Student Engagement: Summer Fellowship Program
Accepting applications until April 7th! Apply HERE
About the Summer Fellowship Program
The Summer Fellowship Program is an 8-week, paid opportunity for Harvard graduate students and 2023 alumni from the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Business School, the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and other Harvard graduate schools.
Fellows will support the workforce and skilling ecosystem in the US by collaborating in cross-school cohorts that provide local and national partner organizations with project support, research, and/or analysis on current labor market issues. Previous partners include the U.S. Department of Labor, City of Boston Mayor’s Office, and Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
The Fellowship Program also provides students with opportunities for professional development and engagement with staff and faculty at the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy, the Managing the Future of Work Project at Harvard Business School, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
View reports written by former Fellows here. Examples of projects completed by Fellows in the 2020, 2021, and 2022 Summer Fellowships:
Incorporated new research, practice, and lived experiences from students, administrators, and subject matter experts to inform recommendations for the Second Chance Pell program for the US Department of Education
Developed a new framework and tools for career navigation at Bunker Hill Community College, New England’s largest community college
Conducted a feasibility study and provided recommendations for a universal, citywide college- and career-readiness strategy for the City of Boston involving local government, higher education institutions, employers, nonprofits, and the K12 education system
Proposed metrics for the State of Massachusetts and the State of Rhode Island to monitor the extent of the remote and hybrid shift, as well as targeted policies, such as scaling reskilling programs, placemaking investments, and office conversions that can help states convert the remote/hybrid threat into an opportunity for equity
Reviewed strategies for growing and diversifying the infrastructure workforce to create equitable access to construction workforce programs for the US Department of Transportation
Student Commitment
Students will be placed in interdisciplinary, cross-school project teams over the course of the summer. Each team will be assigned a client partner project for the fellowship duration. Approximately four days per week will be dedicated to projects for partner organizations in the education and workforce system. One day per week will be dedicated to Harvard initiatives and engagement, including virtual/hybrid check-ins with the cohort team and Harvard Project staff and faculty advisors from HBS, HKS, and HGSE, guest speakers, and connections to Harvard Project on Workforce research.
The summer fellowship will run eight weeks in June and July. There will be a hybrid introductory orientation meeting in May for selected Fellows. Entering, returning, and graduating Harvard graduate-level students are eligible to apply. Projects with federal government agencies are limited to US citizens. Non-US citizens are welcome to apply and will be matched with other types of partner organizations. Fellowship participants are expected to commit 35 hours per week to the program.
Funding
The Project on Workforce will provide a stipend of $6,500 for students accepted to the fellowship program. Students are highly encouraged to pursue additional funding from their respective Harvard schools or other sources to supplement funding provided by the Project. Successful candidates returning to HKS in Fall 2023 are highly encouraged to complete the Summer Internship Funding Common Application and successful HBS candidates (RCs) are highly encouraged to apply for the Social Enterprise Summer Fellowship. The Project on Workforce will supply supporting documentation for accepted candidates.
How to Apply
Applications are being accepted until April 7th and reviewed on a rolling basis. Apply HERE.
A recording of the information session can be viewed HERE.
Questions? Email us at projectonworkforce@hks.harvard.edu.