Senior Thesis Grants

This section provides information about the myriad grants available at Harvard to support undergraduate summer and term-time research for senior thesis.

Please also check the Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (URAF) at: http://uraf.harvard.edu for information about research opportunities and research funding.

To apply online for Harvard Grants, please visit Harvard's Centralized Application for Research and Travel (CARAT): https://carat.fas.harvard.edu/

For guidelines on requesting letters of recommendation, please see http://history.fas.harvard.edu/guidelines-requesting-letters-recommendation?admin_panel=1

American History

Center for American Political Studies
For research on any aspect of contemporary American politics. For more info, see here.
Deadline:  Friday, Feb. 9, 2024


Charles Warren Center
For research on any topic in American History. For more info, see here.
Deadline:  Friday, February 9, 2024
 

Carol K. Pforzheimer Student Fellowships
To provide funding to Harvard undergraduates to conduct research in the Schlesinger Library’s collections.  For more info, see here.
Deadline: February 25, 2024, at 11:59 PM ET

Weatherhead Center for International Affairs
For thesis research on international affairs. For more info, see here.
Deadline:  February 15, 2024

East Asian History

Asia Center Grants
For info. about the Asia Center's undergraduate summer research and travel grants, please visit here.

Fairbank Center Undergraduate Student Grants
The Fairbank Center, in cooperation with the other Asia related area centers at Harvard, offers a number of grants and fellowships to students and student groups interested in China and Taiwan.   For more information please visit: 
https://fairbank.fas.harvard.edu/grants/undergraduate-grants/

The Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies
Awards summer research travel grants for Harvard undergraduates in the humanities or social sciences for research and/or fieldwork in Japan, relating directly to a senior honors thesis in an area of Japanese studies. For more info. click here

Korea Institute Summer Research Travel Grant
Korea Institute Undergraduate Summer Travel Grants are awarded to Harvard undergraduates in the humanities or social sciences to use in Korea for research and/or field work relating to a senior honors thesis in an area of Korean studies. Typically, the amount of the award is limited to the cost of travel in the research project. Undergraduate applicants must have at least two years of Korean language training or equivalent proficiency in the language.  For more info. please click here
 

 

Modern European History

Patterson Traveling Fellowship
For summer research, study, travel or work in Italy.  For more info., see here
Deadline: TBA

Center for European Studies
CES offers summer research travel grants for senior thesis writers to explore topics on political, historical, economic, social, cultural, and intellectual trends in modern or contemporary Europe.  For more info, see here.
Deadline:  11:59pm on February 9, 2024


Goldman Undergraduate Research Travel Grant (Davis Center for Russian Studies)
Goldman Undergraduate Research Travel Grants of up to $6,000 are available to offset travel and living expenses for students carrying out independent research on topics in Russian and Eurasian studies.  For more info, see here.
Deadline:  11:59 PM 2/07/2024


Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute
For support to conduct research projects in Ukraine. For more info, see here. 
Deadline: TBA

Harvard-Cambridge Summer Scholarships Summer Program
The Harvard-Cambridge Scholarship Committee offers 8 to 12 summer scholarships to undergraduates for supervised research or study at Cambridge University. Scholarship awards provide for the expenses associated with the summer experience and include travel to and from the U.K and room and board at either Trinity College or Emmanuel College. The research or study must begin in late June and last at least eight weeks.
For more info, see here.

Medieval History

Angeliki E. Laiou Undergraduate Research Fund - download the pdf

             This fund was established in honor of Angeliki Laiou (1941-2008), Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Byzantine History and an internationally celebrated scholar, colleague, statesman, mentor, and friend. During the nearly four decades that she spent at Harvard, her passionate, charismatic teaching instilled in countless students the importance of studying the past. Reflecting her staunch commitment to undergraduate teaching and research, the fund supports undergraduates at Harvard College who are conducting research on topics relating to Byzantine, medieval European, and medieval Mediterranean history. The grants may be up to $1,000 and may be used to cover a variety of research-related expenses, including travel, securing digital scans from libraries and archives, and translations. Senior thesis writers are especially encouraged to apply, but grants can be made for non-thesis research as well. Students planning to conduct summer thesis research are encouraged to apply before March 1, but applications may be submitted at any point during the academic year. To apply, submit a completed copy of this form to the History Undergraduate Office, along with a 300-500 word description of your project and a tentative budget. For more information, contact Professor Daniel Smail (smail@fas.harvard.edu).

