The competition for AY 2020-22 has closed. Please check back soon for details of the AY 2021-23 competition.
The Ash Center is a vibrant and values-driven community. We are committed to diversity and welcome people of varied backgrounds, cultures, experiences, and disciplines. We actively seek applications from people of color, women, the LGBTQIA+ community, persons with disabilities and underrepresented backgrounds.
The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation invites postdoctoral students who will be completing or will have recently completed a Ph.D. to apply for its Postdoctoral Democracy Fellowship. The Democracy Fellowships aim to support postdoctoral scholars whose research illuminates aspects of democratic governance in ways that are innovative and push the boundaries of their academic disciplines, whether political theory and philosophy, political science, sociology, law, or history. Furthermore, their research should have the potential for normative or practical relevance regarding urgent substantive policy or social problems related to democratic governance.
About the Fellowship
Postdoctoral Fellows join the Ash Center’s academic community and participate in the Democracy Fellows weekly seminar. The fellowship provides time and space for the fellows to work on preparing either a book manuscript based on their dissertation or related academic publications. For more information about the Democracy Fellowships, see our Five-Year Retrospective.
Eligibility
Preference will be given to postdoctoral scholars whose research interests coincide with the Ash Center’s current focus on innovations in public participation and political participation in democracies or non-democracies. Eligible applicants will be completing or will have just recently completed dissertations—within the previous three years—in the fields of political theory, political philosophy, political science, sociology, law, or history. The duration of the fellowship is two academic years.
Benefits
Fellows will receive a stipend of $60,000 annually, $2,500 per year for research during the fellowship, shared office space at the Ash Center, and access to Harvard’s libraries and online library services. Fellowships for the 2020-2022 academic year begin in August 2020.
How to Apply
The competition for AY 2020-22 has closed. Please check back soon for details of the AY 2021-23 competition.
The Ash Center is a vibrant and values-driven community. We are committed to diversity and welcome people of varied backgrounds, cultures, experiences, and disciplines. We actively seek applications from people of color, women, the LGBTQIA+ community, persons with disabilities and underrepresented backgrounds.
Harvard is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by law.
If you have questions, please contact Democratic Governance Coordinator James Rasaiah.
FAQ
- Are letters of recommendation requested as part of application?
No, lettters of recommendation are not requested.
- I accidently submitted my application without completing it. Can you delete this application?
If two applications are recieved by the same individual, we will use the last version submitted.
- Can I make changes to my application packet after I have submitted?
No, we are unable to make changes to your application.
- What does the application require?
The application will ask you to explain your research, provide three references, upload your CV or resume as PDF, upload paper or writing sample as PDF.
- Can I confirm that my application was received?
When you submitted your application, you should have received a message confirming application submission that reads "We thank you for your time spent taking this survey. Your response has been recorded." If you did not see this message, your application was not submitted. Due to the volume of applications, we cannot answer individual requests for receipt confirmation.
- When will I hear the final decision?
All applicants will be notified by early Spring next year.
Due to the volume of inquiries we are receiving, we ask that you first look at the application and if you have specific questions, please let us know and we will do our best to clarify.
Current Democracy Postdoctoral Fellows
Johnnie Lotesta, Ph.D., Brown University