the Cambridge area and any fieldwork trip must be scheduled for the summer or January recess.