Applications open for South Africa Fellowship Program

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Harvard South Africa Fellowship Program (HSAFP). HSAFP was established for mid-career professionals educationally disadvantaged by past laws and resource allocations in South Africa. Individuals who have shown considerable skill in their chosen fields stand to benefit from advanced training, and, it is hoped, can use that advanced training to further South African political, social, and economic progress. Applications close on April 15, 2020.

Fellowships are for a year of study in one of Harvard’s professional Schools or the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, with tuition provided by the School. General administrative funds for program management, stipends, and airfare for the fellows are provided by the Office of the President and administered by the Center for African Studies.

To date, more than 200 fellowships have been awarded to people with careers spanning education, law, public health, the arts and humanities, and a host of other professions and disciplines. Upon their return to South Africa, many of the HSAFP fellows have gone on to play prominent roles in their nation and local communities while remaining engaged with the Harvard community in Cambridge, Africa, and beyond.

“I am eternally grateful for my HSAFP experience. Being able to attend Harvard and complete my Master of Public Health qualification was life-changing for me,” said Seranne Motilal, who participated in the program in 2017-18 at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “Since returning to South Africa I have been able to work in the Public Health space in senior positions, where I can continue learning and affect real change.”

“The Harvard South Africa Fellowship is undoubtedly a once in a lifetime opportunity. Through the generosity of the Fellowship, I had the privilege of studying with the most talented people from around the world and taught by inspirational educators who understood the importance of translating intellectual concepts to practice,” added Roshini Moodley Naidoo, a HSAFP alumnus from 2002-03, also at the Chan School. “The Harvard community involves a lifelong network of truly special people who enthusiastically seek out opportunities to champion and support you through every milestone of your professional and personal growth path. At Harvard, you genuinely receive the life learnings and skill-set to be a leader in the most authentic and meaningful way.”