Harvard University will offer two types of postdoctoral fellowships in Japanese Studies:

Reischauer Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship
The Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies (RIJS) at Harvard University will offer Postdoctoral Fellowships in Japanese Studies to recent Ph.D. graduates of exceptional promise, in any area of the humanities or social sciences, to provide the opportunity for postdoctoral fellows to turn their dissertations into publishable manuscripts and to continue their research in Japanese Studies.

U.S. -Japan Program Postdoctoral Fellowship
The Program on U.S. -Japan Relations (USJP) at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs will offer Postdoctoral Fellowships to recent Ph.D. graduates in anthropology, business, economics, history, international relations, law, political science, psychology, public health, public policy, and sociology, among other fields. Scholars may examine domestic issues that bear on Japan’s external relations or problems that it shares with other countries, and the Program encourages projects that compare Japan’s experience cross-nationally.

Please submit only ONE application.

Applications for the RIJS and USJP Postdoctoral Fellowships will be submitted through a single platform (ARIeS). Applicants will be asked to indicate whether they wish to be considered for the RIJS Fellowship, the USJP Fellowship, or both.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: https://rijs.fas.harvard.edu/postdoctoral

ONLINE APPLICATION: https://academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/16762

Applicant Deadline: December 18, 2026 (Friday), 5:00pm EST
Recommender Deadline: January 8, 2027 (Friday), 5:00pm EST

Please note: The applicant and recommender deadlines are separated due to the nature of Harvard’s online application system. Only after the application is submitted will the recommender be notified of the recommendation letter request.

Applicants, to ensure a smooth process, please communicate with your recommenders well in advance of the first deadline on December 18.