The Boston College Ricci Institute and the Harvard-Yenching Institute jointly host this six-month visiting fellowship in Boston and Cambridge. Fellows pursue independent humanities or social-science research using the Ricci Institute and Harvard-Yenching Library collections.
The 2026–27 round closed on December 5, 2025, and the next call has not been posted yet. The two previous calls appeared on October 21, 2024 and October 20, 2025.
Benefits & funding
- US$6,700 a month for six months.
- Visiting Researcher privileges and access to all Boston College and Harvard University libraries.
- Boston College helps non-US citizens with the visiting-researcher visa.
- Fellows pay their own travel, medical insurance and housing.
- Fellows must be regularly present, give a public lecture or seminar, and file a report at the end of the stay.
Eligibility
- A doctoral degree.
- Full-time faculty at an Asia-based university, or a full-time research fellow at a research institution in Asia; any citizenship.
- Research on East Asian culture in the humanities or social sciences, interdisciplinary work included.
- Priority, not a requirement: projects tied directly to the history and cultures of China, Japan, Korea or Vietnam (comparative work included), and scholars with no earlier extended residence at either institution.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
“The Fellowship is open to applicants who have earned doctoral degrees and are full-time faculty members at Asia-based universities or full-time research fellows at research institutions (e.g., Academia Sinica, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Toyo Bunko and Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences).” Eligibility
Education required
PhD
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Application process
- 1Prepare a CV and a 5–10-page double-spaced research statement in English that gives your proposed six-month dates.
- 2Arrange two current signed recommendation letters on official letterhead; referees upload them directly through a separate form.
- 3Submit online by the deadline (December 5 in the last round).
- 4Semifinalists are interviewed on Zoom.
Program timeline
December 5, 2025
Last round’s deadline (2026–27)
Semifinalist Zoom interviews
Early to mid-January 2026
Decisions
End of January 2026
End of August 2026
Preferred start; arrival no later than October 31, 2026