The Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University Fellowships
October 6, 2025
The Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University is now accepting applications for two fellowship opportunities:
- Fellows-in-Residence Program: For faculty in arts and sciences and professional schools, postdoctoral scholars, practitioners, and researchers from industry, government, and NGOs working on any topic pertaining to pressing issues in ethics.
- Research & Design Studio Fellowship: For those exploring the ethical and political dimensions of disagreement. Applicants from any discipline or professional field will be considered.
To be eligible for either of these fellowships, applicants must hold a PhD, professional degree, or have at least five years of equivalent professional experience by September 1, 2026. Faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and practitioners are all eligible to apply.
Applications for both programs are due November 15, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. EST.
Fellows-in-Residence Program
The Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethicsat Harvard University invites applications from a broad range of researchers and practitioners who will work over the course of the year on pressing issues in ethics. Facultyin arts and sciences and professional schools, postdoctoral scholars, practitioners, and researchers from industry, government, and NGOs are eligible to apply. The call for applications for the 2026-27 academic year is completely open: we will consider any topic pertaining to the serious ethical questions of our time. All eligible applicants are encouraged to apply and will be given careful consideration; priority will be given to outstanding early career scholars and practitioners and to those whose work pertains to disagreement.
As always, our goal will be to craft a cohort in which all fellows will find valuable intellectual partnerships to support and spur their work. The ideal candidates are those who are willing to invest time and energy into building community with the other fellows in their cohort.
Fellows-in-Residence will be expected to devote the majority of their time to their individual projects and to participate in regular work-in-progress seminars. In addition, Fellows are strongly encouraged to participate in—and contribute to—the Center’s programming, which includes public lectures, themed seminars and reading groups, conferences, workshops, and lunch discussions.
This Fellowship is residential. With the exception of travel to conferences and meetings, Fellows are expected to be in residence in the Boston area at least four working days per week during the term, and working from the Center’s office space at least three days per week.
For the last few years, the Center has offered the possibility of joint fellowship opportunities with several other Centers at Harvard. We continue to offer that possibility, with specific potential affiliations to be worked out on a case-by-case basis. Applicants will be invited to indicate on the application form whether they wish to be considered for a joint fellowship position with one of these Centers. If selected, the joint fellowship will offer access to development opportunities and programming at the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics and the partnering center, as well as responsibilities to both centers.
Research & Studio Fellowship
THE RESEARCH & DESIGN STUDIO
The Research & Design Studio (R&DS) is an interdisciplinary network that bridges scholarship and practice. Its current theme and focus is the ethical and political dimensions of disagreement: when it proves productive, how to rebuild a culture of principled disagreement, and how to navigate difference. Through this work, the R&DS seeks to strengthen civil discourse in higher education and public life,
bringing together faculty, students, researchers, and practitioners to explore how we can engage across differences more constructively. Fellows contribute to creating pedagogical resources, designing tools for dialogue, and testing models that help make engagement more inclusive and meaningful while also working on their own research projects.
COMMUNITY & COLLABORATION
We aim to build cohorts where fellows find valuable intellectual partnerships to support and spur their work. The ideal candidates are those committed to furthering their own projects while also investing time and energy into building community with the other fellows in their cohort.
More information available here: https://www.ethics.harvard.edu/pages/fellowships
