DEADLINE:
Updated, 9/13/23: Not accepting applications in AY24.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION:
The Harvard-Cambridge Scholarship Committee offers 8 to 12 summer scholarships to undergraduates for supervised research or study at Cambridge University.
GENERAL INFORMATION:
The Harvard-Cambridge Scholarship Committee offers 8 to 12 summer scholarships to undergraduates for supervised research or study at Cambridge University.
The specific research of study proposed by the applicant must be conducted under the supervision of an advisor who is an instructor, fellow or researcher associated with Cambridge University or one of its colleges, or a research facility associated with the University. Applicants are responsible for identifying, contacting and securing the agreement in writing of the advisor to supervise the proposed research or study. (Trinity College customarily sends us a list of faculty members associated with it that have projects for which they are seeking research assistance and this list is made available in January to interested applicants through the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships.) The Committee also awards one summer scholarship on the recommendation of the A.R.T., for an internship in the theater arts at the Gate Theatre in London.
Eligibility:
Harvard College sophomores and juniors are eligible.
Benefits:
Scholarship awards provide for the expenses associated with the summer experience and include travel to and from the U.K. and room and board at either Trinity College or Emmanuel College. The research or study must begin in late June and last at least eight weeks.
Selection Criteria:
There is no requirement for a particular grade point average or set of achievements. The Selection Committee favors applicants who have a carefully thought-out and interesting project, whose proposed supervisor shows genuine interest in supervising the project; and whose proposed project builds on, expands, or has the potential to alter the applicant's interests. The Committee favors independent research projects or study programs over the Pembroke-King's program.
*PLEASE NOTE: The selection committee expects students to contact potential advisors on their own in order to arrange research/program placement, OR, to select from one of the provided projects (available in late January). (There is no preference between candidates who propose projects of their own design and candidates who choose from one of the provided projects.) As you reach out to potential mentors, candidates should be mindful that research mentoring in the U.K. is often pursued differently than in the U.S. It may be useful to describe the Harvard-Cambridge Fellowship in some detail so that potential mentors can become acquainted with the program and with the American mentoring style. Provided below is a brief description that you may find useful in contacting potential mentors at Cambridge.
Now in its 12th year, the Harvard-Cambridge Summer Fellowship is a prestigious undergraduate research fellowship conducted in cooperation between Harvard and Cambridge Universities during the months of June through August. Fellows are outstanding student researchers who have, together with Cambridge mentors, crafted summer research projects to take place at Cambridge University. These projects may be an outgrowth of a mentor’s own research interests in which the Fellow assists, or may be conceived and conducted more independently by the Fellow with occasional mentor check-ins for guidance and support. While Fellows receive free accommodation at Trinity, Emmanuel, and Jesus Colleges, the Harvard-Cambridge Summer Fellowship is unable to provide remuneration directly to mentors at this time. However, dozens of former mentors have reported positive, mutually-beneficial mentoring experiences over the years, and we are looking forward to many more years of future cooperation between these two historic institutions.