Pollman Fellowship in Real Estate and Urban Development

The Pollman Fellowship in Real Estate and Urban Development places one postdoctoral scholar at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design for a single year as a visiting scholar. It is run by the school’s Department of Urban Planning and Design and has been offered since 2002. The fellow spends the year in residence in Cambridge, Massachusetts, teaches one assigned course, and devotes the rest of the time to their own research in real estate, urban planning, and urban development.

The fellowship is awarded annually, but no award was made in 2020–2021, 2024–2025, or 2025–2026. Recent fellows have been early-career academics at universities in Ghana and Nigeria.

Benefits & funding

A minimum award of US$55,000 for the fellowship year, inclusive of the teaching salary.
Medical benefits.
The award is intended to cover living and research expenses during the year.
Visiting scholar standing at the GSD, with the option to audit courses.
The chance to take on additional research assignments to supplement the award.

Eligibility

Open to postdoctoral candidates who have received their doctorate, or who have submitted their dissertation for final degree awarding.
Core fields are real estate and urban development. The school also invites applicants working in economic development, political economy, urban economics, and other areas of urban planning connected to real estate and urban development.
No nationality or residency requirement is stated, and past fellows have come from universities outside the United States.
No age limit and no minimum years of work experience are stated.
The fellow must be able to be in residence at the GSD for the year and to teach an assigned course.

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Education required
PhD · PhD Enrolled

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Application process

1
Write a proposal of no more than 300 words describing the type of course you would like to teach.
2
Write a statement of no more than 1,000 words on your current and proposed research, addressing its relevance, feasibility, innovation, and potential for your personal and professional growth.
3
Prepare a resume detailing work and educational experience in relevant fields.
4
Combine the three documents into a single PDF.
5
Submit the PDF electronically to the Department of Urban Planning and Design, at the address given on the official page, before the deadline.

Program timeline

Application deadline for the most recent cycle, 11:00 am EST.
Feb 19, 2026
Fellowship term
one year in residence at the GSD; the school does not publish start and end dates.
Next cycle
the fellowship is awarded annually, and the GSD has not yet published the next deadline.