(CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS) — Harvard University has opened applications for its 2026 Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, a fully funded, full-time research role aimed at early-career scholars preparing for PhD study in economics and closely related policy fields.
The Pre-Doctoral Fellowship sits in the increasingly common “pre-doc” pathway, where recent graduates work in faculty-led research settings before applying to doctoral programs. Harvard University described the role as a bridge between undergraduate or master’s education and admission into top global PhD programs.
International candidates feature prominently in the way the opportunity is framed, with the fellowship presented as a route to U.S. academic experience and research mentorship. Harvard University said visa sponsorship may be arranged for selected international candidates in many cases.
The 2026 fellowship begins July 1, 2026. Harvard University listed the duration as 1 year, renewable for a second year based on performance.
Harvard University set annual salary for the Augustin Bergeron Pre-Doctoral Fellowship at $50,000 annually. A separate behavioral economics predoctoral role with David Laibson, James Choi, and John Beshears lists salary as $68,000 annually plus benefits.
The main 2026 opportunity in the materials centers on economist Augustin Bergeron, with supervision tied to research in development economics, political economy, public policy, public economics and governance, and economic history and state capacity. Harvard University said selected fellows work with faculty researchers on data analysis, field experiments, policy research, and academic publications.
Research tracks across the economics department broaden the range of topics and methods available to candidates, and they shape what a fellow learns day to day. Harvard University also described additional fully funded pre-doctoral fellowships with professors Stefanie Stantcheva and Gita Gopinath, and through Opportunity Insights.
Under the Bergeron Fellowship, Harvard University said projects concentrate on governance, taxation, institutional trust, and state capacity, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and historical Nigeria. The fellow works directly with Professor Bergeron and collaborates with economists from UC Berkeley, NYU Stern, University of Chicago, UBC, LSE, and the World Bank.
The Stantcheva Fellowship, as described in the program materials, focuses on public economics with emphasis on taxation, innovation, and attitudes toward public policies. Harvard University listed the position as beginning July 1, 2026, for one year with a renewal possibility.
The Gopinath Fellowship concentrates on international finance and macroeconomics, including tariffs, trade policy, stablecoins, and digital currencies, the materials said. Responsibilities include empirical analysis, literature review, theoretical and computational modeling, and preparing presentations.
Opportunity Insights, directed by Raj Chetty, John Friedman, and Nathan Hendren, hires several full-time predoctoral fellows for Summer 2026, according to the program description. The institute focuses on economic opportunity, with research on neighborhoods, place-based policies, tax credits, and higher education’s role in upward mobility, and fellows may be based at Harvard or Brown Universities.
A separate behavioral economics position links David Laibson of Harvard, James Choi of Yale, and John Beshears of Harvard Business School. That role starts mid-June 2026 and lasts until mid-July 2027, with a potential second-year renewal, and the materials say visa sponsorship is available.
While topic areas differ, the daily work reads like a professional research assistantship, and Harvard University emphasized research production over classroom study. Fellows support faculty-led projects with data collection, cleaning, validation, and documentation, alongside statistical and econometric analysis built into reproducible workflows.
For projects that use randomized designs, Harvard University said fellows support randomized controlled trials and help monitor field experiment implementation. The work can feed directly into academic paper preparation and research dissemination, including drafting tables, figures, and policy memos that support ongoing research agendas.
Collaboration extends beyond campus in several tracks, the materials suggest, and can include coordination with international research partners. Under the Bergeron Fellowship, candidates should ideally be willing to spend time in the Democratic Republic of the Congo supporting research implementation.
Harvard University framed competitiveness around preparation and fit, rather than a single credential. The typical pool includes bachelor’s or master’s graduates, with strong quantitative and analytical skills and research or programming experience, with Stata, R, or Python preferred.
The fellowship also targets applicants who show clear intent to pursue a PhD in economics or related disciplines, the materials said. In pre-doc hiring, that intent often matters because the role trains candidates in the mechanics of research while positioning them for doctoral applications.
Application materials in the Harvard University description include a one-page cover letter outlining research interests, a curriculum vitae including academic performance, and academic transcripts, with optional recommendation letters. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, meaning decisions may happen as applications arrive.
Rolling review can affect how applicants approach timing, since early submission is strongly recommended in the program description. Harvard University also noted that deadlines vary by program, citing one example in which the Shift Project at Harvard Kennedy School had applications due January 15, 2026.
For international candidates, Harvard University positioned the fellowship as a credential-building step that can combine mentorship with U.S.-based research experience. The materials also highlight exposure to global policy research networks, and the program description links pre-doc experience to preparation for fully funded PhD admissions.
Visa issues sit in the background of that pitch, because onboarding timelines can depend on work authorization steps. Harvard University said visa sponsorship may be arranged for selected candidates in many cases, and a separate behavioral economics posting in the materials says visa sponsorship is available.
The program materials also include a direct contact point for one track. For the Laibson/Choi/Beshears Fellowship, the contact listed is Megan Gaudreau at [email protected].
Harvard University presented the broader pre-doc-to-PhD pipeline as an established route into research careers, while stopping short of guarantees about outcomes. The materials said previous research assistants from similar programs have historically progressed to leading global universities, while also describing the fellowship as hands-on experience in frontier economic research, field experiments, and policy-relevant studies.
VisaVerge.com characterized the Harvard University Pre-Doctoral Fellowship 2026 as “one of the most competitive fully funded research opportunities currently open to global applicants,” pointing to financial support, potential visa sponsorship, and direct exposure to frontier economic research. Applicants watching the 2026 cycle will likely track official posting updates, lab pages, and application portal availability as the hiring process moves through rolling review.
Apply Now for Harvard University Pre-Doctoral Fellowship Fully Funded in 2026
Harvard University’s 2026 Pre-Doctoral Fellowships provide fully funded research positions for early-career economists. Salaries range from $50,000 to $68,000, with tracks covering development, macroeconomics, and behavioral economics. The program offers international candidates visa sponsorship and mentorship from world-class faculty. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, emphasizing quantitative skills and a strong commitment to future PhD studies at leading global institutions.
