# Nomination Procedure ### The nomination deadline for Junior Fellowships beginning July 1, 2027 is Tuesday, August 4. ### The nomination form can be accessed [here](https://socfell.onlinesubmissionportal.com/nomination/). #### The nomination procedure for the Junior Fellowship is detailed below, followed by frequently asked questions. ##### Step 1: Submission of Nomination Candidates are nominated for Junior Fellowships, generally by those under whom they have studied (e.g. an advisor, dissertation committee member, or other academic mentor). Applications are not accepted from the candidates themselves. **Nominations must be submitted through our online form**; we do not accept nominations sent by email or mail. The nominator must provide the following: - A letter of nomination, which should include an assessment of the candidate’s work and promise, i.e. a full letter of recommendation - Complete contact information for the candidate, including current residential address and email address - The names, institutions, and email addresses of three additional people who agree to write letters of recommendation supporting the candidate’s nomination. **Nominators cannot list themselves as a referee.** Nominations usually open on May 1 and close on August 1. The date of nomination bears no influence on the candidate’s file. Prior to submitting the nomination, nominators should confer with both the candidate and referees to ensure they can submit their materials within four weeks of being contacted by the Society. ##### Step 2: Request for Candidate and Referee Materials The Society processes nominations on a rolling basis beginning in early July. Upon receipt of the nomination, the Society will contact both the candidate and referees by email with instructions and log-in credentials for accessing our online portal, which they will use to submit their respective materials and letters of recommendation. **Both candidates and referees will be asked to submit their materials within four weeks of being contacted by us**. Referees will be asked to upload a letter of recommendation to the online portal. Candidates will be asked to upload the following materials: - A one or two-page proposal describing the studies they would like to pursue while a Junior Fellow, and a 200-word non-technical abstract of the proposal - Curriculum vitae - List of publications - Undergraduate and graduate transcripts (unofficial versions are acceptable) - Three samples of work (usually dissertation chapters, articles, papers, musical compositions, art work, videos, etc.) If a candidate suspects that they have been nominated but they have not been contacted by the Society by August 11**,** they should call or email our office. **Please note that we do not accept materials from candidates or referees by email or by mail.** ##### Step 3: Review and Interviews On the basis of the materials submitted, the Senior Fellows select a certain number of candidates for interviews, which usually take place on-campus at our office in Cambridge, MA. It is from this number that the final selection is made. The Society pays the travel expenses of candidates invited to interview. Interviews take place between late September and late November, and elections take place in mid-December, with final decisions communicated to all candidates shortly thereafter. ## Frequently Asked Questions FAQ for Candidates FAQ for Nominators ## FAQ for Candidates Open all sections Close all sections ### Who can nominate me for the Junior Fellowship? expand\_more Candidates are generally nominated for Junior Fellowships by those under whom they have studied, e.g. an advisor, dissertation committee member, mentor, or other scholar who knows your work well. You cannot nominate yourself for the Junior Fellowship. The nomination letter is the most important letter in a candidate’s file and should be written by the individual who knows your work best. ### Does my nominator need to have a Harvard affiliation? expand\_more No, nominators are not required to have any Harvard affiliation. Nominations can come from faculty/researchers at any institution. ### Can I be nominated for the Junior Fellowship more than once? expand\_more Yes, candidates can be renominated, although there should be significant changes to the candidate’s work and/or academic record to warrant a renomination. Please note that the Senior Fellows reviewing candidate files are aware if a candidate has been nominated more than once. ### Can a Senior Fellow of the Society serve as one of my referees? expand\_more Senior Fellows cannot serve as referees, as it is a conflict of interest. ### I received my Ph.D. more than one year ago. Am I still eligible for the Junior Fellowship? expand\_more The Junior Fellowship is meant for scholars who are at the early stage of their scholarly careers, but the one-year timeline is more of a guideline than a strict rule. Candidates who have not started a tenure-track position at a university at the time of the application are generally considered to be eligible for the fellowship. Junior Fellows have, however, held other post-doctoral positions and/or served as lecturers, visiting assistant professors, etc. ### Can the primary affiliation of a Junior Fellow be at a different Boston-area institution? What if I want to work in a lab at MIT during the Junior Fellowship? expand\_more Junior