The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies
Founded in 1984, The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies is dedicated to promoting innovative social science hand-in-hand with deepening our shared knowledge of the experiences and practices of the world’s regions and countries.
The mission of the Academy Scholars Program is to train social scientists in area studies—focusing especially on areas of the world outside of the United States or Canada.
The Harvard Academy’s premise is that the scholarly world needs individuals who combine thorough disciplinary and area specializations. The Academy Scholars Program was established to facilitate this goal. The Harvard Academy also organizes seminars and conferences, and supports Harvard University faculty research and publications.
The Academy Scholars Program of The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies identifies and supports outstanding scholars at the start of their academic careers whose work combines excellence in a social science discipline with a command of the language and knowledge or expertise of countries or regions outside of the United States or Canada. The scholarship of the group spans traditional disciplinary divisions and elucidates comparative, transnational, and domestic issues, past and present.
The Academy Scholars are a select community of individuals possessed of resourcefulness, initiative, and originality whose work shows promise as a foundation for careers in research universities or international institutions.
Academy Scholars are appointed for a two-year, in-residence, postdoctoral fellowship at The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. They receive substantial financial and research assistance which permits them to undertake robust research projects and skills development in their chosen fields and areas. They meet at dinners, seminars, and informal get-togethers in order to pursue innovative interdisciplinary approaches to their work. They participate actively in the intellectual life of the University, engaging in seminars, workshops, and conferences. During the course of the fellowship, each Academy Scholar presents his or her work at a seminar to colleagues, Harvard Academy Senior Scholars, and other interested faculty and graduate students. Many Academy Scholars, in addition, present their book manuscript for intensive discussion at The Harvard Academy-sponsored author's conferences, to which a small number of colleagues from Harvard and other universities are invited.
They are mentored by the Harvard Academy Senior Scholars, a cohort of faculty members who act as a selection committee, participate in Harvard Academy events, and are committed to supporting the Academy Scholars as they work to achieve their potential. The Harvard Academy Senior Scholars are David R. Armitage, Emily Breza, Melani Cammett, Timothy J. Colton, Melissa Dell, Sarah Dryden-Peterson, Grzegorz Ekiert, Rema Hanna, Nicholas Harkness, Eliana La Ferrara, Ya-Wen Lei, Steven Levitsky, Mary D. Lewis, Elizabeth J. Perry, Jocelyn Viterna, Yuhua Wang, and Malika Zeghal.
In addition, the Harvard Academy Seminar brings distinguished scholars to campus. Meeting several times a year to explore new developments in social science research that are pertinent to a direct understanding of the culture, history, and institutions of specific countries or regions, the seminar—a thirty- to forty-minute presentation followed by discussion—takes place over dinner at the Harvard Faculty Club.
The Academy Scholars Program has been made possible through the generous support of Dr. Ira Kukin, founding benefactor of The Harvard Academy, and Albert and Celia Weatherhead and the Weatherhead Foundation.
The application deadline for the Academy Scholars Program is September 18, 2026.
The Harvard Academy is dedicated to building an inclusive community of scholars with an array of experiences, perspectives, and methods.
Administration
Timothy J. Colton is the chair of The Harvard Academy. George Soroka is the executive officer, and Kathleen Hoover is the program coordinator.
Timothy J. Colton
tcolton@fas.harvard.edu
George Soroka
soroka@fas.harvard.edu
Kathleen Hoover
khoover@wcfia.harvard.edu
All Programs & Projects
The Weatherhead Center hosts formal programs that link faculty and affiliates working in similar research areas. Projects at the Weatherhead Center are discrete activities that connect interdisciplinary scholars, practitioners, and students working in a specific research area. Projects may include student internships, multiyear research activities, and more.
The Canada Program, made possible by the William Lyon Mackenzie King Endowment, presents rich intellectual opportunities for Canadian studies at Harvard: graduate and undergraduate courses offered by distinguished visiting Canadianist scholars across the social sciences and professional schools, dissertation research grants for Harvard graduate students, thesis research and travel funding for Harvard undergraduates, funding for Harvard faculty-hosted Canadian studies specialists, a vibrant seminar series of esteemed Canadianist guest speakers, and an annual faculty conference.
The Program on US-Japan Relations was founded in response to Japan's rise as a leading global power. We seek to advance knowledge of US-Japan relations and contemporary Japanese economy, politics, society, and culture from comparative, global, and transnational perspectives. Every academic year, we host approximately sixteen postdoctoral fellows, visiting scholars, and practitioner associates to conduct research on campus. We sponsor a weekly hybrid seminar series, biweekly associate workshops, Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS), an annual Distinguished Visitor program, conferences on Harvard campus and in Tokyo, and other events.
SCANCOR at the Weatherhead Center explores the role of formal organizations—including corporations, nongovernmental organizations, and professional associations—in the creation of international social, environmental, economic, and political conventions. Our project is a partnership between the Weatherhead Center and the Scandinavian Consortium for Organizational Research (SCANCOR), a membership-supported nonprofit sponsored by leading universities and business schools in Scandinavia. We welcome visiting scholars to Harvard for up to one year to use the tools of organizational science to work on international topics. While at Harvard, visitors connect with scholars from across the campus, and around Boston, through various seminars and workshops.
The Sustainability Transparency Accountability Research (STAR) Lab brings together a group of scholars at Harvard University and beyond conducting research on new business initiatives aimed at improving accountability and sustainability as well as generating positive social and environmental impacts. Among these initiatives are programs addressing issues in global supply chains and the impacts of multinational businesses in developing countries, climate change and environmental sustainability, discrimination and human rights, and more. New research is critical for the design and evaluation of these initiatives and for understanding their impacts on business, social, and environmental outcomes. We support collaborations among Harvard scholars and build partnerships between the group and a diverse set of companies, with headquarters and operations in many different countries.
The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies is dedicated to increasing our knowledge of the culture, history, and institutions of the world's major regions and countries. To accomplish this goal, we sponsor the Academy Scholars Program, which identifies and supports outstanding scholars at the start of their academic careers whose work combines excellence in a social science discipline with a command of the language and knowledge or expertise of countries or regions outside of the United States or Canada. Their scholarship spans traditional disciplinary divisions and elucidates comparative, transnational, or domestic issues, past or present. Academy Scholars are appointed for a two-year, in-residence, postdoctoral fellowship. They are mentored by the Harvard Academy Senior Scholars, a cohort of faculty members who are committed to supporting the Academy Scholars as they work to achieve their potential.
Learn more about The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies >
The Weatherhead Scholars Program offers visiting faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and experienced practitioners the opportunity to spend up to one year at Harvard conducting comparative international research. During their time in residence, affiliates participate in the weekly Scholars’ seminar and contribute to the Center’s many intellectual activities. They may also audit courses and engage with the undergraduate and graduate student communities.