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Harvard Belfer Center Managing the Atom (MTA) Fellowship 2027-2028
Ten-month residential fellowship in nuclear policy at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center, focused in 2027 on rethinking nuclear deterrence and regional proliferation crises.
| Amount / funding | Stipends USD 50,000 (predoctoral) and USD 60,000 (postdoctoral) for ten months, plus health insurance, an MBTA pass and a shared office. Fellowship period 1 September 2027 - 30 June 2028. |
|---|---|
| Deadline | Application period 1 October - 1 December 2026; recommendation letters due 15 December 2026; applicants notified by 15 February 2027. 2027 focus: rethinking nuclear deterrence and regional proliferation crises. |
| Start date | 1 September 2027 |
| Level | PhD, Postdoctoral |
| Funding type | full |
| Field | 07 Social Sciences & Public Policy |
About this scholarship
Ten-month residential fellowship in nuclear policy at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center, focused in 2027 on rethinking nuclear deterrence and regional proliferation crises.
Minimum requirements
Pre-doctoral, post-doctoral and mid-career fellows in nuclear policy. Required materials follow the ISP pattern plus a policy-relevance statement: CV, research statement, writing sample and three recommenders (check the official MTA page for the exact document list before applying).
Application checklist
- Confirm your category: pre-doctoral, post-doctoral or mid-career
- Frame your research around the 2027 focus (nuclear deterrence, regional proliferation crises) where it fits
- Draft the policy-relevance statement alongside the research statement
- Ask three recommenders early: letters are due 15 December 2026
- Submit the application before 1 December 2026
Application tips
- The policy-relevance statement is what separates MTA from a generic security application: write it for policymakers, not only for academics.
- Mid-career applicants should foreground policy experience, since the programme explicitly includes that category.
- Letters are due 15 December, two weeks after the application closes, so brief referees now.
Always verify deadline, amount and eligibility on the official page before applying. Values marked ESTIMATE are based on a previous cycle and are not confirmed for the current round.
Tags: belfer, harvard, nuclear policy, nonproliferation, deterrence, fellowship