USA Scholarships
Research Fellowship Guides
Research Fellowships
Research fellowships fund you to work at a specific institution for a set period. They are different from degree scholarships - you are not enrolled as a student. You conduct independent research, usually at the postdoctoral level. Below are our fellowship guides.
Cornell Atkinson Postdoctoral Fellowship 2027 - $65,000/yr
The Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability funds up to four postdoctoral fellows a year on three-year appointments paying $65,000 annually, with full Cornell employee benefits and a further $12,000 a year for research and travel. Applications for the 2027 cohort close on 20 October 2026 at 5pm Eastern, notifications go out in January 2027, and fellowships start between 1 June and 1 September 2027. The structure is what makes this one unusual. Every application needs two mentors lined up before you apply: a PI-eligible Cornell faculty member who is a current Cornell Atkinson Faculty Fellow, and an advisor at an external governmental, non-governmental or private sector partner, which explicitly cannot be another university. Your doctorate must be recent, no earlier than 1 May 2025 for this cycle, and the programme is no longer open to Cornell PhD graduates or Cornell postdocs.
51 Pegasi b Fellowship 2026 - $492,000 Postdoc
The 51 Pegasi b Fellowship gives an early-career planetary astronomer up to $492,000 over three years to do theoretical, observational or experimental research at a US host institution of their choosing. The Heising-Simons Foundation runs it, applications for the current cycle close on 1 October 2026 at 2pm Pacific Time, and decisions go out by mid-February. Named after the first exoplanet found orbiting a sun-like star, the fellowship covers salary and benefits and adds flexible discretionary research funding on top, which is the part fellows tend to talk about. You pick one host institution from the 28 taking part across the US. American citizenship is not required, though visa and work permit paperwork falls to you and your host rather than to the Foundation. Fellows can apply for a fourth year, or for a one-year grant if they land a faculty or permanent staff post.
Fulbright Scholar Award 2027 - UK Scholars to the USA
The Fulbright Scholar Awards send UK academics and professionals to the United States to lecture, research or both, usually for three to six months, on a monthly stipend with travel and visa support attached. Applications for the 2027-28 cycle opened on 20 July 2026 and close on 2 November 2026 at 5pm GMT, with interviews in February 2027, results in March 2027 and departures from August 2027 onwards. Six awards run under the Scholar banner, from the open All Disciplines Award to partner awards with the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Elon University, Rutgers University-Newark and the National Archives. You need to be a UK citizen or British Overseas Territory resident, hold a PhD or equivalent professional standing, and arrange your own letter of invitation from a US host institution before you apply.
Harvard Academy Scholars Program 2027 - $80,000/yr
The Harvard Academy Scholars Program appoints five or six early-career social scientists a year to a two-year, in-residence postdoctoral fellowship at The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, on $80,000 a year plus $6,000 a year in research support. The 2027-2028 season is open and closes 18 September 2026 at 11:59 PM EDT, with finalists interviewed on 4 December 2026 and the appointment starting 1 August 2027. Over 500 people apply each year. The Academy wants scholars whose work pairs disciplinary strength in the social sciences with a command of the language and expertise of countries or regions outside the United States and Canada. Applications are open to all countries and citizenships, but anyone who already holds or has completed another postdoctoral fellowship is out.
Yale World Fellows Program 2027 - Fully Funded
The Yale World Fellows Program brings a small group of mid-career leaders from outside the United States to Yale for four months, mid-August to mid-December, on a package that covers a living stipend, a furnished one- or two-bedroom apartment, medical insurance and round-trip international travel, with no tuition or fees. The Class of 2026 held 16 Fellows, picked from several thousand applications, and the programme has taken over 400 Fellows from 102 countries since 2002. You need to be a citizen of a country other than the United States, between five and twenty-five years into your career, fluent in English, and free to live in New Haven for the whole term. Applications for the 2027 cohort are not open yet. Nominations are, and anyone can submit one without any Yale connection.
Reginald F. Lewis Fellowship 2027 - $60,000 at HLS
The Reginald F. Lewis Fellowship for Law Teaching gives a recent law graduate a $60,000 annual stipend and a year in residence at Harvard Law School to write. The 2027 term runs 1 July 2027 through 30 June 2028, and applications close on Thursday 1 October 2026, with both letters of reference due the same day. You need a JD, LLM or SJD at the time of applying, a serious interest in legal scholarship, and a plan to go into law teaching. The Fellow prepares at least one major article for publication on a schedule agreed with the Lewis Committee, and can audit courses and attend workshops across the school. The programme was endowed in 1993 by Reginald F. Lewis, HLS class of 1968 and the first African American to build a billion-dollar company, and it exists to enhance diversity in the profession of legal educators.
UN Nippon Foundation Fellowship 2027 - Ocean Law
The United Nations-Nippon Foundation Fellowship on Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea gives mid-career government officials from developing states nine funded months split between two places. Phase one runs 24 March to 30 June 2027 at UN Headquarters in New York, working alongside the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea. Phase two runs 1 July to 17 December 2027 as a research placement at an academic institution. The award covers a monthly stipend from the day you leave home until the day you finish, round-trip economy flights between home, New York and your host institution, Cigna health insurance, and a $600 book allowance for the second phase. Applications close on 13 September 2026 and results are announced in mid-December. You need to be between 25 and 45, hold at least a first degree, and be nominated by an authority who signs your form.
America's Future Development Fellowship 2026
The America's Future Development Fellowship 2026 is a six-week virtual seminar on nonprofit fundraising for the Fall 2026 cohort, run over Zoom on Monday evenings from 28 September to 9 November 2026. Applications close 7 September 2026 at 11:59 PM ET, with participants selected between 14 and 21 September. The curriculum covers the philosophy of private philanthropy alongside practical work on donor cultivation and stewardship, organisational development, major gifts, foundation relations and planned giving, led by a facilitator who runs a fundraising operation raising around $12 million a year. Two eligibility points decide most applications: you must reside in the United States, and America's Future selects for liberty-minded professionals committed to strengthening organisations in the liberty movement. No prior fundraising experience is needed, and attendance at all six sessions is mandatory.
AERC World Bank Visiting Scholars 2026 - Washington DC
The AERC World Bank Visiting Scholars Program 2026 places African economists at World Bank headquarters in Washington DC for a research residency of four to six months. Run jointly by the African Economic Research Consortium and the World Bank Africa Region Chief Economist's Office, it takes up to two scholars for the 2026/2027 cohort. Visiting scholars join the Office of the Chief Economist for Africa Region, revise a draft paper for the World Bank Working Paper Series and a ranking journal, present at least one seminar, and contribute to the Bank's Africa research programme. Eligibility is narrow: you must already be an AERC researcher, including from the AERC Collaborative PhD Programme, with an active AERC project at interim, post-field or final paper stage on a topic relevant to the World Bank Africa Region agenda. Expressions of interest close 6 September 2026 and late applications are not considered.
Yale Peace Fellowship 2027 - Fully Funded at Yale
The Yale Peace Fellowship 2027 is a fully funded programme from the International Leadership Center at Yale University for rising leaders in conflict prevention, peacebuilding and post-conflict reconciliation. Applications for the 2027 cohort are open now and close 9 September 2026 at 14:00 EDT. Fellows take a week-long seminar at Yale in New Haven from 12 to 16 April 2027, bi-weekly virtual sessions from March through June, and a closing convening at Rose Castle in the UK from 14 to 18 June 2027. Travel, lodging and meals for both in-person weeks are covered and there are no direct programme costs, though a $20 application fee applies. One catch decides most applications: applicants should be citizens of a country other than the United States, and Yale typically looks for at least five years of significant professional experience.