Edmond J. Safra Graduate Fellowships
To ensure that progress in teaching and research in ethics will continue into the future, the Center trains younger scholars who are prepared to dedicate their careers to the study of practical ethics in a wide variety of subjects.
The Graduate Fellowships in Ethics were established with the support of the American Express Foundation. More recently, generous gifts from Mrs. Lily Safra and Mr. Eugene P. Beard have strengthened the fellowships, putting them on a firmer financial footing. Graduate Fellowships have been awarded to more than 100 Harvard-enrolled graduate and professional students.
"I was a somewhat unusual candidate for the Graduate Fellowships...Having enrolled in the JD program at the Law School, I had acquired a deep interest in philosophy, political theory, and legal theory, and I thought that a weekly seminar with individuals schooled in these disciplines would offer rapid immersion. More specifically, I was writing a book that examined American responses to genocide since the Holocaust and I was looking to develop and refine the moral argument at the heart of my project..."
Samantha Power, winner of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide
Purpose
The Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics encourages teaching and research about ethical issues in public life and the professions. Its graduate fellowships support outstanding Harvard-enrolled graduate and professional students who are writing dissertations or engaged in major research on topics in practical ethics, especially ethical issues in architecture, business, education, government, law, medicine, public health, public policy, and religion. Graduate fellows are expected to devote their time to an approved course of research and study and take part in a weekly Center seminar, where they read works in moral and political philosophy and discuss research problems and strategies common to the study of practical and professional ethics. In addition, graduate fellows are encouraged to take part in the wider intellectual life of the Center.
Eligibility
Students should be enrolled in a doctoral program of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences or in one of Harvard University's professional schools; and should have completed all course requirements and general examinations by September prior to the fellowship year. In professions such as law or medicine, where a doctoral dissertation is not required for an academic career, advanced students, recent graduates, and Harvard affiliates engaged in postgraduate training are also eligible. The Center seeks applicants who have excelled in their fields of specialization, have demonstrated an interest in questions of value that cut across disciplinary boundaries, and who are likely to make significant contributions to teaching and scholarship in practical and professional ethics. Some successful applicants will have a strong background in moral philosophy or political thought; others will be grounded in fields of professional practice.
Awards
Graduate fellows receive a stipend up to $22,000 for one academic year, which varies depending on individual circumstances. They are provided with shared study space, access to a computer and printer, and a modest allowance for research, copying and office supplies. Graduate Fellowships are announced in mid-February for the upcoming academic year.
How to apply
Please submit to the Director of Graduate Fellowships:
- Application Cover Sheet
- Statement describing your interest in practical and professional ethics and plans for a dissertation or research project (no more than 2,000 words)
- Curriculum vitae
- Undergraduate and graduate transcripts
- Scholarly paper you have written
In addition, applicants should arrange for two letters of reference to be sent directly to the Director of Graduate Fellowships.
Send complete application to:
Director of Graduate Fellowships
Harvard University Edmond J. Safra Foundation
Center for Ethics
Mailbox 98
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: (617) 496-0587
Fax: (617) 496-6104
Email:
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The deadline date for receipt of applications for graduate fellowships beginning September 2010 is November 13, 2009.