What is a Kennedy Scholarship?
The Kennedy Scholarship is an academic award for study at two of the world's finest universities - Harvard and MIT. It can be used to fund a wide variety of programmes at MIT and across all the graduate schools within Harvard - from PhD to LLM, from MPH to MArch. It can also fund a Special Studentship for those wanting a general programme of non-degree study.
A vibrant and dynamic learning environment
Both Harvard and MIT have exceptional faculty and, in the graduate programmes, attract a diverse and high-calibre student body.
These attractions are not lost on the leading world figures in every field of endeavour who regularly visit. And greater Boston is home to a number of other world-class universities and is a vibrant and dynamic learning environment.
Scholars use the opportunity to deepen their expertise in their field, but also to explore the diversity within their own field and in new fields altogether.
More than an academic prize
But the founders of the Kennedy Trust and its Trustees since have always viewed the Scholarship as more than an academic prize. It is intended to act as a spur to closer trans-Atlantic relations, and few scholars return without travelling across the US and experiencing its wide and varied culture; none return without friendships which last a lifetime.
Enriching their lives more broadly
Kennedy Scholars are also expected to spend their time in the United States enriching their lives more broadly.
Almost all Scholars use the opportunity to learn a language, try a new sport or take advantage of the many other opportunities available in New England - from Boston's restaurants, museums and high culture to the bright lights of New York. From the annual ritual of the leaf 'fall' to the four-year presidential election cycle in nearby New Hampshire, the opportunity is unique.
- Giles Edwards, Graduate of Warwick University and Kennedy Scholar at the Kennedy School of Government 1998-99.
Click here to read a report by Abraham Baldry, 2017-18 Kennedy Scholar as a non-degree student at Harvard Kennedy School.
See the Call for Applications for more information on the Kennedy Scholarship competition, and the "How to Apply" page for more on the application process.