Fellows are required to have a primary affiliation at Harvard, but are welcome to collaborate with faculty/affiliates at other institutions. Please note that Junior Fellows cannot hold a second fellowship concurrently and be paid by both. ### What is the annual stipend for Junior Fellows? What other benefits are provided? expand\_more The annual stipend for first-year Junior Fellows is $101,000 as of the 2025-26 academic year. Health insurance is also provided. Junior Fellows in the humanities are provided with a dedicated office, subject to availability. ### Are Junior Fellows given a research budget? expand\_more No, but Junior Fellows are eligible to apply to the Milton Fund, an internal funding opportunity at Harvard. The Milton Fund awards up to $50,000 in the fields of medicine, geography, history, and science. ### What are the expectations and requirements of Junior Fellows? expand\_more Junior Fellows must be in residence in the Cambridge area for the duration of the three-year fellowship, excluding winter and summer recesses. When the University is in session, they are expected to work full-time in the office or lab space provided to them by the University and attend three meals a week. Junior Fellows are not subject to examination, are not required to make reports or publish, receive no credit for courses, and may not be candidates for any degree other than the Ph.D. Junior Fellows may not undertake any teaching or other paid remuneration during the fellowship. ### Can the Junior Fellowship be deferred? expand\_more Generally, no. There have been rare exceptions, but candidates should not apply for the Junior Fellowship with the intention of requesting a deferral. After completing the first year of the fellowship, Junior Fellows can go on leave for up to one year. ### What should my research proposal include? Can I write about more than one project I am planning? expand\_more The proposal should detail the work you plan to undertake during the fellowship and illustrate how you would make use of the three years. Candidates can write about as many projects as they like in the proposal, although most limit the scope to one or two. ### What sorts of writing samples should I submit? expand\_more Candidates typically submit three writing samples. These may include dissertation chapters, book chapters, articles, or conference papers. **A small selection of your best work is preferable to a large mass of material**, preferably less than 100 pages total. If you have any doubts about what to submit, please consult your nominator/advisor for advice on what best represents your body of work. ### May I submit work in other media, such as photographs, videos, musical recordings, and so on? expand\_more Yes, as long as your materials can be submitted electronically using the candidate portal. ### Can I mail you a copy of my book as part of my application materials? expand\_more We do not accept any application materials by mail. We would recommend uploading one or more chapters from your book as your writing samples rather than the entire book. ### Is it possible to hold the Junior Fellowship along with another post-doctoral/research fellowship? expand\_more Junior Fellows can hold a second fellowship concurrently (e.g. the Clay Research Fellowship, Schmidt Sciences Fellowship, etc.) but can only be paid by one. ## FAQ for Nominators Open all sections Close all sections ### Do I need to have a Harvard affiliation to nominate a candidate for the Junior Fellowship? expand\_more No, nominators are not required to have any Harvard affiliation. Nominations can come from faculty/researchers at any institution. ### Can I nominate more than one person for the Junior Fellowship in a given year? expand\_more While we do not have an explicit rule that forbids multiple nominations by one individual in a given year, nominators should only nominate those they believe are of the **highest caliber of intellectual achievement**. A possible alternative is to nominate one candidate and serve as a referee for the other(s). ### Can I co-nominate a candidate with another professor? expand\_more No, nominations can only come from one individual. The other potential nominator can serve as a referee for the candidate. ### Can I re-nominate a candidate? expand\_more Yes, candidates can be renominated, although there should be significant changes to the candidate’s work and/or academic record to warrant a renomination. Please note that the Senior Fellows reviewing candidate files are aware if a candidate has been nominated more than once. ### Can I list a Senior Fellow of the Society as one of the three referees for my candidate? expand\_more No. Senior Fellows cannot serve as a referee for a candidate, as it is a conflict of interest. ### Can I also serve as one of the three referees? expand\_more No. The three letters of recommendation must come from three additional individuals, for a total of four letters for each candidate. Nominators cannot also serve as a referee. ### Can I submit my nomination by email or by mail? expand\_more No. We require nominations to be submitted through our online form. ### Do you accept nominations after the August 1 deadline? expand\_more Please write to us at to inquire. [ Click here to nominate someone for the Junior Fellowship arrow\_circle\_right ](https://socfell.onlinesubmissionportal.com/nomination/)