ELIGIBILITY

The Harvard South Africa Fellowship Program (HSAFP) is intended for South Africans who in the past were educationally disadvantaged by law and resource allocation under apartheid. In 1979 Harvard University began awarding these fellowships for a year of study in one or more of its faculties or schools. These fellowships are funded by Harvard from its own resources. Over the years more than one hundred and forty fellowships have been awarded to South Africans.

The HSAFP was conceived largely to provide educational enrichment for men and women in mid-career, that is, individuals in various occupations who have shown considerable skill in their chosen fields and leadership and are expected to benefit from advanced training. Thus candidates who have just completed, or who have not yet completed, a first degree are not selected unless this degree has been pursued concurrently with, or subsequent to, experience in the workplace. Fellows usually range in age from 30 to 45 years.

Fellows submit their applications directly to the Harvard South Africa Fellowship Program at Harvard University. A committee of HSAFP alumni and Professor Felton Earls, Director of the Program at Harvard, will interview the short-listed applicants in South Africa. Successful candidates must then apply to and be admitted at the specific Harvard school where they intend to study.

Applicants should determine well in advance whether, if awarded a fellowship, they can be granted leave by their employers for Harvard's academic year. They should generally plan to be in residence at Harvard from September until June. However, some programs require fellows to begin residence on 1st July. No candidate should accept an interview unless assured that such leave will be granted. The committee does not wish to assign fellowships to anyone who subsequently finds it impossible to use the opportunity.

ADMISSION TO HARVARD

If candidates who are awarded fellowships do not apply and receive admission to a specific Harvard program, the fellowship is void. Applicants are advised to search Harvard's website for information on the various schools at Harvard and the courses offered to ensure that the program to which they apply matches their academic qualifications and career aspirations.

Admission to a formal Harvard degree or other program remains solely within the authority of the Admissions Committee of the particular Harvard school or program and not with HSAFP. A considerable number of fellows have been admitted to one-year Master's programs and have received the degree. The Schools of Law, Education, Public Health, and the Kennedy School of Government offer one-year Master's-degree programs open to holders of the relevant Bachelor's degree. The Medical School is open to biological and social scientists interested in advanced training or research. Admissions committees for Master's degrees require candidates to take the Graduate Records Examination or the equivalent professional test. The deadlines for submission of all admission materials to Harvard vary from mid-December to early January.

Unlike most South African universities, Harvard's MBA is a two-year degree program and thus is not available through this fellowship program. It should also be noted that Harvard offers no programs, degree or otherwise, in several areas commonly taught at other institutions, e.g. Nursing, Library Science, or Social Work. Furthermore, the largest Harvard school, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, does not offer a one-year Master's degree. Applicants interested in studying as Special Students at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) should already be pursuing doctoral studies in South Africa or be involved in a medical, scientific, or other type of research program. They need to submit a well-developed plan that illustrates how access to Harvard faculty, courses and research resources will further their studies or their research.

TERMS OF FELLOWSHIP

The fellowship provides for payment of all tuition for the full period of enrollment at Harvard. The fellowship also funds the round-trip airfare between the fellow's home and Boston. A monthly stipend is provided to fellows, except those enrolled in the Executive Education Programs, to cover the cost of housing and other living expenses. Housing is usually in university graduate dormitories. (Please note that housing costs in the Boston/Cambridge area are extremely high, and the stipend only covers bare necessities.) The monthly stipend must also be used to pay other expenses such as medical and dental insurance, medicines, taxes, food, winter clothing, books and supplies. Fellows are held personally responsible for the payment of all bills other than tuition fees and airfare.

Please be advised that Harvard will require fellows to purchase American medical insurance. This insurance does not cover the range of services covered in South Africa. Separate insurance must be purchased for dental coverage. Charges for non-covered expenses and prescription drugs are very high.

A full monthly check is provided for each month or partial month during which the fellow is officially registered at Harvard. The fellow will have higher "start-up" expenses in September, and also substantial expenses at the end of the period of study. Fellowship funds do not allow for family support, whether or not family members join the fellow at Harvard.

Fellows are strongly discouraged from bringing their family with them to Harvard. The cost of housing a family in Boston or Cambridge is considerably in excess of the rental charge for one individual in a graduate dormitory, the rate used in calculating the monthly stipend. Applicants for the fellowship must therefore consider seriously whether they are prepared to spend an academic year at Harvard apart from their families. (The Executive Education Programs, in particular, will not allow a student to live with his or her family during the several months of the programs.)

Specific queries should be addressed by e-mail: steve@mandelarhodes.org.za

By mail:
Harvard South Africa Fellowship Program
c/o Mandela Rhodes Foundation
150 St George's Mall
CAPE TOWN, 8001
P.O. Box 15897
VLAEBERG, 8018
South Africa

Application Deadline - 25th of April, 2008 for the 2009-2010 Academic Year