The Harvard Global Health Institute runs a Visiting Research Scholarship Program that brings international global health researchers to Harvard for a six-week, in-person residency in Boston, Massachusetts. It’s funded by HGHI, it covers the cost of the stay, and it has a genuine track record with African researchers. Two of the three scholars named so far came from Kenya and Botswana.
There’s one thing you need to understand before anything else, because it changes everything about how you approach this: you cannot apply for it yourself. The application must be submitted by a Harvard faculty member who acts as your sponsor. You are nominated, not self-nominated. HGHI states plainly that it does not help facilitate relationships between visiting scholars and Harvard faculty during the application process, and that the programme exists to deepen existing collaborations rather than start new ones.
That makes this a different kind of opportunity from most listings on this site. It isn’t a student scholarship, and it won’t reward a strong application from a stranger. It’s a funded residency for established researchers, typically doctorate-holders who are already co-authoring, co-teaching, or building policy work with someone at Harvard. If that describes you, it’s excellent. If it doesn’t yet, the useful takeaway is what to build toward.
Scholarship benefits
- A six-week in-person research residency at Harvard University, held in April in Boston, Massachusetts.
- Your in-residence time is financially covered by the fellowship award, delivered as a lump sum stipend for logistical expenses.
- The stipend is intended to cover housing, return flights to and from Boston, health insurance, J-1 visa fees, and a daily per diem for food.
- A non-faculty academic appointment at your sponsor’s Harvard department, along with J-1 visa sponsorship arranged by that department.
- A structured work plan and regular meetings with your Harvard sponsor throughout the residency.
- The chance to present your work at private and public HGHI events, and to attend the HGHI annual symposium.
One caveat on the money: HGHI does not publish the stipend amount, and it is described as a lump sum rather than reimbursement of actual costs. Boston is an expensive city, so if you’re offered a place, ask your sponsoring department for the current figure and work out whether it stretches to the housing you’ll need.
Eligibility checklist
✔ You have a doctoral degree in a relevant field. Exceptional candidates holding a master’s degree will be considered.
✔ A Harvard faculty member has agreed to sponsor you and will submit the application. Sponsors can be at any Harvard school or affiliated hospital.
✔ You can show significant existing collaborative work with that sponsor — peer-reviewed publications, co-developed educational curricula, partnership on policy, or service work. This programme deepens established relationships rather than creating new ones.
✔ Your sponsor’s primary Harvard department agrees to provide the academic appointment and sponsor your J-1 visa.
✔ You are in good standing with your home institution, and it will grant you six weeks’ leave in April.
✔ You hold an active passport and can obtain a J-1 visa for travel to the United States.
✔ You can satisfy the English language requirements attached to the visa.
✔ You are able to reside in the Boston area for the full residency period.
Application tips for African students
- Build the Harvard collaboration first — that is the real application. Since HGHI won’t introduce you to anyone and only funds existing partnerships, your energy belongs in the research relationship, not in a form. Co-author a paper, join a shared grant, contribute to a joint curriculum. The award follows the collaboration, never the other way round.
- Look at institutional partnerships already operating in your country. Dr. Wonderful Choga, the 2024–2025 scholar, works at the Botswana Harvard Health Partnership, a collaboration between the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Botswana’s Ministry of Health. Existing Harvard-affiliated research programmes, training networks and hospital partnerships across Africa are the most realistic on-ramp.
- Document your joint work in a form your sponsor can attach. The application asks for evidence of significant collaboration, so keep a current record of co-authored manuscripts, shared teaching, policy contributions and service work. Make it easy for your sponsor to make the case.
- Secure your leave letter early. One of the two required reference letters must come from your home institution confirming it will release you for six weeks in April. In many African universities that approval passes through several offices, so start the conversation months ahead of the August deadline.
- Aim your work at HGHI’s stated priorities. Priority goes to thematic areas aligned with the Institute’s interests: health equity, climate change and health, infectious diseases, digital transformation, global health financing, health justice, and community-engaged programming. If your research already sits in one of these, say so explicitly.
- Tell your sponsor about the funding-priority rule. HGHI gives priority to faculty sponsors who don’t have other mechanisms of funding support for visiting scholars. If that’s true of your collaborator, it strengthens the application and is worth stating in their letter.
- Get your passport and visa readiness sorted now. You need an active passport and must be able to obtain a J-1 visa, including meeting the English language requirements. Passport renewals and US visa appointments can take months in many African countries, don’t let that be the thing that stops you.
How to apply
The application is submitted by your Harvard faculty sponsor through HGHI’s online form, not by you. The deadline for the current cycle is Sunday, 23 August 2026 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time, for a residency taking place the following April.
Your sponsor will be asked to supply your name, country of origin, your position in your home country, your CV, and other support documentation for themselves as the Harvard sponsor. Two reference letters addressed to the Harvard Global Health Institute are required: one from your home institution granting you a six-week leave of absence in April, and one from your sponsoring Harvard collaborator justifying the in-person time and setting out the work plan they’ve prepared for your residency. Applications are assessed on the strength and length of the existing collaboration, the sponsoring department’s commitment to providing the academic appointment and J-1 visa, and how clearly the application shows you would benefit professionally from being at Harvard in person. Full details and the application link are on the offichttps://globalhealth.harvard.edu/engage-with-us/visiting-scholars/ial HGHI Visiting Scholars page, and questions can be sent to HGHI_fellowships@harvard.edu.
Frequently asked questions
Can I apply for this scholarship myself?
No. Applications must be submitted by a Harvard faculty member who serves as your sponsor. You are put forward by an existing Harvard collaborator, and HGHI explicitly does not help arrange those relationships during the application process.
Is this a scholarship for students?
No. It’s a research residency for established researchers, and the expectation is a doctoral degree in a relevant field, though exceptional master’s holders are considered. Past scholars have included a senior lecturer and principal investigator at Egerton University in Kenya, and a medical researcher and bioinformatician at the Botswana Harvard Health Partnership.
What does the award cover?
Your in-residence time is financially covered through a lump sum stipend intended for housing, flights to and from Boston, health insurance, J-1 visa fees, and a daily per diem for food. HGHI does not publish the amount, so confirm the current figure with the sponsoring department.
When is the deadline and how long is the residency?
Applications for the current cycle close on Sunday, 23 August 2026 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. The residency lasts six weeks and takes place in April in Boston, Massachusetts, where you must reside for the duration.
Have African researchers received this award?
Yes. Dr. Bartholomew Ondigo of Egerton University in Kenya was named the 2025–2026 Visiting Research Scholar, working with a Harvard Medical School collaborator on immune protection against malaria in pregnancy. Dr. Wonderful Choga of the Botswana Harvard Health Partnership was one of the 2024–2025 scholars, working on bioinformatics for pathogen detection.
What if I don’t already know anyone at Harvard?
Then this particular programme isn’t open to you yet, because it funds existing collaborations and HGHI won’t make an introduction. The practical route is to build a real research relationship over time — through Harvard-affiliated research partnerships in your region, co-authorship, conferences, or shared projects — and revisit this once that work is genuinely underway.