Research and Academic Associates
The roughly 16 Associates who join the Program include businesspeople, government officials, journalists, and scholars. They are primarily from Japan and the United States, but the Program has also hosted Associates from Australia, Canada, the People's Republic of China, Germany, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Panama, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. Applications for the following academic year may be requested in early September and are due December 15.
Postdoctoral Fellows
The Program offers postdoctoral fellowships for social scientists in a broad range of fields, including anthropology, economics, education, history, law, political science, public health, public policy, and sociology. Projects that focus on Japan or Japan's international role from a comparative, historical, or global perspective are welcome. A knowledge of the Japanese language is not required. Awards are for the academic year and provide $50,000 over 10 months. The application deadline is January 15.
Candidates must hold a doctoral degree by August 1, prior to the start of the academic year in September.
Postdoctoral Fellow Applications
We seek applications from outstanding scholars in the social sciences who are conducting research that illuminates Japan's relations with the rest of the world in the broadest sense. Thus, we welcome applicants from anthropology, economics, (modern) history, law, political science, public health, and sociology, among other fields. Scholars may examine domestic issues that bear on Japan's external relations or problems that it shares with other countries, and we encourage projects that compare Japan's experience cross-nationally.
During their term of appointment, Post-doctoral Fellows will be expected to contribute to the teaching program at Harvard, normally by offering one undergraduate course during the fall or spring semester of the academic year. Areas of particular interest include Japanese popular culture; Japanese imperialism/ war memory; gender and politics in East Asia; political economy of Japan; and Japanese Americans in history, culture, politics, and/or society. Broader courses that include, but are not limited to, Japan are especially encouraged.
Associate Applications
Qualifications of applicants
Our goal is to ensure that we admit the best possible group of Associates. We seek applications from highly motivated men and women with well conceived research projects that will illuminate key issues in U.S. Japan relations, individuals with leadership qualities who demonstrate strong potential for contributing to the international dialogue on Japan's relations with the rest of the world. We favor candidates who enjoy working independently and will make the best possible use of their time at Harvard for their personal and professional growth. Because a high level of English competence is necessary to derive the maximum benefit from study at Harvard, we are also concerned with the language skills of non-native speakers of English.
The application form
Completed forms of all applicants except scholars must reach the Program on U.S.-Japan Relations by December 15. Be sure to retain a copy for your own records. A selection committee will choose who is to be admitted to the Program, and its decisions will be announced in February.
Application Form (PDF)
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The financial form
Applicants should submit a financial form along with their application. Please contact the Program (wnehring@wcfia.harvard.edu) to request the financial form.