Name: ________________________________________

Class: _____________               

Concentration: ______________________________

 Phone: ___________________         

Email: _____________________________________

 

Amount Requested: ___________     

Date Submitted: _____________________________

Other Fields

Other Fields

Center for African Studies
The Center for African Studies offers funding to Harvard undergraduate students traveling to Africa for thesis research, internships, volunteer work or study abroad. Grants require a minimum stay of eight weeks in Africa. Our grant awards are limited and intended to cover round-trip travel and a modest stipend.
 For more info, see here.
Deadline: February 15th, 2024. 


Undergraduate Research Scholarships in Australian Studies
To support research and/or field work related to an area of Australian studies.  For more info. visit their website


The Canada Program Undergraduate Thesis Research Grants
The Center will award undergraduate thesis research grants of up to $6,000 each for field research in Canada. Recipients of the grants will be named Undergraduate Associates of the Weatherhead Center and are expected to present their thesis research at a conference in the spring semester before their theses are due.
For more info, click here.
Deadline: February 15th, 2024. 


Committee on Ethnicity, Migration, Rights (EMR)
The Committee on Ethnicity, Migration, Rights (EMR) awards summer grants to assist Harvard juniors with research for a senior honors thesis. The department(s) in which the thesis will be written is open so long as research addresses one or more areas of ethnicity, race, im/migration, Indigeneity, and human rights.
For more info. visit: https://emr.fas.harvard.edu/grants
Deadline: February 14, 2024


The Harvard University Center for the Environment Summer Undergraduate Student Research Fund
The Center for the Environment’s Undergraduate Summer Research Fund provides financial support for student research projects related to the environment.
For more info, see here.


Center for Jewish Studies
To support qualified Harvard undergraduates with summer research or study in Jewish studies.  For more info., click here


Center for Middle Eastern Studies
The Center for Middle Eastern Studies offers fellowships and travel grants to Harvard undergraduates during wintersession and summer for Arabic language study, and research/fieldwork in Israel.
For more info. about  CMES funding please click
here.


Center for the Study of World Religions
The Harvard Divinity School awards an undergraduate award for summer senior thesis-related research. For theses that significantly address an interreligious, cross-cultural, or comparative theme. The research may be ethnographic or archival, and a portion of the award may be used for the purchase of books.
For more info. please click
here.

David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies 
Supports undergraduate students conducting thesis research related to Latin America and the Caribbean. Research proposals are accepted from all disciplines, but must be directly related to the region.
For more info, see here.


Department of Romance Languages (Dressler Family Traveling Grant
For travel and study in the Romance language countries (e.g. France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Romania, and Latin America). Students must have completed at least one course in Romance Languages and Literatures at Harvard. Financial need is a requirement for application. For more info, see
here.


Harvard College Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (URAF)
The Office of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships administers more than 30 fellowship competitions annually, for both prestigious national fellowships and scholarships as well as Harvard fellowships, which are open to Harvard College undergraduates. For information visit: https://uraf.harvard.edu/uraf-administered-programs


Yun Family Research Fellows Fund for Revolutionary Thinking
The Yun Family Research Fellows Fund for Revolutionary Thinking is designed to support undergraduate scholars of talent and promise who want to explore the theory and practice of tackling the worlds problems through bold, innovative, and novel research projects of their own design.The award promotes creative and unconventional approaches that display a high degree of originality and intellectual depth.All disciplines are eligible for consideration, and projects may encompass inter- and multi-disciplinary permutations. Projects also may serve as the foundation for undergraduate thesis submission, as approved by academic departments.  
Application materials may be found on CARAT, https://carat.fas.harvard.edu, under Yun Family Research Fellows Fund for Revolutionary Thinking.
For questions please email: undergradresearch@fas.harvard.edu

 

All-Purpose and Other Grants

The Robert P. Ulin Fund for Excellence in History
For summer thesis research or language study.
Deadline: Monday, March 25, 2024
For more info. visit here.