URAF supports opportunities for all undergraduates regardless of their country of citizenship or current immigration status. As enrolled undergraduates in the College, you can access numerous funded term-time and summer research, study, or travel opportunities. As seniors and recent alumni, there are postgraduate opportunities for you to consider as well. These range from options for study in a formal degree program, to performing independent research, public service, or purposeful travel either in the US or abroad.
There are a number of considerations to be made when planning for study, research, public service, or purposeful travel opportunities. URAF can advise you for most of the process, but in the meantime, here is a short list common concerns and issues to be aware of:
- Many URAF opportunities are blind to nationality and immigration status, but some are not! Please review the description of the opportunity to ensure you are eligible to apply and do not hesitate to ask us for clarification when needed.
- As an international student, we suggest you consult with the Harvard International Office to ensure compliance with any laws/rules governing your participation in funded research/work opportunities available through Harvard College.
- Award payments to international students are made in compliance with guidance from the Nonresident Alien (NRA) Tax Compliance Office. The location of the project may affect the method of payment (check or direct deposit) and whether any taxes are taken out of the stipend. URAF is not able to answer specific tax questions, but we encourage you to reach out to the Tax Services Office, the NRA Tax Compliance Office, or a tax professional for more information.
- For Harvard-sourced funding for term-time or summer-time research, you will not be asked to submit TOEFL scores as part of your applications, but it might be required for certain non-Harvard opportunities. Be sure to verify this well in advance of application deadlines.
- Recommendation letters that are written by non-native English speakers must be translated (at your cost) and submitted by the recommender with their letter in the original language.
- Should you seek URAF funding for an international opportunity, you cannot propose research or travel to a country where travel is prohibited by Harvard Global Support Services. Personal travel to a prohibited country it discouraged. If you have questions about risk related to travel for either of these purposes, please consult Harvard Global Support Services and/or URAF staff.
In conclusion, we encourage you to learn about what is available and to not hesitate to contact URAF with questions about these opportunities and about how we would manage the logistics with you.